Butternut Squash Cashew Korma

This Butternut Squash Cashew Korma is savory, creamy, and just a bit spicy! Inspired by ingredients made by Brooklyn Delhi and the Vibrant India cookbook by Chitra Agrawal.

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I grew up in a very traditional, white, “meat-and-potatoes” family. Let me preface this by saying that there’s nothing wrong with that. But I’m sure it goes without saying that I was not exposed to food from many other cultures growing up, expect for mainstream U.S. cultural staples like Chinese-American food, Italian-American, Japanese-American, etc. I didn’t try sushi until I was 17. The first time I saw Indian food, I was about 19. My friend Jared had gotten Indian takeout with his boyfriend, and I was intoxicated by the delicate savory scents. I tried a bit of his mango lassi, and it was incredible. And then when I was 25 when I first tried Thai food, and 26 when I first tried Vietnamese (thanks to my cousin Laura).

I’m not exactly proud to share these statistics. I’m definitely a small-town girl (and I love that and appreciate the beauty in my surroundings), but one thing that I feel like I missed out on was the food scene. Cities like Boston or NYC have so many amazing options that small towns in Connecticut don’t.

So when Chitra Agrawal reached out to me in 2017 about her cookbook, Vibrant India, I was so excited to see the recipes. First, this book is aesthetically stunning. The photography is exceptional, and the book contains many Indian designs and motifs that are incredibly gorgeous. But second, reading through this cookbook through the years has opened my eyes to so many exciting and delicious flavor combinations that I’ve never tried before.

Pillowy soft, warm chapatis straight from the pan. Cool, delicately spiced raita, or yogurt-based sauce. Sour and spicy tomato bele rasam, a tomato lentil soup. And here – a creamy, rich, spicy Butternut Squash Cashew Korma. These are flavors you’ll crave again and again!

For this recipe, I wanted to pay homage to Chitra’s lens of cooking, which features many plant-based ingredients as opposed to the traditional dairy. Her line of condiments from Brooklyn Delhi are second to none. This is what I used for the recipe:

Guntur Sannam Pepper Hot Sauce – a hot tomato and chili sauce
Coconut Cashew Korma Sauce – a mild, vegan simmering sauce

While my recipe isn’t an authentic korma, I’m using the term in my recipe to give a frame of reference for what the recipe will be like. The term “korma” derives from the Urdu word “qormā”, or “braise”, and can be traced back to India since the 16th century. Korma is often made with meat, but in keeping with the vegetarian theme in Vibrant India, I’ve made this recipe completely vegan with butternut squash as the central ingredient. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do!

You can buy Vibrant India by Chitra Agrawal here!