Ingredients

• (serves 2–3)
• 1 cup butternut squash, peeled and cubed (½-inch pieces)
• ½ cup red lentils (masoor dal), rinsed
• 1 tbsp LXV Garam Chai spice blend
• 1 cup full-fat coconut milk
• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 sprig curry leaves (or 8–10 leaves)
• Salt, to taste
• Coconut oil or ghee, for cooking

Method

1. In a saucepan, combine lentils, squash, and 1 ½ cups water. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 12–15 minutes until both are tender and the water is mostly absorbed.
2. In a separate pan, heat 1–2 tbsp coconut oil. Sauté the red onion and curry leaves until golden and fragrant. Stir in the Garam Chai spice blend and toast for 30 seconds to release the aromas—warming, sweet, slightly smoky. Add the cooked lentils and squash to the pan. Pour in the coconut milk, stir gently, and simmer for 5–7 minutes until the stew thickens and becomes luxuriously creamy. Add salt to taste. Keep it warm until ready to serve.
3. To serve, spoon the chai-spiced coconut stew into a bowl, letting the squash peek through the creamy lentils. Serve with saffron-infused basmati rice for aromatic elegance, and malabar paratha—golden and layered, for the perfect soak-and-savor moment
4. In the quiet village of
5. Perumkulam
6. , tucked between swaying coconut palms and the slow rhythm of temple bells, my grandmother—
7. Ammichi
8. —would stand barefoot in her red-tiled kitchen, stirring a pot of something that always smelled like the monsoon and memory.
9. She would make this stew—delicate, coconut-rich, yet edged with spice—when someone had returned home, or was about to leave, or just needed comfort. The prawns were fresh from the backwaters, the lentils soft, the squash yielding.
10. Years later, I reach for those same flavors—this time wrapped in chai spice, a nod to my own wandering—but the soul of the dish remains hers. The warmth, the hush, the quiet power of a stew that says, you are safe, you are known, you are loved.
11. —Neeta
12. Butternut Squash and Lentils in Garam Chai Coconut Broth Paired with LXV The Secret
13. Neeta Mittal’s Share & Pair Sundays recipe brings the bold flavors of India to life with the hearty stew of butternut squash, lentils, and a spiced coconut broth. Pair with LXV 2022 The Secret.

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