This warm and rich vegetarian stew with roasted butternut squash and green beans is a staple at chef Meherwan Irani’s dinner table. At home, he likes to make double or triple batches of the coconut milk curry (see his recipe for All-Purpose Coconut Curry here) and freeze it in two-cup portions. Then, when he’s ready for dinner, all he has to do is reheat the prepared curry and roast some squash. If you want to prepare this recipe with premade curry, bring two cups curry to a gentle simmer in a saucepan over medium-low heat, then add the roasted squash and cut green beans and simmer until the squash is warmed through and the green beans are tender.
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What you’ll need
Rimmed Baking Sheet
$32 At Amazon
Dutch Oven
$133 $80 At Amazon
Vegetable Peeler
$12 $10 At Amazon
Recipe information
Yield
4 servings
Ingredients
Squash
½
2
2
½
Curry and Assembly
3
1
3–4
½
1
5
1
1
1
1
2
6
Preparation
Squash
Step 1
Preheat oven to 400°. Toss squash, oil, brown sugar, and salt in a medium bowl to coat. Spread out in a single layer on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet and roast until fork-tender, 30–35 minutes. Set aside.
Curry and Assembly
Step 2
Heat grapeseed oil in a medium Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium-high. Add a few mustard seeds to pot. When seeds start to wiggle and pop, reduce heat to medium and add curry leaves (if using), asafetida (if using), and remaining mustard seeds. Cover pot and cook spices, swirling, until mustard seeds start popping more gradually, about 30 seconds. Uncover pot and return heat to medium-high. Add ginger and garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until beginning to brown, about 1 minute. Add red onion and a big pinch of salt. Cook, stirring often and reducing heat if needed to prevent burning , until onion is golden brown and jammy, 7–9 minutes.
Step 3
Stir in turmeric, then tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring often, until tomatoes are glossy and darkened in color and oil starts to separate around edges of pot, 5–7 minutes.
Step 4
Add coconut milk and broth and stir to combine; season with salt. Bring curry to a simmer, then reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, 10 minutes.
Step 5
Add green beans and reserved squash to curry. Return to a gentle simmer and cook until green beans are tender, 7–10 minutes. (If curry gets too thick, add a splash of hot water; curry should have consistency of heavy cream.) Taste and season with more salt if needed.
Step 6
Ladle stew into bowls and top with fried onions and cilantro. Serve with rice and lime wedges for squeezing over.
Do Ahead: Curry can be made 5 days ahead. Let cool, then transfer to an airtight container and chill.
How would you rate Butternut Squash and Green Bean Stew?
Leave a Review
Reviews (37)
Back to TopI give it 4.5 stars. Really good base with the asafoetida, etc. I have made this a couple of times and I like it with more heat (at least an extra chili) and like it with an added 1/2 tsp each of ground coriander and cumin. Another riiff is with a couple of tablespoons of a hot curry powder. Verstile base. I just happen to love the mox of the curry leaves and asafoetida
A Cook from Buffalo
Buffalo, NY
1/27/2024
This is a great recipe base with lots of room for flexibility. The roasted squash and coconut milk cook together and create a really nice light-but-not-thin texture for the broth. I took the advice of reviewers and went heavy on spices, adding garam masala. I unfortunately didn't have any curry leaves or asafetida, but did have some chickpeas and kale that were nice additions. Highly recommend the lime squeeze at the end!
Mary R
10/3/2022
Delicious. Once you add some chile peppers and extra spices. I also added some roasted red bell pepper for some added depth of flavor
Anonymous
USA
5/17/2022
Made this with purple cabbage subbed for green beans because that’s what we had/is in season and it was incredible! Will 100% make again.
Grace K
Berkeley, CA
1/26/2022
I wish I'd re-read the notes about adding more spices to this stew. As written, the stew added up to less than the sum of its parts. Also, a tip for the unwary: mustard seeds pop just like popcorn in the hot oil. Have that lid ready to cover those little leaping seeds!
Kirsten
Woodland Park, NJ
1/16/2022
It was wonderful once I added cumin, cinnamon, Aleppo pepper, and Kashimiri pepper. Otherwise, it was bland. It just needed a little heat and more aromatics. No doubt this could be made with other vegetables and also lentils and beans. Served over rice. It was a hit.
Barbara
Soho
1/5/2022
So good, with a bit of added heat. Added some baked tofu (done at the same time as the squash), exchanged the green beans for peas, and added hot curry powder instead of leaves and added some chili paste for warmth. But otherwise done as-is and it is really good!
Vegfam01
Detroit MI
10/28/2021