A light and delicious summery dish, add this chickpea and courgette curry to your repertoire today. Perfect for making a dent in a glut of courgettes. Suitable for vegans.
First thing’s first – what are courgettes?
If you already know what a courgette is you’re probably wondering why I’ve even bothered to answer this question.
The reason I’ve chosen to do so is that courgettes are known as zucchini in many parts of the world. In my experience people that call them zucchini have never heard of a courgette!
The same goes for eggplant (aubergine), arugula (rocket) and rutabaga (swede). Is it just me that finds this fascinating?
Courgettes – or zucchini – are a type of summer squash. Left to grow they turn into marrows. However, they’re more common in their smaller variety – as a courgette.
When I was growing up we had a very long narrow garden. There was a huge pine tree right in the middle of the garden (no idea why someone thought that was a good idea).
In front of the pine tree was our area to play. Behind it was my dad’s territory. An old plum tree nestled between two garden sheds, a large greenhouse and lots and lots of vegetables growing all year round.
As a result of all this hard work our summers were filled with delicious, homegrown vegetables. Courgettes we had aplenty. Often they were left to grow into marrows.
I can’t say that, as a kid, I was all that keen on a side of marrows with my dinner but I did like the various stuffed marrow dishes my mum used to make.
Now I come to think of it I can’t think of the last time I saw a marrow, let alone a recipe for one. Marrows definitely feel like they’ve gone out of fashion!
Fancy growing your own courgettes?
I can’t claim to be much of a gardener but I have managed to grow my own courgettes over the years – often in grow bags. The RHS site has some good advice about how to grow your own courgettes if you’d like to give it a go.
More vegetarian courgette recipes
Now I cook my own food, I can’t say that I’ve ever made a stuffed courgette or marrow dish. Instead I love to sauté or fry courgettes and eat them simply with pasta, lemon and pine nuts.
- Courgette fritters are delicious – these ones use an egg to bind them but use gram flour instead if you are vegan.
- Courgette noodles – a healthy alternative to pasta
- Chocolate and courgette muffins – one of my kids’ favourite recipes
- Overnight oats with courgette – a wonderful way to start the day
- Banana and courgette pancakes – get some veg in at breakfast time
- Courgette and lemon cake – a light and fresh bake
- Courgette polpette – a summer classic
See my favourite courgette recipes and get some cooking tips.
What ingredients do you need to make chickpea and courgette curry?
You do need a few different spices to make my chickpea and courgette curry. These are fairly common spices, and if you don’t already have them I recommend that you get them as you’ll use them time and time again.
- cumin seeds
- mustard seeds
- turmeric
- ground coriander
- chilli powder (optional), and
- garam masala.
The other ingredients that I’ve used in my summer courgette curry are:
- oil
- onion
- garlic
- ginger
- courgettes
- tomatoes
- tinned chickpeas
- fresh coriander, and
- salt and pepper.
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How to make summer chickpea and courgette curry
Chickpea and courgette curry
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp yellow mustard seeds
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
- 1 inch piece ginger peeled and finely chopped
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp chilli powder optional
- 2 medium courgettes cut in half lengthways and sliced into half moon shapes
- 2 medium tomatoes chopped
- 400 g tin of chickpeas
- 1 tbsp garam masala
- Small handful Fresh coriander roughly chopped
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
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Heat 1 tbsp sunflower oil in a large frying pan or heavy based saucepan.
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Add 1 tsp mustard seeds and 1 tsp cumin seeds. Heat until the mustard seeds begin to pop then add 1 chopped onion.
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Stir well and fry for around 10 minutes until the onion is cooked. Add 2 chopped cloves of garlic and a 1 inch piece of chopped ginger. Stir well and cook for a minute.
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Add 1 tsp ground turmeric, 2 tsp ground coriander and a pinch of chilli powder if desired. Stir to mix.
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Add the 2 courgettes cut into half moon shapes. Stir well until mixed in the onion and spice mixture and cook over a low heat for around 10-15 minutes until softened and turning golden brown. If they stick you can add a dash more oil or water. Don’t be tempted to add too much water as the courgettes will release extra water as they cook.
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When soft add the 2 chopped tomatoes and cook for a five minutes until broken down.
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Drain and rinse a tin of chickpeas and stir through the courgette curry. Cook for a further five minutes.
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Add 1 tbsp garam masala. Season to taste with salt and pepper and stir well.
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Serve with freshly chopped coriander.
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