Do you have that meal that you whip up when you’re in a pinch? Well, this is one of my go-to’s. It was one (of many) FAV curries my mum would make when I lived at home. Ever since I started adulting/moved out, I make this curry dish since it’s super easy and a delish way to pack in my veggies for the meal. 

Making a curry can sound like a pretty daunting task but it’s actually really easy. My background is Indian-Fijian so our curry making technique and flavours can be a bit different than what most people are used to. It involves less cooking time, just a few main ingredients but the technique is pretty much the same with any sort of curry we make. This one is a bit different since the spices are mellowed with the addition of sour cream at the very end. The creamy mouth-feel from the sour cream with the heat of the curry powder is sooooo good. Current mood: drooling.

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp (15 mL) olive oil
• 1/2 onion (approx 1/2 cup/125mL), diced
• 1 tbsp (15 mL) fresh ginger, minced
• 3-4 large cloves garlic, minced
• 1-1.5 tbsp (15-20 mL) curry powder – I used Madras curry powder, add more if you like the heat!
• 2 small tomatoes, finely diced or pureed
• 1 tsp (5mL) salt (or more to taste)
• 4-5 zucchini, cut in half then 1/2 cm slices
• 1/4 cup (60 mL) cilantro, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup (125 mL or 1/2 small container) sour cream

(Check out the “Tips & Tricks” section for additional notes)

What to do:

1. Preheat a large pan on medium heat. Add oil and onions. Cook for approx 5 minutes or until soft and translucent.
2. Add garlic and ginger to the pan. Cook for 1 minute. Then add curry powder and cook for an additional 1 minute.
3. Add diced/pureed tomatoes and salt and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the tomatoes begin to thicken.
4. Increase the heat to medium-high and add zucchini. Stir until the zucchini is covered in tomato/curry sauce. Cover for 3-5 minutes. Then open lid and cook for additional 5-8 minutes or until the zucchini is soft and the water from the zucchini is cooked off. You want a thick sauce made from the spices, tomatoes and zucchini at the bottom.
5. Once zucchini mixture is cooked, stir in the cilantro and cook for additional 1 minute. Taste to see if there’s enough salt – add more if needed.
6. Remove pan from the stove and cool for 5-10 minutes. Then add sour cream to mixture.
7. Serve with a bed of rice or Indian bread (naan or roti).
8. NOM!

Serves approx 6-8 individuals.

Tips & Tricks:

• I prefer using the thinner and smaller zucchinis rather than the huge ones. I’m not fan of the seeds in larger zucchini and you get a consistent texture throughout the curry with the smaller ones.
• It’s important to allow the zucchini mixture to partially cool before adding the sour cream otherwise the cream may curdle. I typically use full fat sour cream. The lower fat options sometimes make the sauce a bit watery.
• Finding the curry powder used a bit spicy? Add more sour cream to mellow out the heat! I get mine from Famous Foods.
• My mum has instilled an OCD characteristic in me with my curry technique so I always peal the skin off my tomatoes then puree them up so the sauce has a smooth consistency. If you hate the extra work, just dice up the tomatoes nice and small (and skip the pealing)! I also buy the softer, more ripe tomatoes when I grocery shop for curries. The texture and sweetness makes the sauce so yummy!