Butternut Squash Tikka Masala

We’ve kept this tikka masala vegetarian and we weren’t sorry. This is exactly how one would expect such a dish to be: heavily spiced, hearty, and served over rice. It has a lot of ingredients, but hey, this is Indian cuisine, after all.
Ingredients Needed for Butternut Squash Tikka Masala
1 tablespoon hazelnuts
1 tablespoon lemongrass, thickly sliced
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 star anise
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon chili flakes
½ teaspoon mustard seeds
1 cinnamon stick
½ teaspoon black cumin
3 cloves
1 medium butternut squash
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 onion, minced
⅓ cup coconut milk
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
rice, cooked (for serving)
How to Make Butternut Squash Tikka Masala
- Add the hazelnuts, lemongrass, turmeric, star anise, peppercorns, chili flakes, mustard seeds, cinnamon stick, black cumin, and cloves to a blender. Crush them.
- Cut the squash in half, remove the seeds, peel it and cube it.
- Add 1 tablespoon of oil and the butter to a pan over low heat. Cook until the butter melts.
- Add the onion and stir it in. Stir in the spicy mixture and the remaining tablespoon of olive oil.
- Add the cubed squash and coconut milk, stir in and turn the heat to medium-high. Cook and stir for 4-6 minutes.
- Stir in the parsley and remove from heat.
- Serve with cooked rice.