Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Butternut squash upkari/stir-fry

My kids have liked butternut squash since babies. I used to generally boil them with salt and give it to them with a little butter. To add a little more flavor and to get them into mainstream eating and reduced cooking for me, :) ) I often make upkaris ( stir-fry ) for them. I decided to make butternut squash the way they make pumpkin upkari back home. And it came out delicious! The kids loved it!




Servings: 4

Ingredients:


Butternut Squash :1 medium
Mustard: 1/4 tsp
Chana dal : 1/2 tsp(optional)
Green chili: 1
Asofoetida ( hing): pinch
Coconut oil: 1 tsp. ( you can use any cooking oil of your preference, I use coconut oil in mine).
Jaggery(molasses)/ sugar:1 tsp
Salt to taste.
Fresh grated coconut: 1 tbsp ( optional).

Method:


Peel the butternut squash and dice it into 2 cm cubes and keep aside. Slit the green chillies and keep aside.

Heat a sauté pan/ wok on medium heat,add 1 tsp coconut oil. Now add the mustard seeds. Once the mustard seeds splutter, add the chana dal, then the slit green chillies. Sauté for a minute until the chana dal turns a little golden color.Now add the diced butternut squash & sauté.Add asofoetida( hing), a little bit of salt and 1tsp sugar. Reduce the flame to low, cover the pan and cook until the vegetable is soft enough to eat. Generally takes about 15 minutes. Ensure that you check in between to see if it is cooked. You do not want it to turn into mush!

Garnish with freshly grated coconut. Serve with rice & rasam or dal. You can eat it just like that too.



Cooking made easy:


  • This upkari ( stir-fry) can also be made with other types of squash like Acorn or Calabash. 
  • The easiest way to cut squash is to first peel it with a regular peeler. The outside skin is tough but the inside is soft and easy to cut.

Tip for healthy living:


Incorporate colors and variety in your diet. Every single day try to eat at least 4-6 different colors of fruits and vegetables. This will automatically ensure that you get the adequate amount of the daily requirement of your vitamins and minerals NATURALLY! 


Food for thought:


Rome was not built in a day ( John Heywood).


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