Name: Basmati saffron rice, butternut squash, tomato, cucumber and tamarind
Yield: For 6 as a starter or 4 as a main course
Ingredients: 1 red onion, thinly sliced; 1 small bunch coriander (cilantro), leaves picked off, stalks cut into 5 mm (¼ in.) lengths; 2 tsp sugar; ½ tsp finely grated lime zest; 200 g (7 oz./1 cup) basmati rice, rinsed and drained; 20 curry leaves; 600 g (1 lb. 1 oz.) butternut squash, peeled and deseeded; 5 cm (2 in.) cinnamon stick; 2 tbsp lime juice; 4 tomatoes; 1 small cucumber, thinly sliced; 2 green cardamom pods, crushed flat, black seeds removed and husks discarded; 2 tbsp vegetable oil; 1 tsp mustard seeds; 3 tbsp tamarind paste; 2 pinches saffron threads

Preparation info

For
6
as a starter as a main course

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Savour

By Peter Gordon

Published 2016

About

Basmati rice is a most delicious thing, but you can also use Thai Jasmine rice or flavoursome red Camargue rice, though you’ll have less noticeable effect from the saffron in the latter. Tamarind paste ranges from very sour and sharp to more mellow. I always make my own by soaking tamarind pulp (a compressed brown and fibrous sticky mixture, available in Asian supermarkets) in warm water for 10 minutes, before breaking it up with my fingers and rubbing it through a coarse sieve. It’s not al