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This marks squash season and my favourite season, not least for all the curries and other comfort food of autumn. This Rajasthani sautéed dish is one I cook often, and the blend of ginger, chilli and palm sugar gives it a lovely balance of flavour. This layered rice dish, meanwhile, is loaded with aromatic spices, long-grain rice and clarified butter, which provide enhanced flavour to the layers of grains and produce.

Squash and Mushroom Biryani

A celebration of curry dishes starts on early October, so what better way to mark the occasion than with a flavorful, warming, all-in-one-pot layered rice dish? If you like, prepare the spiced vegetable mixture element in advance and assemble everything on the day you want to serve.

Prep 20 min
Cook 2 hr
Yields 4

For the vegetable curry base
4 tbsp ghee, or butter
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 dried bay leaves
4 cloves
450g white onions, thinly sliced
3 green bird's eye chillies, lengthwise slit
5cm piece fresh ginger, julienned
2 tbsp tomato puree
¼ tsp mild chilli powder, or kashmiri chilli powder
1 tsp ground turmeric
2 tsp coriander powder
1 heaped tbsp greek yoghurt
300g butternut squash flesh, cut into bite-sized pieces
300g button mushrooms, trimmed and sliced
400ml vegetable stock, or use water
Salt, as needed
2 tbsp chopped coriander, to garnish

Rice preparation
200g basmati rice
2 bay leaves
4 green cardamom pods
A pinch of salt

Biryani assembly
2 tbsp melted ghee
1 pinch saffron threads, soaked in 3 tbsp warm water
1¼cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and cut into matchsticks
3 tbsp finely chopped fresh mint leaves
1 tsp ground cardamom powder
1 tsp garam masala
Raita and salad, as accompaniments

Begin by preparing the curry base. Heat the ghee in a sizable, heavy-based saucepan on a medium heat, incorporate the cumin, bay leaves and clove spices, and fry for a brief moment. Stir in the sliced onion and cook, frequently turning, for 30-35 minutes, until tender. Once onions begin caramelizing, transfer half of them to a plate and set aside (you'll use them later during the layering).

Add the fresh chilies and ginger to the remaining onions, cook for a brief period, then stir in the tomato puree, chili powder, turmeric and coriander powder, and fry for a minute. Reduce to a gentle flame, stir in the yogurt and simmer for a couple of minutes.

Add the squash and mushrooms, toss to cover in the spice mixture, then cook for three minutes. Add the stock or water, and add salt to taste. Heat until boiling, then turn down the temperature, place lid and simmer for about twenty minutes, stirring once halfway to make sure nothing's stuck to the base of the pan. Sprinkle with fresh cilantro, then remove from the stove.

Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6. Rinse the rice, then place it in a pot with a litre of water and the bay leaves, cardamom pods and salt. Heat to boiling, simmer for around ten minutes, until three-quarters cooked, then drain.

To build the layered dish, put a spoonful of melted ghee in a casserole pot for which you have a tight-fitting lid. Ladle in half the vegetable curry, then layer with half the cooked grains. Add a portion the saffron infusion, ginger strips, mint, cardamom powder and spice blend, then top with the caramelized onions. Top with the remaining curry mixture, then spoon on the remaining rice. Finish with the remaining ghee, saffron liquid, ginger, mint, ground cardamom and spice mix.

Seal with parchment, place lid securely, then bake on the middle shelf of the oven for about fifteen minutes, so the aromas infuse the rice. Take out of the oven, leave to rest, keeping covered, for 10 minutes, then remove the lid and present with yogurt sauce and fresh salad.

Traditional Indian Achari Kaddu (Squash with Pickling Spices Stir-Fry)

The Hindi term "achari" refers to flavouring a preparation using pickling spices, and the mix includes mustard seeds, fennel seeds, fenugreek, cumin, asafoetida and kalonji, but their use extends beyond in pickles. This mixture also appears in various types of spiced dishes and stir-fries, like this recipe.

Prep 10 min
Cook 30 min
Serves 4

1 tsp black mustard seeds
½ tsp fenugreek seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
4 tbsp vegetable oil
1 pinch asafoetida
5cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
750g squash flesh, or pumpkin, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tsp mild chilli powder
½ tsp ground turmeric
Salt, to taste
1 tbsp jaggery, or substitute with brown sugar
2 tsp dried mango powder

Put the mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds and fennel in a spice grinder, roughly grind, then reserve. Put the cooking oil in a spacious skillet or kadhai on a moderate flame. Introduce the ground spices and the asafoetida, and sauté, stirring, for a few seconds. Mix in the chopped ginger, fry for a minute, then add the pumpkin pieces, chilli and turmeric, and fry, tossing, for several additional minutes.

Pour 50ml liquid to the pan, salt with salt to taste and heat until bubbling. Cover, turn down the flame, and leave to cook for about twenty minutes, mixing midway through. Mix in the jaggery, breaking up chunks a bit, then incorporate the dried mango, stir well and serve warm with chapatis or leavened bread.