Vegetarian tandoori masala butternut

Vegetarian tandoori masala butternut squash, roasted to perfection and served with a mildly spiced dish of leeks, green lentils, celery and other vegetables is the perfect way to savour that unique tandoor masala flavour without going near meat.

Squash all opposition

Technically this isn’t a tandoori masala dish. Tandoori murgh masala, that ever popular chicken dish in Indian restaurants around the world, takes its name from the tandoor—the cylindrical clay oven in which it is cooked. I certainly don’t have one in my kitchen and I doubt many of you do either.

However, that’s a small detail. Dry-roasting this dish in a conventional oven or cooking in the hot coals of a barbecue works very nicely. So too does an air fryer—or so a friend to whom I gave this recipe reports. But I couldn’t confirm: I don’t have one.

Although butternut squash is now a familiar sight in UK supermarkets—it certainly wasn't late into the 1980s—it strikes me that many British people who did not grow up around this delicious squash still don't really grasp its full potential. In particular, they have yet to embrace how wonderful it is roasted or baked. For example, in many parts of the Commonwealth and the Americas with a tradition of English cooking, chunks of butternut squash are merrily roasted alongside the potatoes for a Sunday roast in much the way that parsnips are in the UK. Roasted until the skins begin to blacken, they're utterly delicious.

A perfect roasting veggie, they're ideal for cooking tandoori-style because, while the compact, rich flesh will become soft and tender, they won't fall apart when roasted. Or, in this case dry-roasted.

If you can't get or don't like butternut squash—is such a thing possible?—the tried and tested alternatives I suggest are thick slices of aubergine, celeriac, or pumpkin. With pumpkin, make sure that it is one of the varieties with firm, compact flesh, such as flat white boer pumpkin, that will not become watery. It is also fantastic with whole corn on the cob, particularly when cooked on the barbecue.

If cooking on the barbecue, tightly wrap the marinaded vegetable of choice in tin foil and push directly into the hot coals. Start checking regularly after about 20mins (10 in the case of corn on the cob). Once the flesh is cooked and tender, take them out of the coals and finish on the grill, basting with a little additional marinade, until they start to blacken slightly.

Also note that if you use my spice recipe for the marinade—as opposed to using readymade tandoori masala spice mixes to make it—it won't be nearly are red as the signature colour associated with the dish. That red is a combination of cooking in clay and the very red, freshly milled chilli used in discerning Indian restaurants and households. Most readymade spice mixes use food colourings to achieve the effect. So, unless you have some food dye stashed in the larder, it will remain a more sedate red, even when fully cooked.

Unless you get an oddly tough butternut squash—sometimes a sign that they're not very fresh—the skins are edible and a good source of fibre. Better still with this recipe, they're delicious, a veggie version of crispy skin on a roasted chicken.

Side effects

Much like the Indian restaurant bestseller, this dish demands side dishes. Yes, there is nothing to stop you having it with rice, but on it's own it will prove a somewhat dry dish. It's great with saag aloo, the classic dish of potatoes and spinach (if a little on the heavy side), with spiced okra, with practically any kind of dal or, indeed, a combination of side dishes.

However, I prefer to serve it with only one substantial side dish, a Bengali-style dish of leeks, celery, green lentils and other vegetables that is mildly spiced and supposedly dates back to the Mughlai cuisine of the Mughal emperors. Whatever; it's easy and delicious and if you have leftovers, it's interesting enough to be served as a curry in its own right with a rice or naan bread.

There are a few points to note about this accompanying dish. For example, butternut squash is rather sweet, thus the aim is it to balance it with a dish that's not too sweet. This is the reason I use very few small tomatoes and also why I have cut the carrots into very fine strips using a chef's tool that is a bit like a handheld spiralizer. Essentially the carrots and tomatoes are there for a bit of colour (and to give a bit of crunch in the case of the carrots) rather than being strong flavours in the dish. However, if I do the tandoori masala version with celeriac or aubergine, I usually use more carrots and cut them into larger julienne-style strips to make the dish slightly more sweet.

This "curry" cooks relatively quickly—approx. 25 to 30mins—and you really don't want to overcook it. All the vegetables need to be fully cooked but some—such as the carrots, lentils and celery—should still be slightly al dente when ready. Your guiding principle is the sauce. When it's thickened enough but has not entirely cooked down into the ingredients, the dish is ready to be served. Leaving it to simmer while you wait for your butternut will make it soggy. So, you will need to time it with your roasting to get it just right.

