TEAM FAVE

Aaliya's Doud Alle (Roasted Squash & Labneh Dip)

Recipe by

Asha Loupy

Serves

4 to 6

Difficulty

Intermediate

Aliya's Doud Alle (Roasted Squash & Labneh Dip)

Photo by:

Melati Citrawireja

Over many years of sourcing visits, we’ve learned that the best recipes are the off the cuff ones narrated from memory in that lull between small talk, or the shy tray brought out right as we’re leaving, a parting gift once they’ve understood our taste. As the guests and buyers, there’s often a filter of fanciness applied to what we’re served when we visit a farm partner. It takes a good amount of relationship building to be served the true delicacies of a home - the simple dishes borne out of necessity and seasonality more than prestige or perceived luxury.

Aaliya, our saffron farm partner’s wife, is one of the best home cooks I’ve ever encountered, but she is an even more gifted teacher. Kashmiri cuisine can take a lifetime to master, but in just a few peaceful days in Aaliya’s kitchen we finally started to grasp the techniques, the ingredient pairings, and the building of flavors of Kashmiri valley cuisine that we’d been so deeply seeking.

This dip is inspired by Doud Alle - a seasonal pumpkin, walnut and yogurt chutney. Since October is both the time of the walnut harvest in the saffron fields and of the heirloom pumpkin harvest in their backyard kitchen garden, Aaliya’s pumpkin walnut chutney is a beautiful expression of Kashmiri autumn. She shyly showed it to us one afternoon and neither Asha nor I could get the flavor combo out of our heads. We’ve definitely tweaked it to be a dip instead of a chutney but the heart of it remains. Asha used a traditional Kashmiri spice combination of caraway, fennel and chili powder for the tadka and the result is a very fun, party-ready dip.

Ingredients

½ cup (56 grams) raw walnuts halves
One 1-to-1½ pound (454 to 680 grams) honeynut or butternut squash
4 tablespoons (60 milliliters) extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons Surya Salt or fine sea salt, plus more
1 cup (240 grams) labneh
3 cloves garlic
1 to 2 teaspoons mild honey, such as acacia, orange blossom or wildflower (optional)
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 teaspoon Hariyali Fennel
1 teaspoon Byadgi Chilli or Kashmiri chili powder
Flaky sea salt, for finishing

Methods

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Spread ½ cup raw walnuts halves on a sheet pan and roast until fragrant and lightly toasted, 11 to 14 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.
Increase the oven temperature to 400°F. Cut 1 1-to-1½ pound honeynut or butternut squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle the cut sides with 1 teaspoon fine sea salt. Place the squash cut-side down on a baking sheet and roast until tender, 25 to 30 minutes for honeynut squash or up to 45 to 55 minutes for butternut squash. Remove from the oven and let cool for 30 minutes.
Place the cooled, roasted walnuts in a mortar and pound, breaking them up into small pieces about the size of pebbly sand, leaving some bigger pieces for texture.
Scoop the roasted squash flesh into a bowl along with 1 cup labneh, 1 grated garlic clove, ⅔ of the toasted walnuts, and the remaining 1 teaspoon fine sea salt. Mix with a fork, mashing the squash so that it still has a rustic texture (if you prefer a smoother dip, you can continue mashing until you reach the desired consistency or blend the squash separately before adding it to the labneh).
Taste and adjust sweetness with 1 to 2 teaspoons mild honey, if desired, and salt, if necessary. (With honeynut squash, you might not need any honey, but with out-of-season butternut squash, season with honey, to taste.) Set aside.
To prepare the tadka, thinly slice the remaining 2 garlic cloves. Then, heat the remaining 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil in a small skillet or over medium heat. Add the sliced garlic, 1 teaspoon caraway seeds and 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, and cook, stirring or swirling frequently, until the garlic turns light golden, 1 to 3 minutes. Turn off the heat, add 1 teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder, and mix to combine.
To serve, transfer the dip to a shallow serving bowl and create a swoosh pattern on the surface with the back of a spoon. Spoon the prepared tadka over the dip, sprinkle with the remaining ⅓ of the crushed toasted walnuts, and garnish with a smattering of flaky sea salt.

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