This Indian-style Zucchini Curry recipe is creamy and delicious, made with Zucchini (courgette) that is infused with spices and extremely easy to make in an Instant Pot pressure cooker or stovetop in less than 20 minutes. Vegan, Gluten-free, and Low Carb/Keto Friendly.
I was inspired to try this zucchini curry recipe after making Lauki Curry (Bottle gourd Curry) in my Instant pot. It takes far less time and less monitoring than if you were to make it on the stovetop. I have also included the stovetop zucchini curry version below.
I have added coconut cream at the end, giving the curry a nice creamy texture, so do not skip it. You may also add full-fat coconut milk after pressure cooking and simmer for a few minutes. The flavors are just so incredible. You may also like the Indian dry version of Zucchini Stir Fry and Asian-style Zucchini Stir Fry.
If you are on a Keto or Low Carb Diet. Check out Keto Indian Food Recipes Collection.
I hope you give this easy vegetarian Zucchini Curry a try this Summer. Do not forget to comment back if you enjoyed the curry!
Jump to:
- Why I love this Zucchini Curry Recipe
- Ingredients & Substitutions
- How to Make Indian Zucchini Curry in Instant Pot
- Stovetop Pot Instructions
- How to serve Zucchini Curry?
- Storage
- Tips to make the Best Zucchini Curry
- Variations
- Frequently Asked Questions
- More Indian Zucchini Recipes
- More Indian Vegetarian Curry Recipes
- Zucchini Curry (Indian Courgette Curry) - Instant Pot
Why I love this Zucchini Curry Recipe
- Easy to make, a one-pot dish that takes less than 30 minutes to cook.
- Healthy & Flavorful.
- Perfect for busy weekday lunch or dinner.
- Easily adaptable to special dietary needs, including vegan, gluten-free, low carb, keto, and paleo.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Zucchini (Courgette): 2-3 medium-sized zucchini sliced lengthwise and then cut into 1-inch half-moon pieces (about 3-3.5 cups)
- Onions, Ginger, and Garlic: I used finely chopped red onions. Use freshly minced or finely chopped ginger and garlic for a burst of flavor.
- Green chili: Zucchini vegetable is generally mild. To make this curry spicy, I have used one green Thai chili, you can skip it if you like.
- Tomatoes: I have used Roma tomatoes to make the base for this curry. You can also puree the tomatoes instead and add them or use canned tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes.
- Oil: I have used Olive oil. You can use your choice of cooking oil.
- Herbs & Spices: I have used fresh-cut cilantro for herbs and cumin seeds, turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, garam masala as spices. You can increase or decrease the spices according to your choice.
- Cream: I have used coconut cream. You can also use fresh cream or cashew nut cream.
- Lemon juice: use fresh lemon/lime juice whenever possible or amchur powder (dry mango powder) for tartness.
How to Make Indian Zucchini Curry in Instant Pot
Wash and cut 2-3 zucchini lengthwise, then into half-moon pieces (around 3-3.5 cups).
Press SAUTE on Instant Pot. Add oil to the POT. Once hot, add cumin seeds, let them splutter.
Then add minced ginger and garlic, green chili. Saute for 15 secs.
Add chopped onions. Saute till it turns light brown.
Next, add tomatoes, dry spices like turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder, salt. Cook for two more minutes till the tomatoes turn soft.
Then add all zucchini pieces, water, and mix well. Make sure to Deglaze the pot and scrape any spice sticking to the inner pot to avoid the BURN alert.
Close the lid securely, and turn the vent to "SEALING". Select the PRESSURE COOK/MANUAL (High Pressure) setting and set the cooking time to 1 minute.
When the instant pot beeps, do a Quick Release (QR)
Lastly, remove the lid away from you, add coconut cream or fresh cream, squeeze lemon juice, and garnish with cilantro.
Indian Zucchini Sabji (Courgette curry) Instant pot recipe is ready. Serve hot with chapatis, roti & parathas.
Stovetop Pot Instructions
Follow the same process mentioned above for Instant Pot. Cover Kadai with a lid and cook till Zucchini gets soft, it takes 5-6 minutes.
Do stir once or twice in between. Add cream and lemon juice once Zucchini is cooked and garnish it with cilantro. All the other steps remain the same.
How to serve Zucchini Curry?
Serve Zucchini Coconut Curry as a side dish with roti, paratha, and lentils of your choice like dal tadka, moong dal.
You can also pair it with coconut rice, basmati rice, or quinoa. If you are on Keto/Low carb diet, serve it with cauliflower rice.
Storage
- Store: You can store leftover zucchini curry in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.
- Freeze: Freeze in freezer-safe containers or Ziploc bags for up to 3 months.
- Reheat: Reheat Zucchini curry in a microwave or stovetop until warm, and serve. If it is frozen, defrost first and then reheat.
Tips to make the Best Zucchini Curry
- Zucchini needs to be fresh and firm. Also, check the taste of zucchini before cooking it, some of them might be bitter.
- Zucchini chunks should not be cut too thin else, small zucchini pieces will get mashed in the pressure cooker.
