A rich Iranian curry packed with flavour – and it’s vegan

Sign up to IndyEat's free newsletter for weekly recipes, foodie features and cookbook releases Get our food and drink newsletter for free Get our food and drink newsletter for free SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Persian pumpkin and chickpea curry Serves: 3-4 Ingredients: ½ large pumpkin or butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into bite-sized cubes, about 400g prepared weight Sunflower oil Ground cinnamon 75g walnut halves 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped 1 onion, chopped 7cm piece of cinnamon bark 1 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp ground turmeric 2 x 400g cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed 100ml pomegranate juice 75g pomegranate molasses ½ tsp salt ¼ tsp ground black pepper Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste, or a pinch of ground nutmeg 1 unwaxed orange, zested About 500ml water, as needed Maple syrup, optional 80g pomegranate seeds Salt and ground black pepper Chopped flat-leaf parsley or coriander, to garnish Method: 1. Drizzle with sunflower oil and lightly dust with ground cinnamon, then shake the tray so all the cubes are well coated. Add the chickpeas, pomegranate juice, pomegranate molasses, salt, pepper and a good grating of nutmeg. Add the pumpkin cubes and ground walnuts and return the mixture to the boil, stirring until the stew thickens.