Veggie butternut squash, chickpeas and spinach curry with tarka dhal and homemade naan bread

All to say about this combo is that it's simply delicious and perfect for when it's cold or it's raining. It's reviving and revitalising! Absolut perfection of veggie curries:) Based on Allegra McEvdy's recipe published in the guardian: Sweet potato curry

Veggie butternut squash, chickpeas and spinach curry with tarka dhal and homemade naan bread

Ingredients:

Naan
Makes 4
340g of all purpose flour
1 tsp of instant yeast
1tsp sugar
190ml warm water
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp of olive oil
2/3 cup of plain yogurt
Nigella seeds
20g of butter melted

Tarka dhal
3 tbsp of oil
8 cloves of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
4 cardamom pods, crushed seeds removed and the shells discarded
1 tbsp of mixed seeds: coriander, cumin, mustard seeds
250g of green split peas

Curry
400g butternut squash, peeled deseeded and cut into 2cm chunks
400g carrots, peeled and sliced
1 tin of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
200g of fresh spinach
1 tin of coconut milk
3 banana shallots, peeled and chopped
60 ml of oil
1 tbsp turmeric
2 tbsp of mixed curry spice, or make your own using ground spice (except for mustard seeds) as follows: 1tsp cumin, 1 tsp coriander, 1/3 tsp fenugreek, 1/3 tsp chilli powder, 1/3 tsp ginger,1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1, 5 tsp of chilli flakes
squeezed juice of a half a lime

Let's do it:
Start with naan. In a bowl mix warm water with yeast and sugar, leave to stand for 30 minutes until frothy on the top. Add flour, olive oil, yogurt, salt and mix well. The dough is very sticky but try to briefly knead it on a floured surface. Put in a clean oiled bowl and leave to rise for 1-2hours.

Now it's time to get your tarka dhal started. Heat the oil in a pan, add garlic, cardamom seeds and the mix of seeds. Gently fry for a few minutes until golden and stir the split peas coating well in the oil, seeds and garlic. Pour in approx. 700 ml of water, bring to boil and simmer for 1 hour until the water has evaporated and peas are soft.

When tarka dhal is cooking and naan dough is still rising start the curry - heat the oil in a big pan add the chopped shallots and fry for 5 minutes with the lid on. Next add the spices and chilli flakes followed by the carrots and squash stir well to cover vegetables and fry on a high gas until sticks to the bottom. Stir the spinach in, when starts wilting add some salt, chickpeas, coconut milk and mix well. Bring to boil and simmer on a medium gas for up to 30 minutes until carrots and squash are tender. Season well and add the lime juice.

Preheat the oven to 220C (fan assisted) When naan dough has risen and doubled or tripled it's size knocked it down on a lightly floured surface and cut into four balls. Flatten each of four balls using your fingers and shape them into naans. Arrange on a oiled flat baking tray or foil, sprinkle with Nigella seeds and using your fingers gently pat into the dough. Leave to rest on the baking tray for 15 minutes. Bake for 12 minutes until golden brown. Brush with melted butter.
Serve all together in a big bowl with plain yogurt and rice.