Zucchini Curry (Indian Style)

Try this zucchini curry cooked in Indian style, a perfect weeknight meal that happens to be vegan, gluten-free, low in calories, keto-friendly, and ready in under 30 minutes.

It is a one-pot curry, creamy in texture, and goes well with Indian flatbread, naan, or rice. You will learn how to make zucchini curry on the stovetop using a dutch oven as well as in an Instant pot, step by step.

Why you will love this recipe

• Seasonal veggie- Zucchini is a summer vegetable, also known as Courgette or summer squash. It is high in water content and low in calories. Zucchini fries, stir fry with chickpea flour, Zucchini boats, Lasagna, Casserole, Zoodles, are other ways to enjoy this seasonal veggie.
• Perfect weeknight dinner- It is a one-pot dish where fresh zucchini cooked with tomato and simple spices. Gets ready in under 30 minutes.
• Dietary compliance- This easy Indian style zucchini sabzi perfectly fits under a vegan, gluten-free, low carb, keto, and plant-based diet. It perfectly fits in macro friendly diet.
• Easy to make- Cooking with simple spices, this creamy curry is easy to make with pantry staples without any fancy ingredient.

Ingredients & variations

Please check the recipe card for full ingredient list and measurements

This vegetarian Indian zucchini curry calls for 10 simple ingredients

Variations

• To make it more gravy-like consistency, add ½ cup of coconut milk after adding zucchini and cook for 2-3 minutes. Coconut milk gives a creamier and rich taste to the curry.
• Along with zucchini, you can add other veggies like peas, potato, carrot, and cauliflower. Add boiled chickpeas to increase nutritional values and flavors.
• Instead of curry powder or kitchen king powder, try 2 tablespoon of different Thai curry pastes. Garam masala also works fine if required.

Well, there are many opportunities to enhance the flavors and variations of zucchini curry when you are cooking this summer squash. So experiment and explore.

How to make zucchini curry on stovetop

Pick & prepare zucchini

Do you know what type of zucchini to choose for cooking? Always pick a small size of zucchini, as they are soft from the inside with fewer seeds, and taste better.

Now that you know how to pick them, it's time to cut. I prefer to cut zucchini in any shape, circle, half-circle, or cubes. For this curry, I chose to cut them in half circles.

Prepare spices to cook

First of all, add oil to a dutch oven on medium heat (pic 1). Once the oil is hot enough, add chopped onion and cook for 2 minutes (pic 2-4).

After cooking onions for 2 minutes, add cumin seeds and ginger-garlic paste (pic 6 & 7), saute for 30 seconds or until the raw smell of the paste goes away (pic 8).

Add cut zucchini is gravy

Now add tomato paste with ¼ cup of water (pic 9,10). Mix well and keep cooking. In another 1-2 minutes the water evaporates and tomato gravy is ready to add cut zucchini (pic 11 & 12). Add a little salt at this stage to help the squash to release water and cook further.

Cover the lid, lower the heat and cook for 3-4 minutes. Check once in between and stir (pic 13, 14).

After 4 minutes, open the lid and add spices like kitchen king powder (or curry powder), coriander powder, red chili powder, and adjust the salt. Mix well and cook for another 2-3 minutes (pic 15 & 16). (You need to add coconut milk at this stage).

Finally, add the lemon juice and sprinkle chopped coriander (pic 17 & 18). Check the level of consistency you like to have and switch off the flame (Pic 19 & 20). (I cooked for another 2-3 minutes to evaporate water.)

Instant pot zucchini curry

I am using a 3 qt IP to make this curry. Cooking steps may differ from the stovetop method but ingredients remain the same.

• Switch on the instant pot and press SAUTE mode. Once the screen shows HOT add oil and chopped onion. Cook for 2 mins.
• Once onion cooked for 2 minutes, add cumin seeds & ginger-garlic paste. Saute for 30 seconds or until the raw smell of garlic goes away.
• Add cut zucchini, tomato paste & water. DO NOT STIR. Close the instant pot's lid. CANCEL the SAUTE mode, and press PRESSURE COOKER mode. Cook on low pressure for 1 minute.
• Once the timer is over wait for 10 minutes and do QUICK RELEASE. Open the lid carefully.
• Add all the dry spices and adjust salt. Press the SAUTE mode again and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Zucchini releases a lot of water after pressure cooking. Further cooking will help in evaporating extra water.
• After 4 minutes add lemon juice and chopped coriander. CANCEL the SAUTE mode and transfer the inner pot to the kitchen platform.
• Zucchini curry is ready to serve.

FAQ's & tips

• Always pick small size zucchini. as they have softer seeds, more flavorful without any bitterness in the outer skin.
• Peeling the skin is completely optional and personal choice. But if using bigger courgette then peel and then cook further. Sometimes you may need to remove seeds as well.
• Adjust spices as per taste.
• Replace kitchen king powder with garam masala or curry powder.
• Try using bottle gourd in place of zucchini and you will end up having yummy bottle gourd curry.

How to serve

Zucchini curry is best to serve as a side dish along with Indian roti, steamed basmati rice, mashed potato, quinoa, and brown rice. For a keto/low carb lifestyle serve this Indian-style zucchini curry with cauliflower rice.

How to store

Store the leftover curry in a glass container and keep it in the refrigerator. It remains good for 2-3 days. Just reheat in the microwave for 1 minute or on the stovetop.