Blazer Cookbook

Squash’s mild flavor can turn bitter on occasion and turn people away from the vegetable. This bitter flavor is due to high levels of cucurbitacin. This is likely due to an environmental stressor while the squash is growing, like a wide temperature flux or irregular irrigation.⁹ Another reason the squash might be bitter is because they can easily be cross pollinated with other nearby plants.⁹

Bitterness due to these factors are grown into the plant, but highly concentrated in the stem. If you have a mildly bitter squash that you don’t want to waste there are a few tricks you can do. Peel the squash starting from the blossom end (the wider end of the squash) and then cut off and discard a couple of inches at the stem end (the skinny end of the squash).⁹

Squash is a great vegetable to “hide” in other dishes. Squash can enhance the nutrition of the dish but the flavor is mild enough to not overtake it.¹⁰ Yellow squash is harder to puree than other squash varieties, but there are plenty of great ways to hide it in food. See some examples below.

Yellow squash is best stored unwashed in a plastic bag in the refrigerator or in the produce drawer for up to 5 days. Rinse it under cold water and trim both ends before using it.¹⁶

Yellow squash is a very versatile vegetable. A few different ways to cook it are:^{17 6}

• Raw either in slices or cut up and added to a salad or dip
• Roasted or baked in the oven
• Steamed
• Sautéed
• Grilled
• Fried
• Air fried
• Turned into squash noodles
• Blended into a smoothie
• Turned into a boat and stuffed
• Used as a base for curry
• Soup

Yellow squash is a powerhouse vegetable that can be used in just about any dish out there. Feel free to get creative with it!

Ingredients:¹⁸

• 1 yellow squash, cubed
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 green chili, minced
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
• 1 tsp red chili powder
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1/4 tsp garam masala
• 1/4 cup coconut milk
• salt to taste
• 1/4 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/4 tsp cumin seeds
• 5 curry leaves
• cilantro for garnish
• 2 tbsp oil

Instructions:

1. Heat oil in a pan, splutter mustard seeds, cumin seeds, and curry leaves
2. Add chopped onion and green chili and sauté nicely, followed by ginger garlic paste
3. Add chopped tomatoes and sauté till everything forms a gravy
4. Now add the yellow squash and fry along with turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, garam masala, and salt. Cover and cook till the squash is cooked, adding little water as needed
5. Add coconut milk and let the gravy simmer for a few minutes
6. Garnish with coriander leaves

Serving Suggestion: serve the yellow squash curry with chapati or plain rice

Ingredients:¹⁹

• 1 cup toor dal/split pigeon peas
• 3 cups water
• 2 yellow squash, chopped (about 2 cups)
• 1 large tomato, diced
• 5 thai green chili/any chili
• 5 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 2 tsp red chili powder or to taste
• salt to taste
• 1 lemon sized tamarind, soaked in 1 cup water

Ingredients for tempering the dal/tadka

• 2 tbs ghee/avocado oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 dried red chilies
• 1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
• 6 curry leaves
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• Cilantro or coriander leaves for garnish

Instructions:

1. Rinse and Drain Toor dal and add it to Instant pot. Add 3 cups water, Turmeric and Red chili powder.
2. Chop summer squash, tomato, green chili and garlic roughly and add to the Toor dal.
3. Close the lid and set the pressure cook/Manual mode for 8 minutes, Vent in Sealing position.
4. Soak a lemon sized tamarind in 1 cup water.
5. Let the pressure release naturally and gently mash the dal with the back of the spoon.
6. Squeeze the tamarind to extract the juices, discard the pulp and save the tamarind juice.
7. Turn on Sauté mode on normal and set the time for 10 minutes. Add tamarind juice and salt to the cooked and mashed dal, mix once thoroughly and let everything come to a boil.

Tempering the dal:

1. Add ghee to a sauté pan and when it melts and turns hot, add dried red chilies, mustard seeds and cumin seeds.
2. When the mustard seeds splutter, add finely chopped onion, curry leaves and garlic. Sauté till the onions are lightly browned. Add this tempering to the dal and mix it in.

Check out this recipe using this link!