Curry With Chicken And Butternut Squash

I haven't posted a recipe for a while; the last one was last year, about three months ago, when I was cooking mushrooms. Now it's time for something new. Today, it's a curry with chicken and butternut squash.

Now, I must confess up front that I've never tried to cook a curry before because it's not a habit here. In our traditional home cooking, stews and goulashes are cooked, which seems to me to be the most similar to curry in how it is prepared.
However, I have noticed a lot of curry recipes in our country lately. This cuisine is coming to us, and we should try it, so it is more of a challenge.

I know that curry can be a very versatile dish. Still, as this is my first attempt, I apologize to all Indian chefs (because they have the longest tradition) and everyone else if I have not done something right or if it's not the proper curry. Maybe I added something that doesn't go with it, but let's call it a local addition :)
Without the chicken, this dish would be vegetarian.

I hope it will be better next time. And if you have any suggestions for improvement, please direct me in the comments.

Ingredients for 4-5 persons.

1 small butternut squash (this one is from the home garden)
30 dkg chicken thighs, cut into pieces, boneless, which I marinated with smoked paprika, turmeric and salt
2 carrots
1 green pepper
1 small tomato
2 small onions
1 potato tuber
2 stalks of celeriac
2 stems of baby onions
a few cloves of garlic
3 decilitres of tomato sauce
3 decilitres of coconut milk
spices - one teaspoon each: red and green curry paste, turmeric, garam masala mix, pimento, white pepper, cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, curry powder
salt and black pepper if necessary

I washed and cut everything into pieces of different sizes while the chicken meat was marinating.
First, the pumpkin is the star of the dish. It's a pumpkin from my field, but I have to use it up because I have four more: three butternuts and one Hokkaido.
It will be here by spring.

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And then there's everything else.

Now I have everything ready to cook.

First, I heat a tablespoon of oil in a large pot and add the chicken meat. I stir and fry for a few minutes to give it a slight crust. Then, I take the chicken pieces out and put them in another pot.

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I add the onion and garlic to the pot, stirring and frying for a few minutes. Then, a teaspoon of green and red curry paste.

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Continue stirring to dissolve the paste. By the way, I had Thai curry paste, not some original Indian curry paste. You can't get it locally; you'd have to go to a specialized Indian food shop in Ljubljana, but that's OK, too, I think.
After a few minutes, I add the rest of the vegetables and a teaspoon of the other spices.

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I kept stirring, and when the liquid had almost evaporated, I returned the chicken to the pot and added coconut milk and 2 decilitres of water.
Maybe I added too much water because it turned out like some minestrone? Ah, whatever it is, it is.

I covered the pot with curry and let it simmer over low heat, then prepared the water for the rice in another pot.

I had long-grain parboiled rice at home, which does not spoil and is different from the Italian ones we use for risotto - two coffee cups.

When the water came to a boil, I added a teaspoon of salt, added the rice, turned the heat down to low, and let it boil slowly. I read somewhere that rice can also be cooked in curry, but for the first time, I decided to cook it separately.

After 15 minutes, I turned it off because the rice had consumed all the water and was cooked. I let it stand for a few more minutes to prevent it from becoming al dente.

The curry has been cooked. The vegetables are soft. But it seems too runny.
But curries are different :) 😀

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Now, I need to serve.

It was excellent. The flavors were rich and not too extreme. The sweetness of the pumpkin, the slightly hot curry, the hints of coconut, and the other vegetables were delicious.
Others were impressed, too, so something similar will be on the menu.

Thank you for your attention!

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Latest year recipes: Mushroom Stew With Polenta, How To Prepare Melanfungi, Chicken Wraps, Frittasparagus, Like Caesar's salad, Roasted And Stuffed Pumpkin, Stewed Turnip With Mushrooms.

You can also find some interesting recipes in my older cooking ventures :)

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