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! 

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Theeyati Pulusu and a rant....

" Oh! It's so darn easy for you" she said, " one kid and nothing more to fuss about"! 

I was stung by this remark when I heard this from my friend a couple of weeks ago. There was a bit of truth in her remark, I admitted to myself, but I don't think I quite accept the so darn easy.. 

Here is how she sees herself, a mother of 2 (which I know is very challenging), lives in India, in a joint family (which I know is very, very challenging), the family is rolling in money and have servants of all kinds to do all they need, however, from her constant complaints- are hopeless and lazy and don't do anything and she has to do  so much..

She complains they are always gossiping, or lazy or want to go back to their village and she has to spend all her time 'counselling' them. Really? Do people actually counsel maids? as far as I understood things, if you don't like 'em, sack 'em! 'Counselling' them is such a waste of time and energy! I could sack 'em, save the time, energy and effort to direct it to doing chores and getting over with it.... 

The rest of her time, she says, is spent in getting her daughter to study ( and the child, apparently refuses to) and threaten her or spank her...  and left over time in taking care of the younger child and many a times in trying to resolve issues with her co-sister ( they are always at logger heads) and taking criticism from her in laws..... 

On the other hand, my life is so darn easy, one kid, no servants to deal with, no joint family. Hmmm... What would I have done in her situation? Would I have been any different? Would I do what I am doing today? get up and get going? 

I have less on my plate than she does, but I have my challenges too. For example, I have to handle everything on my own ( which is not a bad thing and surely something a 30+ woman can do), mostly without the husband ( he travels for work),plan, cook, clean, no elderly guidance, move every year or so ( and y'all know what that means, boxes and boxes to pack- without any help!)  handle illnesses  and so much more.

So why is is so darn easy  for me? Just because I live in a different country? Just because I do not live in  a joint family? 

 For a moment, my temper flared, I wanted to retort, "oh yeah! wait till you have a sink full of dishes to do, a child to drive to and bring from school, cook meals and clean the house, do the laundry when you have a skull- splitting migraine and a temperature and you feel woolly brained and blurry eyed.... and yeah, You are new  to the city, no friends to run to, no servants ( obviously) and no spouse by your side"

Instead, I kept quiet, I listened to her venting on and on about her problems, it was no use, I felt, telling her about my situation, she would not understand, maybe I could not understand hers as well, I am not in her shoes...  but I have lived in India most of my life and honestly, I did not think it was such a hardship, easier, if anything... sure everyone has issues with the help, but is that the focus of  the day? The school bus / rickshaw kaka comes to pick up kids and take them to school. If the domestic help bunks a day or 2, cook minimally and  order from outside. If you are so unwell, the Doctor comes home!  If you are still in a position to walk, the Doctors Clinic is very close, as far as I remember, many Doctors had their clinics in the building where one lives, just go down stairs /elevator or walk to the next building ( and given the space crunch in a place like Mumbai, the next building is  about 20 steps  away). 

Someone is there to make sure your child has good food to eat, what more do you want?  I remember, a few months ago, I was down with a temperature and my poor little boy sat by me, all the time, ran a tiny hand over my fevered brow and said, "it's okay, mommy"... I wept into my pillow, tired, miserable and angry , angry that I could not do much for my baby, and grateful that he in turn was my support. 

Oh well, all this has nothing to do with my recipe today, but just something I wanted to rant about and ask... do you all get into situations like these? What do you feel? How do you react? What do you think?

And now, let's move on to the recipe. This one is 'authentic' as a friend who tasted a bit of the tiny leftovers in a vati and  said, "jaldi recipe post kar iski" (post the recipe quickly) and so, P, this goes out to you. hope you try this and like it, just as much as you liked it at my place! 

This recipe, like any, from Pedatha's cook book is awesome! The taste, as my friend, said is totally authentic and will have you licking your fingers and fill you with comfort. Try it, you will love it.

Source::Cooking with Pedatha


You need: 
100 gms Red Pumpkin
100 gms  Bottle Gourd (dudhi/ Lauki)
100 gms Sweet Potato
100 gms Brinjal  ( I did not use any)
100 gms Raw Mango
2 nos. Drumsticks
3 Tbsp Tamarind Pulp (reduce amount if you are using Tamicon or some strong concentrate)
2 Tbs Sambar Podi
11/2 Tbsp Jaggery
3-4 Green Chilies,slit
8-10 Curry Leaves
Cilantro , to garnish
2 Tbsp Oil
Salt to taste


The POWDER:
1 Tbsp Split Black gram, husked
1 Tbsp Bengal Gram
1 tsp Sesame seeds


The TEMPERING:
1tsp Mustard seeds
1tsp Fenugreek seeds
3/4 tsp Asafetida powder


Cut the vegetables into large chunks, retaining skin on all except the bottle gourd and sweet potato


For the powder, dry roast the ingredients till deep brown and then grind to a fine powder


Mix the above powder, tamarind pulp, sambar podi and jaggeryin 1- 11/2 cup water to make a thing smooth gravy


In a wok, heat oil for tempering, Add mustard seeds, once they pop, add the fenugreek seeds. Lower the heat with the browning of the fenugreek, add asafetida powder
Add chopped vegetables and , adding enough water to cover the vegetables to simmer


When the vegetables are done, add the prepared gravy, green chilies and salt and cook for 4-5 mins.


