Zucchini Curry
Today I am introducing a humble and an underrated vegetable: zucchini. There are many varieties of zucchini but our favorite is the Magda or Cousa squash which is called Kadu in Hindi or Urdu. It is large, pale with green speckles and it is known for its skin being tender and edible. Its curry is delicious that can be made in less than 30 minutes on the stovetop or in a pressure cooker. In fact, I often make it when I don’t want to make something fancy or need to whip up dinner very quickly.
I must be honest, when I was a child Kadu was one of my favorite vegetables. Even to this day, it’s something I really look forward to making when I manage to find fresh Kadu at the supermarket and I consider myself lucky that my family loves it too.
It can be served for lunch or dinner. It is typically eaten with chapati or roti but also tastes amazing with naan and even rice.
Tips:
- Always use less red chili powder whenever making any zucchini. The spice level goes up.
- Use less water when cooking zucchini because this vegetable releases a lot of water while cooking.
- Mashing it towards the end is the key to making it taste great.
- Although the skin is tender and edible, I usually remove it, but you can leave it on.
Any leftovers can be refrigerated for 4-6 days. It can easily be warmed up on the stovetop or in the microwave.
Check out my other vegetarian meals:
Zucchini Curry
Ingredients
- 500 g zucchini peeled and chopped
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 large onion diced
- 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
- 1/2 cup tomatoes chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
- 1/2 cup water
Instructions
- In a pressure cooker on medium high heat, add oil, cumin seeds and the diced onions.
- Saute until the onions become translucent, then add the ginger-garlic paste. Saute for 30 seconds.
- Add the diced tomatoes along with the spices – salt, turmeric powder and red chili powder.
- Cook until the tomatoes break down and become mushy.
- Then add the chopped zucchini and saute for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the 1/2 cup water, close the pressure cooker with its lid and pressure cook for 10 minutes (time is noted when the pressure cooker starts whistling).
- Once 10 minutes are done, turn off the heat and safely open the pressure cooker once its pressure has been released.
- At this point you will notice the curry is very watery (zucchini releases its own water). Turn on the heat to high so that the water evaporates.
- At the same time, using the back of a large spoon or a potato masher, start mashing the zucchini.
- Keep cooking until the curry has reached your desired consistency.
- Garnish with chopped green chillies or chopped cilantro. Serve hot with roti/naan/rice.
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