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Malawian Squash

A stew of squash, onion, and peanut butter with optional chili, served with roasted squash seeds.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 11 ingredients
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Why it works: Butternut squash and onion match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 692 recipes. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓

Malawian Squash

Ovena hot oven
Time15 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Peel the butternut squash or sweet potato and set aside any squash seeds to roast.

  2. Chop the flesh fairly roughly into 1cm chunks.

  3. Divide the squash, onion and chilli (or chilli paste) equally between the two pans.

  4. Stir the peanut butter briskly into the hot water, making sure that all the lumps are dissolved.

  5. Pour half of the peanut butter mixture into each pan.

Make the stews

  1. Bring both pans to the boil and simmer for five minutes.

  2. In the veggie pan, add the parmesan rind and several grindings of black pepper.

  3. In the meatie pan, add the chicken strips, several grindings of black pepper and ½ tsp salt.

  4. Bring both pans to the boil and simmer gently, with the lids off, for 15 minutes.

  5. Stir occasionally to make sure the stews aren't sticking, stirring more frequently as the liquid evaporates.

  6. Be careful not to break up the chunks of squash when you stir.

  7. Five minutes before serving, divide the red pepper equally between the two pans and stir in gently.

  8. In the veggie pan, remove the parmesan rind and discard it.

  9. Taste and correct for salt, pepper or chilli.

  10. If you need more peanut butter, thin it with a little boiling water and stir it in very carefully so you don't break up the squash chunks.

Roast the seeds

  1. While cooking, clean the squash seeds, toss them in hot oil and salt, and roast them in a hot oven for 5‑10 minutes, turning frequently so they don't burn.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

655Calories
54 gProtein
26 gFat
55 gCarbs

Counts 8 of 10 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 8 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Chicken100g cooked165
Potato1 medium (173g) baked161
Peanut1 oz (28g)161
Parmesan Cheese1 oz (28g)110
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Pumpkinnot in our table0
Waternot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Butternut squash + oniontop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together692 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  2. Peanut + chickentop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together541 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-ethyl-3,6-dimethylpyrazine (roasted, nutty).

  3. Onion + chickentop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,814 recipes

    Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).

  4. Onion + peanuttop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,043 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  5. Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together68,474 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Butternut squash
Forms the bulk of the stew and softens into a thick, tender body.
Peanut butter
Thickens the stew and adds rich, nutty body and flavour.
Onion
Builds savoury sweetness as it softens into the base.
Chicken breast
Provides protein and meaty texture in the meatie version.
Red pepper
Adds fresh sweetness and a little crunch when added near the end.

The step that matters

Stirring gently near the end. Squash chunks are fragile and break down with vigorous stirring, and peanut butter sauces can stick and scorch as liquid evaporates. Stir gently and more often as the stew thickens to keep the chunks intact and the base from catching.

Swap the butternut squash

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (onion, peanut, pepper, chicken):

  1. Limefits better
  2. Avocadofits better
  3. Coconutfits better
  4. Butternut squashthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against onion, peanut, pepper, chicken. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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