Cucumber Pachadi

Recipe type: Side dish

Cuisine: Kerala, Indian, South Indian

Serves: 4-5

 

Ingredients

• Kani Vellarikka/Golden Cucumber - 2 cups, cubed ( measured after cutting)
• Small onion/shallots - 2, sliced
• Green chilli - 1-2, slit lengthwise
• Chopped ginger - 1 tsp
• Grated coconut - ½ cup
• Chopped garlic - ¼ tsp
• Jeera/Cumin - a pinch
• Crushed mustard seeds - ¼ tsp
• Yogurt - 500 gms @ room temp
• Salt
• Coconut oil
• Curry leaves

Instructions

1. Grind together coconut, chopped garlic and jeera with 2-3 tbsp water to a smooth paste. Whisk the yogurt and keep aside.
2. Heat oil in a pan and add cubed cucumber, sliced small onion,green chilli, ginger, curry leaves and salt. Stir it for 2 mins. Add ½ - ¾ cup water. Cook till the cucumber becomes soft. Add crushed mustard to this. Mix well.
3. Add coconut paste, cook for 3-4 mins till the raw taste of coconut changes. Remove from fire and add whisked yogurt. Combine well.
4. Bring back to fire and keep stirring for 3-5 mins. Do not let it boil. Drizzle some coconut oil and remove from fire.
5. The dish has a medium thick consistency.

Notes

To clean the golden cucumber, peel the skin and remove the seeds. Then cut into bite sized pieces or cubes. You can store this in fridge for 2-3 days. If storing in fridge, it's better to bring it to room temp and using it, rather than reheating it.

Parippu Chaaru (Curry)

 This parippu (dal) curry is a typical Kerala dish. It’s one of the main dishes of Onasadhya as well. We call it “parippu chaaru” at home. If there is parippu chaaru, ghee and pappad, it’s almost like a mini sadya for me. I just love the smell of ghee drizzled over parippu, it increases my appetite beyond limits. Usually I don’t eat much rice, but with this I wouldn’t even mind a 2nd or 3rd helping :) Actually back home if parippu chaaru is made for lunch, extra rice will be made, since everybody tends to have more servings of rice with this.

Recipe type: Side dish

Cuisine: Kerala, South Indian,

Serves: 4-5

 

Ingredients

• Cheru parippu (moong dal) - 100 gm (approximately 1 cup)
• Grated coconut - ⅓ - ½ cup
• Jeera - ½ tsp
• Green chilli - 2-3
• Turmeric powder - ¼ ts
• Ghee/coconut oil - 2-3 tsp
• Water - ½ ltr
• Small onion - 3-4
• Mustard seeds - a pinch
• Red chilli - 2
• Curry leaves
• Salt

Instructions

1. Grind together coconut, jeera, green chilli and turmeric powder with 1 tbsp water to a smooth paste. Roast the moong dal in a heavy bottomed pan (without oil).
2. Boil half a litre water and add the roasted dal to this. Cook till the dal is done. Mash it well or you can just run it in a food processor or blender for a few seconds. Add ground paste, salt and ½ - 1 cup water to the mashed dal and let it boil. Remove from heat.
3. Heat oil/ghee in another pan and splutter mustard seeds. Add small onion, curry leaves and red chilli. Fry till small onion becomes golden brown. Pour over cooked dal. Serve with rice and pappad, wait... don't start eating... drizzle some ghee on the curry, now you are ready to eat :)

Notes

You can also cook the dal using pressure cooker. Cook on high flame for 5-6 whistles. keep it closed for 10-15 mins and open the cooker.
I recommend using ghee for this recipe.