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This marks squash season and most anticipated season, especially for all the spiced dishes and other comfort food of fall. This Northwest Indian stir-fry is one I cook often, and the combination of fresh ginger, chilli and palm sugar gives it a lovely balance of flavour. This layered rice dish, on the other hand, is packed with whole spices, basmati and clarified butter, which give so much more taste to the layers of rice and vegetables.

Squash and Mushroom Biryani

A celebration of curry dishes starts on October 6, so what better way to mark the occasion than with a rich, comforting, all-in-one-pot layered rice dish? If you like, prepare the spiced vegetable mixture component in advance and layer all components on the occasion you want to serve.

Preparation 20 min
Cook 2 hr
Yields 4

For the vegetable curry base
4 tbsp ghee, or butter
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 dried bay leaves
4 cloves
450g white onions, peeled and thinly sliced
3 green bird's eye chillies, slit open lengthways
5cm piece fresh ginger, julienned
2 tbsp tomato puree
¼ tsp mild chilli powder, or kashmiri chilli powder
1 tsp ground turmeric
2 tsp coriander powder
1 heaped tbsp greek yoghurt
300g butternut squash flesh, cut into bite-sized pieces
300g button mushrooms, trimmed and sliced
400ml vegetable stock, or water
Salt, to taste
2 tbsp chopped coriander, for serving

Rice preparation
200g basmati rice
2 bay leaves
4 green cardamom pods
A pinch of salt

Biryani assembly
2 tbsp melted ghee
1 pinch saffron threads, soaked in 3 tbsp warm water
1¼cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and cut into matchsticks
3 tbsp finely chopped fresh mint leaves
1 tsp ground cardamom powder
1 tsp garam masala
Raita and salad, as accompaniments

First make the curry base. Heat the clarified butter in a large, heavy-based saucepan on a medium heat, incorporate the cumin, bay and clove spices, and sauté for a brief moment. Add the onion slices and cook, frequently turning, for 30-35 minutes, until tender. Once onions begin caramelizing, remove half to a plate and reserve (you'll use them later during the assembly).

Add the fresh chilies and ginger strips to the onions in pan, cook for a minute, then mix in the tomato paste, chili powder, turmeric and coriander, and fry for a short while. Reduce to a low heat, stir in the yogurt and cook for two minutes.

Mix in the pumpkin pieces and mushroom halves, toss to cover in the spices, then cook for several minutes. Add the stock or water, and add salt to taste. Heat until boiling, then lower the heat, place lid and simmer for about twenty minutes, stirring once halfway to make sure nothing's stuck to the bottom of the pan. Garnish with fresh cilantro, then remove from the stove.

Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6. Rinse the basmati, then put it in a saucepan with a quart of water and the bay, cardamom and salt. Heat to boiling, simmer for around ten minutes, until partially cooked, then drain.

To build the layered dish, place a tablespoon of warmed ghee in a oven-safe dish for which you have a tight-fitting lid. Ladle in one portion the vegetable curry, then layer with half the cooked grains. Add half the saffron infusion, ginger strips, mint leaves, ground cardamom and garam masala, then top with the caramelized onions. Layer with the rest of curry mixture, then arrange the leftover grains. Finish with the rest of clarified butter, saffron liquid, ginger, mint, ground cardamom and spice mix.

Cover with baking paper, cover with the lid, then cook on the center rack of the oven for 15-17 minutes, so the aromas infuse the grains. Remove of the oven, leave to rest, still covered, for 10 minutes, then lift off the lid and serve with raita and fresh salad.

Traditional Indian Achari Kaddu (Pumpkin with Pickling Spices Stir-Fry)

The Hindi term "pickling style" describes seasoning a dish using preserving spices, and the mix contains mustard seeds, fennel seeds, fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds, hing and nigella, but they're not used only in preserved foods. The blend also features in all manner of spiced dishes and stir-fries, like this recipe.

Prep 10 min
Cooking 30 min
Serves 4

1 tsp black mustard seeds
½ tsp fenugreek seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
4 tbsp vegetable oil
1 pinch asafoetida
5cm piece fresh ginger, minced
750g squash flesh, or use pumpkin, cubed
1 tsp mild chilli powder
½ tsp ground turmeric
Salt, to taste
1 tbsp jaggery, or dark brown sugar
2 tsp dried mango powder

Place the mustard, fenugreek and fennel in a mortar, roughly grind, then reserve. Put the cooking oil in a spacious skillet or kadhai on a moderate flame. Add the ground spices and the hing, and sauté, mixing, for a few seconds. Mix in the chopped ginger, fry for a short while, then add the pumpkin pieces, chili powder and turmeric, and fry, stirring, for five minutes more.

Add a small amount liquid to the pot, salt with salt to taste and heat until bubbling. Cover, turn down the heat, and leave to cook for about twenty minutes, mixing midway through. Mix in the jaggery, crushing some of the pieces a little, then add the mango powder, stir well and serve warm with chapatis or naan.