This roast squash lentil curry is ridiculously easy to make.

Be warned though… it’s also ridiculously tasty! So you’ll probably feel like you have cheated haha.

The hardest part of this recipe is peeling and chopping the squash. But once you’ve done that then all you need to is toss it with salt, black pepper and the lightest touch of oil (optional), then let it roast in the oven.

Is it best to roast your squash?

It makes a delicious difference to the outcome of your curry if you roast your squash first. If you don’t have an oven, you could just boil or steam your squash if you really want and it’ll still be nice. 

Roasting your butternut squash takes the flavour to a whole new level of deliciousness. We are talking alchemy of flavours. Roasting squash deepens the sweet tones through  a process called caramelisation. Caramelisation basically happens when the squash is heated above a certain temperature. At that stage the natural sugar molecules in the squash break down to deepen the flavour with a kind of caramel tone.

The roasting process is almost effortless, and makes the world of difference.

Red split lentils cook quickly

I love using red split lentils in this curry, because they cook quickly and fall apart to create a creamy base.

Red lentils not only have had their outer skin removed, but they have also been split in half. This has the benefit of speeding up the cooking time, compared to other lentils.

Unlike some other legumes and lentil, there is no need to soak your lentils prior to cooking.

Red split lentils are high in protein

I also love that lentils are a high protein plant-based food. Red lentils contain a whopping 25g of protein per 100g, making them an excellent addition to any healthy balanced diet.

If you serve rice with your  roast squash and lentil curry, you’ll also create a complete protein meal, with all of the amino acids required for human health.

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EASY roast squash & lentil curry

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

A delicious, easy roast squash and lentil recipe using red split lentils.

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Ingredients

• 200g (1 cup) red split lentils
• 300ml (1 1/4 cups) water
• 650g (approximately) butternut squash (23oz)
• Sprinkle of sea salt and black pepper
• 2 teaspoons olive oil (or any oil)
• 1 can (400ml) tomatoes
• ½ to 1 teaspoon chilli from a jar
• 1 heaped teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 inch cubed fresh ginger
• ½ to 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 200g frozen peas
• Handful fresh parsley

Instructions

Roast your squash first

1. Please watch my video first for a super quick visual guide on how to make this.
2. Peel the skin off your squash with a good vegetable peeler (I swear by OXO peelers in my kitchen). 
3. Slice the squash in half and discard any seeds.
4. Chop into cubes, as evenly as possible. I go for around 1.5cm (half an inch) cubed. Slightly larger is fine.
5. Toss the cubed squash on to a large baking tray.
6. Sprinkle on a generous amount of salt and pepper and a super light drizzle of oil.
7. Mix together on the try and spread the cubes so that there are gaps inbetween to assist the roasting process.
8. Put in a pre-heated oven at 200C to 220C (390F to 425F) for about 25 minutes, or until the squash starts to tan and you can easily pierce it with a fork.

In the meantime, make the rest of the curry

1. Rinse your lentils through a few times to remove any excess starch. This is an optional process, although I usually do it.
2. Finely grate your ginger.
3. After rinsing add your water, tomato, chilli, cinnamon, grated ginger, sea salt.
4. Mix everything together thoroughly whilst bringing the contents of your pan to the boil. Mixing at this stage stops the lentils sticking to the bottom of the pan or sticking together. 
5. Once it has come to the boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for a further 20 minutes. Stir occasionally.
6. In the meantime  chop your parsley.

Bringing your roast squash lentil curry together

1. Once the lentils and roast squash have cooked, add in the frozen peas parsley and mix thoroughly bringing back to the boil. 
2. Your curry is now ready to enjoy!
3. Let me know how you get on.
   
   
   
   
   

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