Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Cucumber Sweet and Sour Chutney

Or to call it by it's real name, Theeya Dhosakaya Pulusu Pachadi'.
We'll come back to the tongue twister in a bit! 

A few weeks ago, my friend Sujata had borrowed my copy of 'Cooking at Home With Pedatha'. Sujata is a fan of South Indian cuisine.... well, she is a huge fan of Idli-sambar, to be accurate. 
When her parents were visiting, she tried out this recipe and I had a share in it too. 
Interestingly, had I not tasted this chutney at her dinner table, I doubt I would have been in a hurry to make it, let alone blog about it.

To me, Cucumbers mean sandwiches and raitas/ koshimbir. Cooking cucumbers was a big no for me. I had tasted cucumber daal once and disliked it, somehow that experience left it's mark on my memory with a deep rooted dislike for cooked, gloopy, squish ( in Marathi, one would call it 'gilgileet') cucumbers. That was until Pedatha stepped in to rectify it! 

This  book is a treasure, I tell you ( yes, I am repeating myself) 
And this chutney is a keeper. The flavors mingle so well to create a tangy tango in your mouth and you want seconds in no time. I made this  last week, when Sujata and I combined forces for a Ganpati Potluck at her house. 
I kept thinking of my Father when I made this relish, he would have loved it. Maybe, if my parents visit us, I will get an opportunity to make this for them (among the ten thousand other things I want to feed them! )
 Try it, you will love it! Trust me. 






You need: 

2 medium Cucumbers
3Tbsp. Thick Tamarind Pulp (soak Tamarind in warm water and extract pulp, discard solids)
1/2 tsp. Turmeric powder
2 tsp. Sambar Powder
11/2 tsp Sesame seeds
1 heaped Tbsp. Jaggery
2 Tbsp. Chopped Cilantro
1 Tbsp Oil
Salt to taste

Tempering

1 heaped tsp. Urad daal / split husked black gram
1 heaped tsp. Mustard seeds
2-3 red Chilies, nicked at the tail, stalks retained
2 Green Chilies, slit and stalk removed
5-7 Curry leaves
1/4 tsp Asafetida powder

Peel the cucumber and chop into thin 1 inch long pieces or 1/2 inch cubes

Dry roast the sesame seeds on a low flame until golden brown  and grind to a coarse powder
Heat oil in a wok/ kadhai, add the urad daal (gram daal), as it turns golden, add the mustard seeds. These will pop on contact. 
Lower the flame, add the chilies, curry leaves and asafetida.
Add the chopped cucumber and stir for a minute
Add the tamarind pulp, turmeric powder and sambar podi, powdered sesame seeds and jaggery
Cover and cook for a few minutes
Add salt just before switching off the heat. 
Garnish with Cilantro.
Serve as a side dish.


I enjoyed this side dish with warm rice and a tiny drizzle of ghee.
I also enjoyed it with Jowar bhakri and Masale Bhaat.




Some Telugu friends of mine, at my son's bus stop assured me that I had used the wrong cucumber and that Dosakaya meant this. I was confused, maybe you, my dear readers, can clarify and if you have used the yellow melon/ cucumber, please do leave me a comment and I will look it up on your blog.

Wrong or not, this is one awesome side dish you will not regret making. Cooked cucumbers never tasted this good! 
Pin It

27 comments:

Swathi said...

Delicious chutney with cucumber, love the sweet version with cucumber.

Unknown said...

When I read cooked cucumbers, I was like yikes.. but I trust you so will attempt this. Pedatha's book is a treasure, I am still getting to the recipes slowly and steadily..more slow than steady.
Love Ash.

divya said...

Looks awesome & mouthwatering.

kitchen queen said...

very innovative and delicious cucumber dish. I too usually end up making either curd raita or kootu.

anjana said...

wow!this looks so tempting and interesting..will try this soon,thanks for sharing this

Unknown said...

Nice click....

Priya Suresh said...

Slurp,mouthwatering here..irresistible chutney.

Shama Nagarajan said...

simply delicious

Surkhab said...

Very nice presentation, I am going to try it. :-)

Aarthi said...

sounds good...looks good and photos are terrific!!!
thanks for sharing this

Vijitha said...

Hello Manasi,
I was about to say about the cucumber and saw your notes towards the end. Yes we need to use dosakaya and not our English cucumber. I love this recipe and this is one of popular dish in my home. You have made it look so delicious.

Manasi said...

Thanks Swathi.

Manasi said...

Ash, I just got a comment from Vijitha, who confirmed that one needs to use the yellow melon/ cucumber.
I liked my version too, but the real thing is to use 'doshakaya'

Manasi said...

Thank you, Divya!

Manasi said...

Thanks Kitchen Queen. It was nice trying such a different version.

Manasi said...

Thanks anjana, do try it with the yellow melon /cucumber instead of regular green one, if u want a variation

Manasi said...

Thank you, Suman!

Manasi said...

Thanks Priya!

Manasi said...

Thanks, Shama!

Manasi said...

Thanks Surkhab! Do let me know how you liked it.

Manasi said...

Thank you, Aarthi!

Manasi said...

Thank you so much, Vijitha, for the clarification! I will try this with the yellow melon the next time I make it.

runnergirlinthekitchen.blogspot.com said...

Such a delicious preparation, like the sweet n sour flavour!

SHILPY MALHOTRA said...

such an innovative recipe..looks great
happy to follow u..

do visit n follow
http://vaishnavacooking.blogspot.in/

Tamarind chutney said...

Your presentation of the recipe is simple and easy. Measurements provided in ingredients is perfect. I tried it and works great.

Anonymous said...

HI Manasi,
I tried this..awesome..thanks,
Vini

offsetprintinghyderabad said...

such an innovative recipe..looks great
happy to follow u..

Share

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Page copy protected against web site content infringement by Copyscape