Veg madras with onion pilau rice

Veg madras with onion pilau rice

Spice up your life by adding this cracking curry to your next box. Chunks of roasted butternut squash and red pepper are stirred into a spicy sauce along with chopped green beans, then served on a bed of fried onion, pea and fennel-infused pilau rice. It’s quick, it’s colourful and it will blow any cobwebs clean away.

Plants 8 SWK: Source of protein SWK: High fibre

Serving size

Cook time: 40 mins
Cuisine: Indian
Food group: Vegan
Allergens: Celery

Cooking Instructions

The protein cooking time listed in this recipe has been updated.

As of December 2025, we’ve revised cooking times for all our proteins to reflect improved food safety guidance.

Check out the latest recommended times in our Cooking Guidelines.

Boil the rice

  • Heat your oven to 240ºC/fan 220ºC/gas 9.
  • In a non-stick saucepan, cook the rice in boiling water for 10-12 mins, then drain.

Put the squash in the oven

  • Meanwhile, peel and halve the squash lengthways, discard the seeds and cut into 1cm cubes. Deseed and thinly slice the peppers.
  • Put the squash and peppers on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Spritz with cooking spray, sprinkle over half the curry powder, turning to coat, and roast for 25-30 mins.

Sizzle the onions

  • At the same time, peel and thinly slice the onions.
  • Spritz a non-stick frying pan with cooking spray and put it over a medium heat. Fry the onions for 8-10 mins.
  • Wipe the pan you cooked the rice in and return it to a medium heat. Spritz with cooking spray, then tip in half the cooked onions along with half the fennel seeds. Leave the onions cooking until you need them, adding a splash of water if they start to catch.

Make your madras

  • Trim and halve the green beans.
  • Add the green beans to the frying pan with the remaining cooked onion in. Stir in the ginger & garlic paste, tomato purée, half the chilli flakes sachet (the whole sachet for 4 portions – to taste) and the remaining curry powder and fennel seeds. Cook for 2-3 mins.
  • Add the chopped tomatoes, crumble in half the stock cube (all of it for 4 portions) and pour in 150ml water (200ml for 4 portions). Stir well and simmer for 5-7 mins until thickened slightly, then lightly season to taste with salt.

Finish & serve

  • Add the peas to the fried onion and fennel seeds then stir in the rice and heat for 1 min to warm through.
  • Stir the roasted veg into the madras and serve it with the pilau rice.

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