Then there is the matter of "mild curry powder". This generic term spread around the world as the popular 19th-century press taught British housewives (or cook) to serve exotic dishes from the far flung reaches of the empire. So-called "mild curry powder" (which actually contains no curry leaves) made it's way to practically every British colony and even ended up the stand-out factor in the infamous German currywurst, over which people still argue as to whether it was invented in Hamburg or Berlin.

The reality however, is that probably only the word "mild" has any meaning. Sure, there are the usual suspects you'll find in almost every brand of mild curry powder—coriander, cumin, chilli powder—but that's about it. No two are alike and, indeed, what goes into them often reflects where they're being sold. For example, Caribbean brands of mild curry powder often contain cayenne, which is seldom found in brands in European markets.

This is the reason I used to always grind my own for this dish or doctor readily available versions on the market. I say "used to" because I learned a while back that Sainsbury's Mild Curry Powder from their Inspired to Cook range already contains four spices I think essential for this dish: mace, cloves, star anise and cassia. Cassia—also known as Chinese cinnamon—adds a wonderful depth. It's also a bark ingredient but without the sweetness of cinnamon.

Now I just use this Sainsbury's curry powder. And, if I don't have any, I do what I did before: use another readily available Madras mild curry powder and add a stick of cassia bark, two star anise, some cloves and a little mace to the dish during cooking.

This dish is so mild that I add a hot red bird's eye chilli, just to give it that little bump of spiciness. But, if you really are afraid of chillies, you can always leave it out.

These quantities serve 2 to 3 diners, easily adapted for more diners. Leftovers with store well in the fridge for a few days but I find that neither dish is really well suited to freezing.

3 top tips to get this recipe right:

• Once you've basted your butternut squash (or alternative) marinade it for at least 3 hours. Then it will take 30 to 40 minutes to cook in the oven. You can use any appropriately thick cuts of the butternut squash, but I prefer to cut them in a way that makes use of (part of) the natural hollow where you find the seeds. The marinade tends to pool here meaning that you end up with a nice contrast between the crusted cooked marinade on the flat surfaces and a more "spongy" result a bit like spicy melted cheese in the hollows

• For the leek and celery dish, it is important that you cook the sliced onions on a medium heat and wait until they are properly browned and caramelising before adding further ingredients. Without the special something that the caramelising brings, it can remain a little bland

• If you are absolutely confident of your timing, there is no reason you cannot directly cook the green lentils in the leek and celery dish itself. However, I prefer to pre-cook them because you'll have a problem if your lentils are undercooked or the liquid has already reduced too much and the dish and sauce are optimally good to go

Shopping list

for vegetarian tandoori masala butternut squash

• ½ a large butternut squash; skin on but scrubbed, seeds and sinews removed

• ¼ brown onion (or red), very finely chopped

• 4 or 5 tbspns full-fat Greek-style yoghurt

• 2 tspns peanut oil (or sunflower oil)

• 1 or 2 hot red bird’s eye chilli (optional), deseeded and chopped

• A clutch of fresh coriander, very finely chopped

• Salt and pepper

• Tandoori masala spice mix OR

• 2 tspn garam masala

• 1 tspn ground coriander

• 1 tspn amchoor (mango powder)

• 2 tspns mild chilli powder

• 1 tspn smoked paprika powder

• 1 tspn fenugreek seeds

• 2 star anise

• 1 tspn cloves

• 4 black cardamom pods

• 1 tspn black peppercorns

• ½ tspn turmeric powder

• ½ tspn salt

• 3 cloves of garlic, puréed

for Bengali-style leek and celery dish

• 1¾ brown onions, sliced. (You used the other quarter in the marinade)

• 1 large leek, sliced

• ¼ cup green lentils, cooked and drained

• 2 or 3 sticks of celery; sliced vertically, then cut into batons

• 7 or 8 very ripe cherry tomatoes (or other small tomatoes), halved

• 2 medium carrots, sliced into very thin strips

• 1 large mild red chilli, sliced

• 1 hot red bird's eye chilli, deseeded and sliced

• A generous clutch of flat leaf parsley, chopped

• 3 tspns mild curry powder

• 1 tspn turmeric

• 1 tspn caraway seeds

• 1 tspn fennel seeds

• 1 tspn garam masala

• juice and pulp of 1 small fresh lime

• 2 fresh bay leaves (or dried)

• A small clutch of fresh mint

• Approx. 60g creamed coconut, dissolved in 1 cup of boiling water

• 1 tspn whole black peppercorns

• 2 tspns garlic & ginger paste

• 3 green cardamom pods

• salt and pepper

Cooking method

the tandoori masala butternut squash

1. Create your marinade first by mixing the yoghurt, oil, finely chopped onion and coriander, the chopped bird's eye chilli with the spice mix. If creating your own spice mix, start by grinding the whole spice ingredients in a spice mill or with a pestle and mortar. Then mix with the ground spices before mixing into the marinade

2. Cut your butternut squash into the size and shape of your preferred segments. Place into a container, skin side up. Baste liberally with the marinade, then turn and baste all other facets liberally. Cover and store in the fridge together with any excess marinade for at least 3 hours

3. Place the butternut squash, skin side up, in a non-stick baking tray or ceramic oven-proof dish. NB: you do not need to grease the pan, but very lightly rub a little oil onto the tray if it is not non-stick or ceramic. Season with salt and pepper

4. Cook at the centre of an oven preheated to 225°C for about 15mins. Remove from the oven and gently turn the butternut squash over. Gravity will ensure that some of the marinade has slid off into the pan. Re-baste the internal facets of the squash, now facing upwards, and return to the oven and dry-roast for another 15 to 20mins. By now the flesh should be fully cooked—test by pushing a fork into it to see it is slides in without resistance—and the marinade should be crisped, slightly blackened. If not, return to the oven until cooked. As soon as it is done, turn off the oven and allow it to rest while you complete the other parts of the meal. At the same time, place the naan breads in the oven to warm

the Bengali-style leeks and celery

1. In a kadai or large, deep frying pan with a lid, heat the oil on a medium heat. Add the garlic & ginger paste, all of the whole spices and 2 tspns of the mild curry powder while the oil is heating. When the spices release their aromas and the paste begins to sizzle, add the sliced onions and thoroughly stir. Immediately add the chopped red chillies and stir them in. Sauté, stirring frequently until the onions brown and begin to caramelise. If the pan becomes too dry before they do, add a little water, barely a couple of tbspns at a time, to prevent sticking

2. Add the celery and stir in, still stirring frequently. When the celery starts to turn glassy, add the leeks. They will take no more then a few minutes to soften as you stir. As soon as they do, add the tomatoes and stir in so they come into contact with the relatively dry pan and their juices are released

3. Sprinkle the remaining mild curry powder and the turmeric over the top of the ingredients, pausing briefly for their aromas to release. Then stir in and add boiling water to the pan; about half a cup—your want the ingredients roughly half-submerged. Allow the liquid to come to a healthy simmer, then add the flat leaf parsley, mint and bay leaves and gently stir in. Reduce the heat so that the liquid is only very gently simmering. Cover and simmer for 7 or 8 mins

4. Add the green lentils and stir in fully, slightly increasing the heat to simmer a little more heartily. Simmer the ingredients for another 5mins with the lid off

5. Add the carrot strips. If the liquid has almost fully cooked off and been absorbed by the lentils, add approx. 1 cup of boiling water and stir in. Don't worry about it seeming too liquid: it will reduce fairly quickly with the lid off

6. When the carrot strips are cooked but still a little al dente, sprinkle in the tspn of garam masala and stir in. After a minute or so, it should be ready. Taste the sauce. It should be fairly thin, creamy and not taste "watery". If it does, simmer for a few more minutes to reduce a little further

7. Remove from the heat and allow to rest for a minute or so before plating with the butternut squash and serving with warm naan breads

Alternatives

This is intrinsically a vegetarian dish. The elephant in the room for a vegan version is the yoghurt, an intrinsic part of a tandoori masala marinade. The only time I ever made the butternut squash using a vegan "yoghurt", the results were ceremoniously horrible. That, however, was a long time ago and there might now be new plant-based yoghurts on the market that would work well. I simply don't know them and have not cooked with them, so can't comment. The leek dish, however, it fully vegan.

I've never made a meat or pescatarian tandoori masala in this way. How I approach those dishes and the accompaniments with which I serve them are different enough to warrant a recipe in their own right. Watch this space...

Pairings

I'm still on my binge of non-alcoholic fruit and herb infused water. So on this occasion I had it with and iced infusion with lime, mint and celery, which was great.

The depth of the tikka masala flavours makes this another of those dishes that can work equally well with both red and white wines. While I cannot recall many specific wines, I do know that I have definitely enjoyed it with my go-to curry white wine, those thuggish South African chenin blancs able to take on a curry and, in particular, Nederburg The Winemaster's Chenin Blanc, ostensibly a respectable, workaday supermarket wine, but with a definite note of coconut that works very well here and that pepperiness that many of the chenin blancs from this winery have.

On the red front, while I'm not generally a fan of shiraz, I remember enjoying this dish with various Australian shiraz wines on a number of occasions, though I can't specifically recall which.

But hey, it is "curry", so we'd be remiss to not consider beer whether a cold IPA or something like Corona Extra, born of another culture that drinks beer with spicy food.