Zucchini is one of summer’s early offerings, and what a delicious offering it is! It makes sweet treats even more delicious, like this vegan zucchini bread, vegan zucchini cake, and vegan zucchini halwa; and it adds a healthy and flavorful flair to savory dishes, like this garlicky zucchini rice, zucchini kofta curry, and zucchini blossom pakoras. Each year, as the weather warms up, I can’t wait to eat more of this amazing, healthful vegetable. I add it to almost everything you can imagine, from rice to curries to desserts. One of my favorite and easy ways to use it is in this zucchini dal. Although zucchini is available in supermarkets year-round here in the United States, it is actually in season between June and August. I like to eat seasonally as much as possible, so in winter I tend to stick with winter squashes and in summer I eat more of an amazing variety of summer squashes, from zucchini to yellow squash to pattypan squash (which look like chubby little flying saucers) and many more. You can use any of these summer squashes in this dal. Zucchini was not a vegetable I was familiar with growing up in India but with globalization it is now quite easily available there. If you are in India and believe in eating locally (always a better option), any Indian squash, like bottle gourd (dudhi), ash gourd (white pumpkin) or ridge gourd, would work very well in this dal. I gave this zucchini dal a south Indian flair, with coconut oil, curry leaves and a dash of curry powder. You can even add some coconut milk to finish it off and make it more creamy, although I leave it out because the dal is amazingly delicious as it is.
How to make zucchini dal
Cook the dal with turmeric powder and enough water until really soft and mushy. This is easily done in a pressure cooker or Instant Pot, but you can also do it on the stovetop. Whisk the cooked dal so it becomes creamy. Heat oil. Add the mustard seeds and wait until they sputter and crackle. Add the curry leaves and green chili peppers. Saute for a few seconds. Then add the tomatoes and saute for 2-3 minutes until tomatoes are soft. They don’t have to turn mushy.
Add the diced zucchini and saute for five minutes until the zucchini is tender but still has a bite.
Add the dal. Don’t add water at this point unless the dal is really dry. The zucchini will express a lot of liquid. Bring the dal to a boil, cover, and cook for five minutes. Add more water at this point if dal is too thick. Stir in curry powder. Add salt to taste. Sprinkle on the cilantro and turn off heat. Serve hot.
Make ahead and storage instructions
Make-ahead: You can cook the lentils up to four days ahead of cooking the dal. Refrigerate until ready to use. Refrigerate: The cooked dal and leftovers can be refrigerated for up to four days. Freeze: The cooked dal can be stored in a freezer-safe container for up to four months. Reheat: Reheat dal in microwave or stovetop. Dal tends to thicken as it stands, so add more water if necessary to thin out. Add more salt if needed.
More yummy Indian dal recipes
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