How to make Romy Gill's childhood courgette sabzi

This month, Romy Gill recreates a recipe from her childhood using local British produce

Lightly fried for a few minutes, courgettes become juicy and cameralised adding real flavour (Ros Atkinson)

While growing up in India my mum would always cook seasonal vegetables, not because she was following a trend, but because India is a big country and she had to rely on the local produce more than that coming from other parts of India.

My parents didn’t buy a fridge freezer until I was 11 years old.

And that wasn’t because they couldn’t afford it. Instead, they both wanted my siblings and I to have a private education and also to eat freshly cooked food everyday, rather than cooking in bulk and warming it up.

Now, things have changed a lot since I was a child, and most people where I used to live have a fridge, or a microwave.

And as well as the change in technology, people in my old hometown in India are also eating food that I never ate growing up, because food that’s not local to that area is now able to travel.

When I had this dish as a child, my mother used taroi, which is very similar to a courgette. So for this recipe, I’m using what’s grown in the UK – courgettes.

In India, I grew up eating taroi in this dish, but as courgette is very similar it can easily be substituted (Ros Atkinson) (Ros Atkinson @her_dark_materials)

Courgette sabzi

Total time: 15 minutes

Serves 4

5 courgettes washed and sliced into discs
2 garlic cloves peeled and grated 
20g ginger peeled and grated 
2-3 green chillies chopped 
1tsp nigella seeds
4tsp sunflower oil 
1 level tsp ground turmeric 
4tsp fresh mint chopped 
1tsp salt

Heat oil in a nonstick pan.

Add nigella seeds to the pan. When the seeds start sizzling add the grated garlic and ginger and cook on a medium heat for 2 minutes.

Add the green chillies, ground turmeric and salt and cook for one minute.

Add the courgettes discs, mix well with all the ingredients in the pan and cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Sprinkle the chopped mint mix just before serving with a pitta bread. Cut the pitta in half, make pockets, fill with courgette sabzi and enjoy.

Romy Gill’s restaurant is in Thornbury (Romyskitchen.co.uk). Follow her on instagram @romygill