Bhaji, "Pumpkin" & Naan

This is a savory, healthy Indian dish and, I must say, my favorite one that my Mother-in-law makes. I put the pumpkin in quotation marks because it is not really pumpkin. But through the years she has always called it that so I assumed that's what it was...until I tried to make it myself. She showed Ganesh and I the "pumpkin" at the store which in fact turned out to be a butternut squash! Needless to say, we still call it pumpkin anyway.

Now onto the Bhaji: it is spinach. However, the Indian term for spinach is Palak. We've always called it Bhaji though. Have I confused you yet? :)

Take a look at the easy recipes and delicious photos below and you won't care what it is called, you will just want to cook and eat it! So simple yet so delicious!

Adapted from Ganesh's Mom's kitchen

Ingredients:

"Pumpkin": 

2 cups frozen butternut squash (this saves so much time as opposed to using fresh but you can use either)

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 onion, chopped

1 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoons canola oil

Bhaji:

1 box frozen spinach (same as above regarding fresh)

4 garlic cloves, minced

1-2 scotch bonnet peppers, minced

1/2 onion, chopped

4 cherry tomatoes, sliced

2 slices each of red, yellow & green peppers

salt

2 tablespoons canola oil

Directions:

"Pumpkin": Add oil to pan and place over medium heat. Add garlic and onion and stir 1 minute until softened. Add butternut squash, sugar and salt. Cover and cook about 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

Bhaji: Add oil to pan and place over medium heat. Add peppers, tomatoes, garlic and onion. Stir 1 minute until softened. Add spinach and salt. Cover and cook for about 25 minutes, stirring frequently.

As you may have seen from our eggplant recipe below, we take a shortcut when it comes to Naan. This is the brand we buy from Whole Foods: