Courgette curry

I find it hard to get excited about courgettes. Baby ones, fried in good olive oil and garlic are delicious, but that’s largely because of the olive oil and the garlic. They sop up the flavours well.    They are also good in ratatouille, especially with cannellini beans, for the same reason and indeed, can be used in all sorts of soups and stews; however when there’s a glut of them, it isn’t usually the time of year that you want to eat soup and stew.  Now I realise, that to many people, curry is not only similar to a stew, but because of the chilli and warming spices, might seem even less appealing in hot weather, but I adore curry and can eat it any time and in any weather. so to me it is a perfect way of using a bounty of courgettes.  I already have a recipe for courgette with chana dal, however this recipe is is quite different and more of a side dish than a main one, althoughI have some suggestions for using it as a main course.  This is a pretty straightforward recipe and I think most people would be happy to tackle it, but because it uses non-standard ingredients, I'll call it a Curry for Cooks.

This recipe is based on one of Swasthi's recipes and I think it’s a great way to cook courgettes.    The coconut milk makes it rich and substantial and all it needs is some rice to go with it, but of course a pan of dal would turn it into a generous meal. Alternatively, you can serve it with quinoa, whose protein will turn this into a fully-nutritious meal. I confess to finding quinoa worthy, but dull, particularly compared to brown basmati rice. However, if you're concerned about your protein intake, it's a good choice.

Even though this is made with Kashmiri chilli powder, rather than chilli flakes or cayenne, it packs quite a zing. If you don’t like too much heat in your curry, reduce the amount of chilli powder.

Serves 2 for a main course, 4 as a side dish

Ingredients 

1 tbsp coconut oil 

1/8 tsp mustard seeds 

1/2 tsp cumin seeds 

1 green chilli pepper, minced 

1 tsp ginger paste 

1 tsp salted lime or lemon, finely diced

1 medium onion, finely diced 

3/4 tsp garam masala 

3/4 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder 

1/2 tsp salt 

1/4 tsp turmeric 

1 large courgette or equivalent, chopped into chunky pieces 

2 tomatoes, finely diced 

1/4 cup freeze-dried peas*

1/2 cup coconut milk 

1 tsp dried fenugreek leaves 

 

Method:

• Heat the oil in a saucepan and when it’s hot, add the mustard and cumin seeds
• When the mustard starts to sputter, add the green chilli and cook for 30 seconds.
• Add the chopped onions and ginger and cook for several minutes until the onions start to turn gold.    If you are using salted lime, (or lemon) add this now.
• Lower the heat and add the garam masala, chilli powder, salt and turmeric.
• Now add the tomato and courgette and fry for a few minutes, stirring from time to time.
• Add the peas and the coconut milk and bring to the boil. Mix well and turn the heat low.
•  Cook the courgette until its soft enough to suit your taste. 
• Just before the curry is ready, add the fenugreek leaves and mix them in.
• Taste and add more salt or garam masala if required.

Serve with rice, quinoa or flatbread.

Notes: 

• *Freeze-dried ‟Surprise” peas are very useful to have on a boat.    Substitute with fresh or frozen if you have such a thing.  Or perhaps 1/2 cup cooked dried, green peas, which would make this recipe much more substantial.  Or maybe some diced carrot.
• If you don’t have a green chilli leave it out (try to buy pickled ones, if you think you'll be making a lot of curry). 
• Substitute 1/4 tsp cayenne or chilli flakes for the Kashmiri chilli powder.
• Substitute 1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds if you don’t have the leaves; add them with the other spices.
• Use less coconut milk, or leave it out for a dryer curry.

Chana dal with courgettes

 

Serves: 2

 

Ingredients

 

1/2 cup chana dal

1 cup water

1/8 tsp ground turmeric

1 medium courgette, cut into half moons

1/4 tsp salt

1 tbsp oil

1/4 tsp cumin seeds

pinch asafoetida (omit if GF)

1/2 tsp garlic paste

1/2 tsp ginger paste

1 green chilli, minced

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 medium tomato, chopped

Method:

• Put the chana dal in the pressure cooker, together with the water and turmeric, bring up to pressure and cook for 10 minutes. Reduce pressure naturally.
• Once you can take the lid off, add the courgette and salt. If the dal is very dry, add a couple of tablespoons of water.
• Put the cooker over a low flame and gently simmer the dal and courgette until the latter starts to soften. Keep an eye on it so that it doesn’t overcook – you still want a bit of texture in it. Add more water, if you think it needs it, but usually the courgette lets out a lot of moisture.
• Now make the tempering. Put a small frying pan over a medium heat and add a glug of oil, or a scoop of coconut oil.
• When the oil is hot, add the cumin seeds and let them sizzle for a few seconds. (If you’re not sure the oil is sufficiently hot, just put a few in the pan first.)
• Now add the asafoetida and the onion - don’t let the asafoetida burn.
• Cook for about a minute and then add the ginger, garlic and green chilli. Cook until the onion becomes translucent.
• Now add the chopped tomato and cook for a further couple of minutes.
• By now the courgette should have softened. Check the texture, taste to see there is sufficient salt and then pour in the tempering.
• Mix it in and cook of a further 5 minutes.

Traditionally, this curry is served with roti or naan, but you can serve it with rice if you’d rather.

Notes:

• If you can’t get chana dal, then yellow split peas will work fine. They may cook a little more quickly, so it’s probably worth letting the pressure off after 5 minutes and checking them.
• Use 1 clove garlic, finely chopped instead of the paste
• Use 1/2 tsp ginger, grated instead of paste.
• Use a few cherry tomatoes, halved, instead of the chopped tomato.

 

Quick Curry Sauce

I’m sure no Indian cook would own this one; however it is useful for extending some leftovers or mixing in with a can of beans. If you cook some rice in the pressure cooker while you’re making this, you get an almost instant meal.

 

Serves 2

 

2 tbsp olive or coconut oil

1 onion

1 garlic clove or 1/2 tsp garlic paste

fresh ginger or 1/2 tsp ginger paste

2 tbsp gram flour

1½ cups water

1 tbsp curry paste OR 1 tbsp curry powder and 1 tbsp tomato purée

1 tbsp lemon juice

salt 

 

Method:

• Heat the oil in a saucepan. Chop the onion, dice the garlic and ginger and fry in the oil until softened. If you’re using curry powder, add this now and cook for another minute or two.
• Add the gram flour and a little of the water. Stir until any lumps of flour have disappeared and then add the rest of the water. Bring to the boil, stirring constantly.
• When the sauce has boiled, lower the heat (and add the curry paste). If you’re using curry powder, add the tomato purée. Stir and add the lemon juice. Add salt to taste.
• Leave on a low heat to simmer for 5 minutes so that the gram flour is completely cooked. If it’s too thick, add a little more water, or liquid from the can of beans, if you’re using them.

Variations:

• For Baked bean curry, which tastes surprisingly good, add a tin of baked beans to the above sauce.

• Add cooked vegetables for an instant meal.
• Try frying plantain with the onions.