Chickpea and Vegetable Curry

We had a potluck at work Friday. I made a big vegetable curry with Basmati rice. This made a lot, probably 12 servings. It was delicious and very fragrant. I would have preferred a hotter curry, with cumin and hotter peppers, but my colleagues like it mild.

Chickpea and Vegetable Curry

1 stick unsalted butter
4 cloves garlic minced
2 inch piece of fresh ginger, pared and minced
2 large onions, diced
4 bell peppers (red, green and yellow) seeded and cut into large dice
4 mild chili peppers, seeded and cut into small dice
2 medium Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into ¼ inch slices
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into ¼ inch slices
1 acorn squash, remove seeds from center, peel and cut into 2 inch chunks
1 can coconut milk
3 cans water
1 cup red lentils, rinsed and picked over
2 cans chick peas, drained
2 cans black-eyed peas, drained
6 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced
2 teaspoons garam masala
2 teaspoons curry powder
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
¼ teaspoon Tabasco
Teaspoon sea salt
2 bay leaves

In a large Dutch over slowly cook onions, garlic and ginger in melted butter until almost cooked. Add chilies, potatoes and squash. Cook, stirring frequently, about ten minutes. Add remaining ingredients. Cook, stirring often, about 30 minutes until the vegetables are tender and the lentils have cooked and almost melted.