Squash Curry with Yellow Basmati Rice, Curry Leaf Tarka and Lime with a Wine Pairing

Marjorie’s Wine Pairing

Wine and curry .. a tricky story!

In class, when it comes to discussing spice (chilli heat) and beverage options with my students, I would ask them: “What do people usually drink with a curry?” and in unison, they’d reply “Beer!” – and they would be right!

Spicy food is notoriously difficult to match with wine. Dishes tend to be complex in terms of flavours and sensations, and the heat of the chilli can really clash with some of the taste sensations found in wine, especially tannins (found in red wines) and alcohol.

Therefore, I would avoid any sort of big, tannic and boozy reds (14% abv and above), such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec or some Italian varieties like Nebbiolo. Absolute disaster with that sort of dish sadly!

But fear not, I do have THE wine that will work a treat up my sleeve!

Dr Loosen ‘L’ Riesling from the Mosel region in Germany (available on Ocado) in my opinion ticks all the boxes: its acidity and freshness will cool down the heat of the chilli, the slight residual sugar will match the natural sweetness of the coconut milk, and the fragrant nature of the Riesling grape will work perfectly with all the different aromatics of the dish. And it’s only 8.5% abv – almost guilt free!

I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I do! If in doubt, a nice cool lager will do very well too!

Squash Curry with Yellow Basmati Rice, Curry Leaf Tarka and Lime

400g seasonal squash, cut into wedges

½ tsp cumin seeds 

½ tsp mustard seeds 

Curry base 

2 tbsp coconut oil 

2 large shallots, diced 

20g coriander, leaves picked for garnish, stems diced for curry base 

600g seasonal squash, cut into 3cm cubes 

30g fresh ginger, finely diced 

4-5 tbsp red curry paste  

1 tbsp curry powder  

400g coconut milk 

250g vegetable or chicken stock 

1-2tbsp fish sauce or 2 tsp vegan fish sauce 

1-2 tbsp palm sugar 

75g kale, picked 

Yellow rice  

150g basmati rice, rinsed 

1 onion, finely diced 

25g butter or flora plant based butter and 1 tbsp water 

Salt 

½ tsp turmeric powder 

Water, × 1½ the volume of rice  

Tarka 

50ml vegetable oil 

15g Fresh curry leaves 

1 tbsp yellow mustard seeds 

1 tbsp cumin seeds 

100g cashews, toasted and crushed 

1 tsp maldon sea salt 

To garnish 

1 lime, cut into wedges 

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180C, fan. 

2. Place the squash wedges into a roasting tray, drizzle with oil and sea salt and roast in the oven until beginning to soften and caramelised. Add in the seeds and toss to coat evenly and continue to roast until tender and fully caramelised. 

3. For the curry base, Heat the coconut oil in a large, deep pan over a medium high heat. Add the shallots and sauté them for 5-6 minutes or until they just begin to get golden. Add the butternut squash, coriander stalks and ginger, stir to coat with the oil. 

4. Add the red curry paste, yellow curry powder and stir until all the butternut squash is nicely coated. Continue to cook the curry paste for 2-3 minutes until fragrant. Add the stock, coconut milk, fish sauce, lime leaves and palm sugar. Let the sauce come to a simmer. Lower the heat and allow the squash to cook all the way through, about 15-20 minutes. You’ll know it’s done when you can easily pierce the butternut 

5. squash with the tip of a knife. Stir in the kale for the last 1-2 minutes of cooking. 

6. For the rice, heat the butter and water in a small saucepan and add the onion and a pinch of salt. Cover with a cartouche and lid and sweat gently until soft. 

7. Place the rice into a small cup to measure its volume. The amount of water you need to cook the rice in will be × 1½ its volume. As a guide or if you want to check, 150g of rice will need 225ml of water. 

8. Once sweated, remove the cartouche and lid from the onions and add in the rice and the turmeric. Stir well to evenly coat the rice grains.  

9. Add in the water and a little salt. Bring to a simmer, stir gently and then cover with a lid. Reduce the heat to very low and allow the rice to cook slowly for 10 minutes.  

10. Turn the heat off and leave the rice to sit, still covered, for a further 5 minutes before serving.  

11. For the tarka, heat the oil in the pan then add all of the ingredients allowing the spices to infuse into the oil and the curry leaves to become crispy. Remove from the heat and serve straight away with the curry. 

Serve the curry with the rice, topped with the cashews, coriander leaves, and lime wedges.