Madras Curry Powder: In traditional South Asian cuisine, a curry is a dish cooked in a sauce. To most Canadians however, a curry is a powder that you add to a dish to give it heat. Curry powders are created by blending many spices together, and blends of curry powders range from spicy to very spicy, depending on what area that curry blend was created. Sweating cools you down, so areas that are very hot tend to have curry blends that produce sweating. Madras is an area in India that is very hot, hence this blend is fairly spicy.
Ingredient Note: Ambercup squash is a deep orange squash that looks like its cousin the buttercup squash. Its flesh is darker in colour and slightly sweeter in flavour. Can’t find an Ambercup? Buttercup (or their more distant cousin Butternut) will also work for this recipe.
PHEc Tip: This soup may be quite thick depending on the type and age of the squash. Add more broth, water or milk until you reach desired thickness.
“I was never a fan of squash but thanks to my Grandmother’s encouragement I finally relented and began to grow a few varieties. I found that I actually liked the darker, denser and sweeter heritage-type squashes; enter turban, buttercup and ambercup. Then several years ago I tried a cup of butternut squash soup at a local restaurant and though it was delicious. I left thinking I could create something even better. After several experiments using ambercup squash, this soup was created, a fusion of spices and homegrown produce that has become a family favourite.” — Jennifer Goodwin, PHEc
Recipe from Homegrown, by Mairlyn Smith, Whitecap Books Ltd.