Sri Lankan Sesame-Lime Vegetable and Coconut Casserole

About This Recipe

Vegetable curries simmered in coconut milk with curry leaves, mustard seed and turmeric are a genuine, everyday part of Sri Lankan cooking, usually made stovetop in a clay pot or wok rather than baked. This casserole reworks that same coconut vegetable curry base into an oven-baked format, layering pumpkin, green beans and eggplant in a turmeric-coconut sauce and finishing with toasted sesame seeds and lime, a modern touch that adds nuttiness and brightness to an otherwise traditionally Sri Lankan flavor base. The vegetables are par-cooked briefly in the coconut curry sauce on the stovetop before transferring everything to the oven, which lets the sauce reduce and concentrate further as it bakes rather than staying thin. A tempering of mustard seeds, dried chile and curry leaves fried in coconut oil, stirred into the sauce before baking, is the technique that gives the dish its distinctly Sri Lankan aromatic base. Finished with a scatter of toasted sesame seeds and a good squeeze of lime just before serving, the casserole balances the rich, warmly spiced vegetables with a bright, nutty top note.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 300 gpumpkin or butternut squash(cut into chunks)
• 1eggplant(cut into chunks)
• 200 ggreen beans(trimmed and halved)
• 3 tbspcoconut oil
• 1 tspblack mustard seeds
• 10fresh curry leaves
• 2dried red chiles
• 1onion(chopped)
• 1 tspground turmeric
• 1.5 cupscoconut milk
• 1 tspfine sea salt
• 2 tbsptoasted sesame seeds
• 2 tbsplime juice

Instructions

1. 1

   Temper the spices

   Heat coconut oil in a large ovenproof pot over medium heat. Add mustard seeds until they pop, then add curry leaves and dried chiles, frying 20 seconds until fragrant.

2. 2

   Cook the onion

   Add the onion and cook 5 minutes until soft, then stir in turmeric and cook 30 seconds more.

3. 3

   Add the vegetables

   Add pumpkin, eggplant, green beans, coconut milk and salt. Bring to a simmer on the stovetop, stirring to coat the vegetables.

4. 4

   Bake

   Cover and transfer to a 190C (375F) oven. Bake 30-35 minutes until the vegetables are tender and the sauce has thickened and reduced.

5. 5

   Finish

   Remove from the oven, stir in the lime juice, and scatter with toasted sesame seeds before serving.

Variations

• •

  Protein-added: stir in cooked chickpeas or cubed firm tofu for a more substantial, protein-rich casserole.

• •

  Extra heat: leave the dried chiles whole and increase the quantity for more heat throughout the sauce.

• •

  Different vegetables: swap in okra or cauliflower for the eggplant, adjusting the cooking time slightly as needed.

Storage

Refrigerate in an airtight container up to 4 days. Reheat gently on the stovetop or in a covered dish in the oven, adding a splash of coconut milk if the sauce has thickened too much.

Frequently Asked Questions