A super simple south Indian-ish summer squash recipe that is full of savory, spicy, tangy, and sour flavors.
South Indian-ish Summer Squash

The thing about compiling squash recipes for the zucchini-pocalypse that comes around every summer is that you really can never have too many in your corner.

Squash is just so versatile! And cheap.

It’s impossible not to buy pounds of it at a time. Just try. I dare you.

South Indian-ish Summer Squash

I swear, as soon as I find a recipe that I think is The One, at least five more pop into my life that I *need* to try.

Bonus points if they’re mind-blowingly simple and also different enough from the other fifty I’ve already tried that season so that my husband doesn’t say “We’re eating that AGAIN?!”

Thankfully, I just keep buying cookbooks so the recipe inspiration just keeps on coming.

This squash recipe is from a newer acquisition – the book Indian-ish – that is filled with Indian-American fusion recipes. It’s based on a dish the author’s mother makes to use up both summer and winter squash. The recipe calls for both types of squash but I just used a mix of summer squash and zucchini to keep it more seasonal. It gets a whole lot of flavor from a mix of mustard seeds, curry leaves, turmeric, and coriander, and heat from serrano peppers that are simmered along with the squash. The whole dish takes about twenty minutes from start to finish and it is the perfect side to just about any Indian main meal. I served it with chole (a  traditional Indian chickpea and tomato stew), also from the same cookbook and while that was good, it was the veggies that really stole the show.

South Indian-ish Summer Squash

South Indian-ish Summer Squash
 
A super simple south Indian-ish summer squash recipe that is full of savory, spicy, tangy, and sour flavors.
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp black mustard seeds
  • 10 fresh curry leaves
  • 1 tsp ground turmeric
  • ¼ tsp asafetida (optional)
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 4 medium or 2 large summer squash, diced into ½-inch pieces
  • 2 serrano chiles, halved lengthwise
  • 1 tbsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
  • 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
  • ½ tsp kashmiri chili powder
Instructions
  1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat. Once it begins to shimmer, add in the mustard seeds. Once they begin to pop, remove the pan from the heat briefly and stir in the curry leaves. They should immediately crisp up.
  2. Return the pan to medium heat and add in the turmeric and asafetida. Stir to combine. Add in the onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add in the squash, serrano peppers, and coriander. Stir to combine. Spread the vegetables in an even layer in the pan. Cover and cook until the squash is tender, about 8-10 minutes.
  3. Stir in the salt, lime juice, and chili powder. Season to taste with lime juice, chili powder, and salt before serving.
Notes
Recipe from Indian-ish

 

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6 Responses to South Indian-ish Summer Squash

  1. Kate says:

    I love that term. I feel like a lot of my friends cook Indian-ish, especially when they’re missing their mothers’ more authentic style.

  2. Judee says:

    I love all the Indian spices. Looks like a wonderful dish.

  3. Eva says:

    Love this dish. Very similar to how I make. I grind some ground coconut (can use frozen), 1/4 spoon of cumin and 1/2 tsp of fennel seeds and add it at the end. Also add pinch of cumin seed along with curry leaves. Yum.

  4. Pam says:

    So much flavor in this dish…YUM!

  5. i have been enjoying squash a lot to this season. have you tried chilled squash soup yet?

  6. Anna P McLamb says:

    I loosely followed this recipe but got the best summer squash dish ever as a result. Used same amount of oil and veg, 1 Fresno pepper, dried curry leaves and salt, sweet curry powder and juice of half a line to round it out. I’m sure the recipe would’ve been better but even the approximation was delicious. Thanks.

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