Finally, garnish with curry leaves and cilantro just as you switch off the heat.


Serve with hot steaming white rice.

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Kandi Podi aka Gun Powder!

Four cousins sat in a line with 'kelichi pana'  (Banana leaf used as plates) and chanted, "toop, mith, bhaat....... toop, mith, bhaat..." This was  standard behavior for us (cousins) when we met  at a family get together, we were a 'gang' of 4 and each spaced a year behind the other. It was natural that we stuck to one another, thru thick and thin and mischief. Our behavior patterns were also similar, we almost always got into trouble  at the same time and for similar reasons, resulting in punishments and timeouts. 

Our liking for food also seemed similar, for example, we went thru this 'tup (clarified butter), mith (salt), bhaat (rice)' stage for  a whole year, at every single family get together, we would sit in a line and chant the same thing, we totally ignored all other delicacies prepared and plowed our way thru mounds of soft, warm rice, drizzled generously with ghee (  toop/ clarified butter) and sprinkled with salt. 

Then came the metkut-bhaat stage, which to this day is my comfort food. When I was little , I would sit at the table near my father and wait till he mixed  rice with the spice powder, ghee (in his plate and then transfer it to mine, 'Baba mixing it in his plate' was the key, IMHO)  and savor every bite, ask for seconds and call it a meal.

For several years I was a confirmed metkut addict and knew only this one spice powder, that was until a certain guy came into my life and we tied the knot and he whisked me away to Bangalore.

He would praise (understatement) the food he ate and I would wonder how he liked eating out SO much ( I still do) , I mean, eating out once in a while is fun, but home food is home food, isn't it? Not quite! 

On my arrival in B'lore, M was very excited to take me around, the restaurants, that is. Now get this, the new bride that I was, I wanted to cook at home and show him my amateur culinary skills and he wanted  me to go to all his favorite haunts! Talk about clashing ideas at the beginning! 

But I gave in and we started our tour of Bhimas, Nandhini Palace, RR's, Madhuri, Gongura, a few among the hundreds of Andhra restaurants.

I had visited B'lore earlier and had a taste of my very first Andhra meal ( at Nagarjuna), but that was several years ago, while I remembered that the food was awesome, I did not particularly recollect eating Kandi podi, aka Gun Powder. And so, this time around, when we sat in one restaurant, and the server put a generous mound of rice and ladled ghee, yes, yes, ladled as far as I was concerned, M directed me to add the spice powder, 'gun powder' and dived into it with such an expression of happiness that I had no doubt, this *must* be dynamite! And it was. 

For me it was love at first bite, and the second and the third.. you get the general idea. We waddled out of the restaurant, replete and content. That was 5 years ago.

After I began blogging a world of recipes was opened up to me, I tried several things, liked so many things but somehow, M and I kept going back to our comfort food, metkut-bhaat and sometimes kandi podi- bhaat.  I have tried many versions and in my opinion, it is a flexible recipe, the star ingredient being Toor daal, don't mess with that. 

It was only after my parents tasted this spice powder and liked it as much as we do, that I thought of putting it on the blog

I googled several recipes and the final outcome, therefore was a mix, here are some of the sites I referred to.

The final ingredients I used are: 

10-15 Dry Red chilies ( use the mentioned quantity IF the chilies you have are mild- adjust as per your level of heat tolerance) 1 cup Toor dal ( regular, not the oily kind) 1 cup Dalia (Roasted Gram Dal) Approx. 1 tbsp. Cumin / Jeera 3-4 garlic cloves About 2 sprigs Curry leaves 1 tsp of Asafetida/ Hing

Heat a griddle on med- high,( the ingredients should be dry roasted) add Toor Daal, toss in the cumin seeds and reduce the heat to medium, roast until the toor daal is a couple of shades darker add the curry leaves and dry red chilies. Add in the garlic and asafetida and roasted gram daal/ Dalia.

DRY roast all these ingredients well. By now the spices should be very aromatic.

Take the griddle off the heat and transfer contents onto a plate to cool ( keeping the mix in the hot skillet will over roast the daal and spices and may burn them, if not over roasting may lead to a bitter taste)

Once the spice is cool, grind to a fine powder. 

Store in an airtight container.

To enjoy kandi podi, serve along with hot, steaming rice, drizzle with ghee, add salt as required , mix and eat. 

My Andhra friends tell me that they  serve thinly slices raw onion  along with this rice-ghee and gunpowder mix, I have personally never tried it, but if you do, let me know how you like it.

