I had the idea in my head that tamarind sauce would go really well with butternut squash. It does but then my idea grew into what I made here. It’s full of tangy, sweet, sour, spicy and verdant…….It’s DELICIOUS! It isn’t an authentic Indian dish but it might be considered to be Indian Style with Indian flavors. There are many components to this dish. You might want to only do some parts of the recipe (but it won’t be as good). Just so you know you need to do the pickled shallots a few days in advance so they have time to pickle. My idea of serving size might differ from your idea of serving size. For me this makes around four side dishes for dinners.

Ingredients for around 4 servings.

2 shallots – peeled, sliced thin (pickled shallots this needs to be made at least a day before but a few days is better)

1 Tablespoon sugar (for pickled shallots)

1 teaspoon kosher salt (for pickled shallots)

3/4 cup mixed citrus juice (for pickled shallots. I was a little short on my limes so I added one lemon and one orange but it was mostly lime)

1 – medium butternut squash – peeled, membrane and seeds removed, cut in 1/2 inch slices.

3 Tablespoons canola oil (to cook squash)

2 oz unsalted butter (to cook squash)

2 Tablespoons cumin seeds (to cook squash)

sea salt to taste (to season squash)

ground black pepper to taste (to season squash)

3 oz cilantro – leaves and only the tender parts of stems – chopped (for cilantro sauce)

1 serrano chili – chopped (for cilantro sauce)

1/8 cup lime juice (for cilantro sauce)

2 teaspoons honey (for cilantro sauce)

2 teaspoons sugar (for cilantro sauce)

1/4 teaspoon sea salt (for cilantro sauce)

some water to thin (for cilantro sauce)

3 1/2 oz concentrated tamarind (for tamarind sauce)

1 cup water – boiled (for tamarind sauce)

4 Tablespoons pure maple syrup – honey or date syrup is fine too (for tamarind sauce)

1/2 lime – just the juice – (for tamarind sauce)

1 15oz can chick peas – preferably reduced sodium – drained and rinsed three times (Indian spiced chick peas)

1 Tablespoon canola oil (Indian spiced chick peas)

1 teaspoon ground coriander (Indian spiced chick peas)

1 teaspoon ground cumin (Indian spiced chick peas)

1/2 teaspoon turmeric (Indian spiced chick peas)

1/4 teaspoon cayenne (Indian spiced chick peas)

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper (Indian spiced chick peas)

1/2 teaspoon sea salt (Indian spiced chick peas)

1/2 cup toasted coconut

Directions

Make the pickled shallots. (this should be done at least one day before but would be better a few days before.

In a small zip lock bag add the shallots, juices, sugar and salt. Squish it all around so everything is mixed up together. Put bag in a small container so the juice is all around the shallots. This container needs to be refrigerated. Use when ready.

Make cilantro sauce.

Cilantro, serrano, lime juice, honey, sugar, salt gets blended together. You might need to add water to smooth it down. This needs to be refrigerated. Use when ready.

Make tamarind sauce.

The boiling hot water goes in a bowl with the concentrated tamarind. You need to let this sit together for a few minutes to soften up the tamarind. Add the maple syrup, lime juice. This mixture gets pushed threw a fine strainer. (toss out all the stuff left in strainer. Heat the strained mixture up in a pan on medium heat. Reduce to desired consistency. Set to the side. When cooled to room temperature either use or keep refrigerated until ready to use.

Cook up butternut squash.

Turn oven to 400 degrees F.

You can start your pan on medium/high with the canola oil, butter, cumin seeds and cayenne. You will need to turn down just a tiny bit over medium and fry the squash till browned and cooked on each side. Timing will differ depending on a bunch of things. Mine took about ten minutes a side. If you accidentally under-cooked your squash you can always finish it in the oven.

Make the Indian Spiced Chick Peas (while you are cooking the squash)

In a medium bowl combine the chick peas, canola oil, coriander, cumin, turmeric, cayenne, black pepper, salt. Mix well. Spread out on sheet tray. Depending on the texture you like they need at least 15 minutes to be nice and cooked. Or up to 30 minutes for a slightly crisp texture.

Put everything out on a platter and sauces on the side.

Top with toasted coconut. If you need to test the coconut you need to spread it out on a sheet pan in a pre-heated 325 degree F oven. The coconut gets down pretty fast. Mine only took 5 minutes but sometimes they do take longer.

Enjoy!