This Indian-spiced potatoes and zucchini dish is one of the simplest recipes on the blog, requiring just two main ingredients (ignoring all the spices for now, more on that below), but easily the biggest flavour bomb out of all the recipes here. You’d never imagine that potatoes and zucchini could taste so good!
This recipe is one of the hidden gems in The Asian Vegan Kitchen by Hema Parekh. Just reading over the recipe of potatoes and zucchini and a handful of spices it doesn’t sound like much.
But one Sunday afternoon when the pantry was bare and the supermarkets were closed, we didn’t have many options for lunch. So we gave this recipe a try and, wow, were we ever surprised! How tasty!
I guess I shouldn’t have been so surprised, considering how I’ve previously gone on and on about my love of Indian spices, but this was the first time that I used them in such a simple dish and was able to really appreciate their power.
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Looking over the ingredients you’ll realize that this recipe calls for some rather specialist spices. Asafoetida and mango powder took me a while to track down but they are really what makes this dish so spectacular.
You may, like I was, be hesitant to make an effort to find them, but if you have even the slightest appreciation of Indian food it will be well worth the effort.
These easy samosas are raised to another level with just one teaspoon of mango powder and a simple garbanzo curry would similarly knock your socks off by replacing the lemon juice with mango powder.
With spices like these just a little will go a long way and once you’ve tried them, you’ll be putting them in everything!

Yield: Serves 2
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
You’d never imagine that potatoes and zucchini could taste so good!
Ingredients
- 450 grams (16 oz) potatoes
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- A pinch of asafoetida
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon mango powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 medium zucchini, sliced into rounds
Instructions
- First boil the potatoes until soft. Peel and slice them into rounds.
- Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the mustard and cumin seeds and fry for 30 seconds or until the mustard seeds start to pop. Then add the asafoetida and garlic and fry, stirring continuously, for about 30 seconds or until the garlic is fragrant.
- Add the remaining spices and mix well. Then add the boiled potatoes and zucchini and carefully stir to coat the vegetable with the spices. Cover the pan with a lid and allow to steam, stirring occasionally, until the zucchini is tender – about 5 minutes. Serve as a side dish or alongside rice and naan or chapati.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 2Amount Per Serving: Calories: 321Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 563mgCarbohydrates: 57gFiber: 8gSugar: 7gProtein: 9g
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