I love autumn squash. Every year when fall rolls around, I get excited about all the butternut, buttercup, and kabocha squash I can easily get at markets everywhere here. The funny thing, though, is that I actually don’t really change up how I make it; I almost inevitably will roast it, puree it into soup, or toss it into salads. I do know that certain types of squash appear in dal recipes, even in Kerala sambar, but I’d never actually tried it myself. With the new food blogger/vlogger network I’ve been developing on YouTube and Instagram, I’ve come across way too many food inspirations to keep track of that I actually want to make (and have ingredients easily accessible to make!), and one of them is Tamil butternut squash (dal) stew. It’s so easy and simple to make, and other than cubing up the butternut squash, there’s very minimal cutting or chopping. It has just a small amount of shredded coconut that you blend into a paste before adding it into the Instant Pot, but that gives it an instant bit of sweetness that works super well with the overall stew.

The new foodie community I belong to now has really been inspiring. I have so many things I want to make and try out to increase my cooking knowledge all thanks to these new food-loving, creating friends.