Boo!

There will be spooky goings on in Thrift Street tonight (mainly the local kids 'scarily' dressed up and pleading sweets from the old ladies next door but you never know.....). We shall, of course, be tucked up inside sampling some appropriate brews for the occasion, such as those below.

I actually love Halloween and given the chance would have cobwebs festooned everywhere (fake ones of course, the real ones are there already) but sadly M doesn't quite share these feelings. However, I will squeeze in at least one pumpkin (more accurately 'squash') based meal tonight. My father grows huge numbers of very large butternut squash (and occasionally other colourful varieties too), one of these will form the base of a spicy curry with tofu and spinach.

Smoked tofu, pumpkin and spinach curry (serves four, or two with plenty of leftovers for lunch)

This recipe is vegan, low fat and pretty healthy. The tofu can be swopped for paneer if wished but this will introduce dairy and also increase the fat content.

 

1tbsp sunflower oil

1 red onion, sliced

2 garlic cloves, chopped finely

2cm ginger, peeled and finely grated

2 green chillies (small spicy kind), whole but with a small slit down the side

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp kalongji seeds

half tsp turmeric

half tsp chilli powder

half a butternut or other sweet squash, chopped into large chunks

200g smoked tofu, chopped into chunks

tin of chopped tomatoes

150g fresh spinach

salt and pepper to taste

Warm the oil in a large pan and fry the onion gently until translucent. Add the chillies, then the garlic, ginger and all the spices and fry for a few more minutes on a medium heat. Add the squash and stir to coat in the spice mixture, then the tinned tomatoes and finally the tofu. Stir gently so as not to break up the tofu and leave to simmer gently for about 20 minutes until the squash is soft and cooked through. Take off the heat, fish out the whole chillies (if you can find them!), stir through the spinach until wilted and season to taste. Serve with brown basmati rice, a wholemeal chappatti and some spicy pickle.

After all this healthy wholefood you may wish to end the meal with one of these fantastic cinnamon scented biscuits from The Cinnamon Tree Bakery in London. I heartily recommend them.

Happy Halloween!