Close X
Friday, November 22, 2024
ADVT 
Food

Balti Baked Squash with Feta, Tomato & Mint

By Chef Anjali Pathak, 19 Oct, 2017
    Baked butternut squash rubbed with balti spices, filled with salty feta, sweet sundried tomatoes, and fresh mint. This is a great veggie dish that is filling and packs a lot of flavour. There is no such recipe for balti as it actually means the cooking pot the dish is cooked in rather than a particular spice mix. However, across the world you can find balti spice blends and they typically contain the spices I have used in this recipe, and so I have called it Balti Baked Squash more for the spices rather than a balti dish.
     
     
    Serves 4 
     
    Prep Time: 5 minutes
    Cook Time: 1 hour
     

    Ingredients

     
    • 2 butternut squash, cut in half lengthways and seeds removed
    • 1 tsp cumin seeds
    • ½ tsp coriander seeds
    • ½ tsp black peppercorns
    • ½ tsp chilli flakes
    • 1 tsp garam masala
    • 1 tbsp vegetable oil or light olive oil
    • 50 g spinach, roughly chopped
    • 50 g feta cheese
    • 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
    • 2 tbsp fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
    • 6 sundried tomatoes, roughly chopped
    • Zest and juice of 1 lemon
     
     

    Preparation 

     
    Preheat your oven to 200°C/400°/gas 6. Lay the squash, cut side up on a baking sheet.
     
    Using a pestle and mortar, roughly crush the cumin, coriander, black pepper, and chilli flakes before mixing in the garam masala and oil. Rub all over the squash, especially on the fleshside and bake in the oven for 45 minutes or until you can put a knife through it easily.
     
    In the meantime, make the filling by mixing together the spinach, feta, garlic, mint, sundried tomatoes, and the lemon juice.
     
    When the squash is soft, take it out of the oven and scoop out nearly all the flesh, leaving a 1 cm border around the outside. 
     
    Mix the scooped out squash with the filling and pop it all back into the groove you just carved out. Sprinkle over the lemon zest and roast in the oven for another 10 minutes.
     
    Serve with a delicious crisp salad. 

    MORE Food ARTICLES

    Saag Paneer

    Saag Paneer

    Ingredients • 4 bunches spinach (Palak) washed & finely chopped • Paneer cut into cubes • 2 tablespoons butter • 2 medium onions cut into small pieces • 1 1/2 tablespoons dhaniya powder (coriander powder)

    Thoran - The taste of kerala

    Thoran - The taste of kerala

    This delicious  dish is best served with sambhar, rasam and papad.   INGREDIENTS Bunch of string beans, cubed (or black chick peas) 3 tablespoons cooking oil or coconut oil 1/4 teaspoons black mustard seeds ½…

    Olan a Coconut based Curry recipe

    Olan a Coconut based Curry recipe

    A mildly flavored side dish cooked in coconut milk. Quite similar to Thailand’s famous coconut milk soup, Olan is delicious with steamed rice.

    Lentil Cakes in Cashew and Fennel Curry

    Lentil Cakes in Cashew and Fennel Curry

    A very popular dish for vegetarian people in Bengal. Ingredients For Cake ½ cup of Bengal gram 1 pinch of turmeric Salt to taste 2 Tbsp of oil 1/8 tsp cumin seeds 1 tsp of ginger paste Preparation Soak…

    Savory Raw Jackfruit recipe by Chef Vikram Vij

    Savory Raw Jackfruit recipe by Chef Vikram Vij

    Chef Vikram Vij Shares his Restaurant menu’s  Star item the ‘ Savory Raw Jackfruit’ Recipe with DARPAN readers Raw jackfruit is cooked and eaten as part of a vegetarian meal, whereas…

    Marinated Lamb Popsicles with Fenugreek Cream Curry by Chef Vikram Vij

    Marinated Lamb Popsicles with Fenugreek Cream Curry by Chef Vikram Vij

    This is our signature dish at Vij’s – probably our most famous and most popular. ” Says Vij..” The size of the lamb popsicles will depend on the rack…