Add curry to the pot. Sauté until toasted. Will turn a very bright red. Stir constantly to avoid scorching, about 2 minutes.
5 tablespoon Red Curry Paste
Add salt, sugar, and soy sauce. Stir in coconut milk. Let flavors blend in together for a bit, about 1 minute.
2 ½ tablespoon Soy sauce, 1 ½ tablespoon Coconut Palm Sugar, 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt, 1 can Coconut Milk
Add broth, butternut squash, and carrots to the pot. Simmer, covered for 20 minutes. Stir occasionally to avoid sticking to the bottom of the pot.
1 cup Vegetable Broth, 2 medium Carrots, 5 cups Butternut Squash
Scoop out a cup of curry mixture and blend. This step is to help thicken the sauce. You can omit it if you prefer the curry dish to be not as thick.
Add the blended curry to the pot. Add chickpeas, chili peppers, and spinach and simmer for 3 minutes.
15 ounce Chickpeas, 1 bag Fresh Baby Spinach, 1 to 3 Red Chili Peppers
Remove from heat. Add Thai Basil Leaves, then pour in vinegar. Stir and season with more salt as desired.
½ cup Thai Basil Leaves
Notes
The coconut oil used for this recipe is unrefined, which gives the dish its roasted, nutty flavor. If you want a more neutral flavor use refined oil or olive oil.
Chili peppers can be omitted if you want a less spicy dish.
See the Types of Curry Chart above if you want to use other types of curry, instead of Red which was used for this Butternut Squash and Chickpea Curry recipe.
To save time, purchase already cubed butternut squash at the grocery store.
You can also roast the butternut squash if you wish for a more toasted flavor.
See the "Substitution" list for suggested ingredients as a handy reference if you want to personalize this recipe to suit your taste.
You can use regular or low-fat coconut milk.
Serve this dish with cooked Basmati or Jasmine rice, and/or Naan bread.