Courgettes & Yellow Summer Squash with Cumin

Our 4th (and final) planting
of summer squash

Another one from noted Indian recipe author Madhur Jaffrey, who writes that this was her family's everyday summer squash preparation.  She recommends using summer squash and courgettes (zucchini) together, because of the pretty colors, but conveniently, our summer squash is yellow AND green, so it works great on its own!  A word about asafoetida: this is a pretty common thing to find in Indian recipes, but I never have any in my kitchen and things usually turn out fine (if slightly less authentic) without it.  This dish can be served hot or cold.


COURGETTES & YELLOW SUMMER SQUASH WITH CUMIN
from Curry Easy by Madhur Jaffrey

serves 4-6

4 medium courgettes and/or summer squash (about 1 1/2 lb total)
4 Tablespoons olive oil
generous pinch of ground asafoetida
1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
6 oz. finely chopped tomato (1 medium; 6 oz. of drained canned diced tomato can be substituted if necessary)
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Trim the courgettes and/or squash, then quarter them lengthways.  Cut them crossways into 1-inch chunks.

Pour the oil into a frying pan and set over a medium heat.  When hot, put in the asafoetida and cumin seeds.  Stir once, then put in the tomatoes.  Stir and cook for about 2 minutes, or until the tomatoes have softened.  

Add all the courgettes and squash.  Stir and saute for 2 minutes.  Add the salt, cayenne pepper and 4 Tablespoons water.  Stir to mix, and bring to a simmer.  Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring once or twice, for 5-6 minutes or until the vegetables are just done.