Butternut Squash & Green Bean Coconut Curry

Spicewalla Team 9/22/2026

"I came up with this dish during the pandemic lockdown as a one-pot meal that gets better as it sits in the fridge. It truly captures how I like to cook at home—making foods that are familiar and comfortable where I currently live, cooked through the lens of where I come from. In the case of this recipe, that means the Indian truck stops of my youth, where meals tended to be hearty, simple one-pot creations not suffocated by the rich fats and spices of fancier locales. My American wife and daughter say this is possibly their favorite dish in this book.

This delicious all-purpose curry base is perfect for cooking pretty much any variety of vegetable that can stand up to being simmered in a sauce—cauliflower florets, carrots, corn, beans, potatoes, dark leafy greens, mushrooms, bell peppers, and so on (this is why I like keeping a variety of frozen veggies in my freezer). If you’re the meat-eating type, it also works wonderfully with any mild, flaky fish, or with shrimp or shreds of leftover rotisserie chicken.

It’s worth noting here that sauces made without butter or cream freeze particularly well. This is one of the few “curries” in this book where you can make a big batch of the sauce and, before adding vegetables or protein, stick it in the freezer for a rainy day. You can add in the ingredients of choice when you’re ready to eat."

Recipe & excerpt by Meherwan Irani, from The No. 1 Best Indian Cookbook in the World

Ingredients
3 tablespoons neutral oil, such as grapeseed
1 teaspoon brown mustard seed
3 or 4 fresh or dried curry leaves (optional)
½ teaspoon hing (optional)
1 (2-inch) knob of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1½ tablespoons Ginger-Garlic Paste
2 cups diced red onion (about 2 large onions)
Kosher salt
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 cups canned crushed tomatoes, or 2 large Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 (13.5-ounce) can full-fat coconut milk
1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
3 cups peeled, cubed butternut squash (from a 2-to 2½-pound squash)
2 cups green beans, ends trimmed, cut in half
Cilantro, for garnish (optional)
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Preparation
Serves 4.
In a large heavy-bottomed pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add the mustard seeds; when they start to wiggle and pop, turn the heat down to medium to avoid burning. (Make sure the oil is hot enough that the mustard seeds actually start to pop, otherwise they’re not flavoring the oil!)
Add the curry leaves and hing (if using). Bring the heat back up to medium-high, add the ginger, and cook, stirring often, until aromatic, about 1 minute. Add the ginger-garlic paste and fry until the paste is starting to brown, another minute or so. Lower the heat to medium and stir in the onions and ½ teaspoon salt.
Cooking the onions in a certain way really matters. This step takes time and patience, and it may require finessing the heat level. Stir the onions into the oil frequently but not constantly, keeping them in an even layer. Make sure they’re sizzling but not scorching, melting into each other and not frying. As the water cooks out of the onions, they will eventually start to resemble a marmalade with a rich bourbon color. This is good! The goal is to get the onions so jammy and reduced that they almost become one with the sauce (as opposed to being an ingredient in the sauce). Keep an eye on the heat; if the onions are starting to crisp on the edges, turn the heat down and add a teaspoon or two of water to stop the frying. Once the onions have hit the state described above, about 10 minutes, add the turmeric and tomatoes and cook, stirring frequently, until the tomatoes are glossy and the oil starts to separate at the edges, about 10 minutes.
Add the coconut milk and stock and stir. Taste for seasoning and adjust the salt if necessary. (If you’re planning on freezing the curry sauce for later use, now is the time to do that.)
Add the squash and simmer until tender, 7 to 10 minutes, then add the green beans and simmer until tender, stirring occasionally, 3 to 5 minutes. The finished curry should be the consistency of a bisque. Taste and adjust the seasoning, garnish with cilantro if you like, and serve hot with rice.
Leftover curry keeps, tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.