This is a typical Gujarati dish: slightly sweet, slightly salty, slightly hot, and dotted with mustard seeds. I just love it. In India it would be served with a meal, but if you are in the habit of having a yogurt for lunch, try this very nutritious version.

　　

Ingredients

serves 4

　　2 cups coarsely grated zucchini (10 ounces zucchini)

　　1 1/4 cups plain yogurt

　　3/4 teaspoon salt

　　1 teaspoon sugar

　　Freshly ground black pepper

　　1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste

　　2 teaspoons canola or olive oil

　　1/2 teaspoon whole brown or yellow mustard seeds

　　2 fresh bird’s-eye chilies, slit partially, or 3 long slivers cut from a jalapeño pepper

　　8 fresh curry leaves, or 4 fresh basil leaves, torn up

　　

Step 1

Put the grated zucchini into a small pot along with 1/4 cup water. Bring to a boil, cover, turn heat to low, and simmer 2 minutes. Empty into a sieve to drain and then refresh by letting cold water run over it. Squeeze out as much of the water as you can.

　　

Step 2

Put the yogurt in a bowl. Add the salt, sugar, pepper, and cayenne. Beat with a fork or whisk until smooth and creamy. Add the drained zucchini and mix well.

　　

Step 3

Put the oil into a small pot and set over medium-high heat. When hot, put in the mustard seeds and, as soon as they pop, a matter of seconds, the chilies and curry or basil leaves. Take the pot off the heat quickly and pour its contents over the yogurt. Stir to mix in.

　　Excerpted from At Home with Madhur Jaffrey: Simple, Delectable Dishes from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka by Madhur Jaffrey. Copyright © 2010 by Random House. Excerpted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.Buy the full book from Amazon.