Spicy Fragrant Squash & Pistachio Curry With Brown Rice

Preheat the oven to 220°C/ 200°C (fan)/ gas 7 and boil a kettle

Rinse your brown rice, add it to a pot with plenty of cold water and bring to the boil over a high heat

Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium and cook for 20-25 min or until it's tender with a slight bite

Once cooked, drain, return it to the pot and keep covered until serving

Peel and finely dice your brown onion[s]

Peel and chop your garlic and ginger

Cut your green chilli[es] in half lengthways, deseed (scrape the seeds out with a teaspoon) and chop finely

Chop your coriander finely, including the stalks

Heat a large, wide-based pan (preferably non-stick with a matching lid) with a drizzle of vegetable oil over a medium-high heat

Once hot, add the diced onion with a pinch of salt and cook for 3-4 min or until starting to soften

Meanwhile, crush your cardamom pods open by squashing them with the side of a knife

Discard the outer green pods

Add the cardamom seeds to a food processor with your pistachios, cracked black pepper, chopped garlic, chopped ginger, most of the chopped coriander (save some for garnish!) and half the chopped chilli (can't handle the heat? Go easy!) with 100ml [125ml] [150ml] cold water and a generous pinch of salt and blitz until smooth – this is your curry paste

Once the onion has softened, add the curry paste and your butternut squash cubes to the pan and cook for 2-3 min or until fragrant

While the onion and squash is cooking, chop your creamed coconut roughly (if required!)

Dissolve the chopped creamed coconut and vegetable stock mix in 250ml [350ml] [450ml] boiled water – this is your coconut stock

Once fragrant, add the coconut stock to the pan with a pinch of sugar and bring to the boil over a high heat

Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium-high and cook, covered, for 10-12 min or until the sauce has thickened and the vegetables are tender

Add your Tenderstem broccoli to a baking tray with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt

Put the tray in the oven for 10-12 min or until tender and slightly charred – this is your roasted broccoli

While the broccoli is cooking, trim, then chop your green beans in half

Once the butternut squash is tender, add the halved green beans and a pinch of salt to the curry with a splash of boiled water

Cook, covered, for a further 6-7 min or until the green beans are tender – this is your spicy fragrant squash & pistachio curry