- I have prepared this dish in my electric pressure cooker, Instant Pot DUO60 6 QT. If using an 8 qt or a newer instant pot model that is more sensitive to burn issues, add an extra ¼ cup of water before pressure cooking.
Variations
- Zucchini can be replaced with bottle gourd/lauki in this recipe.
- You can also add green peas to this recipe.
- You can also add 1 cup of coconut milk at the end and simmer for a few minutes to make delicious Zucchini Coconut Curry.
- If you don't have garam masala on hand, substitute it with curry powder.
Frequently Asked Questions
This vegetable is low in fat, high in water, and has a low-calorie density, which may help you feel full.
Yes, this curry is vegan as I have added coconut cream.
Yes! Zucchini is low in carbs and is an excellent vegetable for the diet.
You do not need to peel the zucchini, as it is abundant in nutrients.
Yes! curry will still taste delicious. But I highly recommend adding it, it makes the curry creamy and rich.
You can substitute coconut cream with cashew cream or heavy cream. You can also add coconut milk and simmer the curry until you get desired consistency.
More Indian Zucchini Recipes
- Zucchini Dal
- Zucchini Carrot Paratha
- Zucchini Raita
- Cream of Zucchini Soup
- Zucchini Pakoda
- Zucchini Chutney
More Indian Vegetarian Curry Recipes
- Black Eye Pea Curry (Lobia curry)
- Chickpea Coconut Curry
- Navratan Korma (Vegetable Korma)
- Beetroot & Chickpeas Stir Fry
- Mushroom Masala
- Rajma Masala
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Zucchini Curry (Indian Courgette Curry) - Instant Pot
Equipment
Ingredients
Measuring cup used 1 cup = 250 ml
- 2-3 medium zucchini (courgette) sliced lengthwise and then cut into 1-inch half-moon pieces (about 3-3.5 cups)
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon cumin (jeera) seeds
- 1 tablespoon ginger and garlic minced
- 1 green chili finely chopped
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 2 medium tomatoes finely chopped or 1 can 8 oz tomato sauce (about 1 cup) or crushed tomatoes
- ½ cup water
- salt to taste
- 2 tablespoons coconut cream or fresh cream, cashewnut cream (optional but recommended)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons cilantro (coriander leaves)
Dry spices:
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon red chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
Instructions
Instant Pot Method:
- Wash and cut 2-3 zucchini lengthwise, and then into half-moon pieces (around 3-3.5 cups).
- Press SAUTE on Instant Pot. Add oil to the POT. Once hot, add cumin seeds, let them splutter.
- Then add minced ginger and garlic, green chili, Saute for 15 secs.
- Add chopped onions. Saute till it turns light brown in color.
- Next add tomatoes, dry spices like turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder, salt and cook for 2 more minutes till the tomatoes turn soft.
- Then add all zucchini pieces, water, and mix well. Make sure to Deglaze the pot, scrape any spice that is sticking to the inner pot in order to avoid the BURN alert.
- Close the Instant Pot with pressure valve to Sealing. Cook on High Pressure for 1 minute.When the instant pot beeps, do a Quick Release (QR).
- Lastly, remove the lid away from you, add coconut cream or fresh cream and squeeze lemon juice, garnish with cilantro.
- Zucchini Sabji (Courgette curry) Instant pot recipe is ready, serve hot with chapatis, roti & parathas.
Stovetop Pot Method:
- Follow the same process mentioned above for Instant Pot. Cover Kadai with a lid and cook till zucchini gets soft takes 5-6 minutes. Do stir once or twice in between. Once zucchini is cooked, add cream, lemon juice and garnish it with cilantro. All the other steps remain the same.
Video
Notes
- Zucchini needs to be fresh and firm. Also, check the taste of zucchini before cooking it, some of them might be bitter in taste.
- Zucchini chunks should not be too thin else small zucchini pieces will get mashed in the pressure cooker.
- Zucchini can be replaced with bottle gourd/lauki.
- You can also add green peas in this recipe.
- You can also add 1 cup of coconut milk at the end and simmer for few minutes to make delicious Zucchini coconut curry.
- I have prepared this dish in my electric pressure cooker, Instant Pot DUO60 6 QT. If using an 8 qt or a newer model of the instant pot which is more sensitive to burn issues, add an extra ¼ cup of water before pressure cooking.
Mish says
If we want to add frozen peas, when should we do this and does it change the instant pot pressure time?
Bhavana Patil says
Hi Mish, You can add frozen peas along with zucchini, no pressure cooking time vl remain the same..they don't turn mushy.
cf86713 says
Can this be made in a slow cooker? If so how.
Bhavana Patil says
Personally, i havnt tried making it in the slow cooker..However you can make it on the stovetop pot ... I have provided the stovetop instructions for the same in the blog.
artgal says
I didn't follow the recipe exactly, but this recipe inspired me to create a beautiful dish out of an extra large zucchini that I thought was too big and too tough to be edible. Once I seeded and peeled the zucchini the squash chunks seemed perfect for this recipe. I've made zucchini curry for several years but have always felt my curry lacked something. For my taste this spice combination has everything just right. Thank you for your excellent instruction and recipe.