*Notes:

-You can substitute regular Chana daal instead of Roasted Gram Daal

- You can add red chili powder instead of whole dry red chilies, only add the powder when grinding the roasted mix

- You can add moong daal (yellow) as well, halve the roasted gram daal and include 1/2 cup moong daal.

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Regional Cuisines of India - Andhra Pradesh: Pullihora & Pesarattu

The first time I tasted this cuisine was when I was visiting my cousin who lives in Bangalore. We went to a place called 'Nagarjuna' which I believe is in MG Road. The place was jam packed, and I attributed that to the fact that it was dinner time , so it was natural... foolish me! on entering the eating area, one whiff of the enticing aromas and I was ..........behaving like I was one who was deprived meals for a long time!

For a long time,I lost touch with this wonderful cuisine (and I shamefully admit, in college, Bschool.. whenever I ate anything from the South of India, I never categorised it.. it was just southie food!)

But as luck would have it, I am married to a Kannadiga who is a total Andhra Food FAN!! And as luck would have it again.... we lived in Bangalore for a short while before USA.. and Bangalore has a plethora of Andhra restaurants to choose from, so cooking an evening meal was a rare event.... so we freaked out on the food practically every evening Bheemas, Nandhini Palace, RR's, Gongura, Madhuri's to name a few regular haunts( till one day I refused... the proud cook rebelled!)

But now, I miss the yummy food too.. and try my hand at some (easy) stuff and congratulate myself when it turns out well!!

So for RCI -Andhra I made Pulihora and Pesarattu (Spicy Onion Pancakes)

For the recipes I peeped into Lokpriya and from the variety there, I chose this rice dish. This is a simple and easy to make recipe and which is great for our lunch boxes, no need for any accompaniments, but a pickle / raita (because I am partial to it!) may go well with it.Here's the recipe:

Ingredients
1 cup Rice
1/4 cup Bengal gram dal
1/2 cup Tamarind pulp
12 Curry leaves
4 tablespoons Oil
2 tablespoons Urad dal
1/2 teaspoon Mustard seeds
2 Red chillies
2 Green chillies
1/4 teaspoon Turmeric powder
4 tablespoons Sesame seed powder
1 tablespoon Cashew nuts
1 piece Ginger
1 pinch Asafoetida
Salt (As per taste)
Wash the rice and dal together and cook adding enough water. Make sure not to overcook.Pour the cooked rice into a big bowl, add turmeric powder, 2 tablespoons oil, salt, tamarind pulp and 7-8 curry leaves.Heat oil in a sauce pan, add the urad dal, mustard seeds and cashew nuts. When the seeds begin to crackle, add red chillies(broken into half), ginger, curry leaves, slit green chillies and asafoetida. Remove from fire and add it to the rice. Add the sesame powder, mix well and leave it covered for an hour to allow the rice to absorb the ingredients.

Pessarettu : Now anything that comes into the Dosa line is always , always welcome in our home! Both M and I enjoy dosas with variations! So when I read this recipe and saw how easy it was to make it, I jumped to it! Surprisingly, I have never eaten this when in B'lore! Maybe I was too happy pigging out over the meals! And those were so filling that all we were capable of, after dinner , was staggering home, rolling like fat ducks (no make that one duck-me!!). Now I made a combination of recipes here ... the basic recipe source is Lokpriya and after looking atPrema's recipe I did the same! used upma as a stuffing ! This was an unsual combination for us and we both absolutely LOVED it!!! I made Onion chutney to go with the Pesarattu, which was a HIT!!! and the usual Sambar.
For the Pesarattu :

Ingredients
1/2 kg whole green gram (moong)
2 cups Water
1 teaspoon Chopped ginger
4 Green chillies
2 Sliced onions
1/2 teaspoon Cumin powder
1/2 bunch Chopped coriander leaves
1 cup Oil
Salt (As per taste)
Method: Soak moong dal (green gram) in water for 2-3 hours. Drain all but one cup water and grind to a paste with ginger, salt and green chillies. Add enough water to make a thick batter, mix well. Add cumin powder and coriander leaves to the chopped onion and keep aside.Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan, pour one ladle of the batter into the frying pan and spread out like a thin pancake. Pour ½ tsp oil around the edges and cook the pancake on medium heat.Sprinkle some of the chopped onion mixture in the middle of the pancake and spread evenly. When the pesarattu is well cooked, add more oil and fry till edges are crisp. Fold in half and take off flame. Repeat for rest of the batter.Serve hot with sambhar, pickle or chutney.

For the Upma:

I roasted 1 cup Sooji/ Rava/ Farina in 1 tsp. oil, till fragrant. In a wok / kadhai, heat 1-2 tbsp oil, add 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds, 1/2 tbsp. Urid daal , 1/2 tbsp. Channa Daal. After the Mustard pops, and the dals are a lovely golden brown, add 1/2 tsp Jeera/ Cumin seeds and 1/4 tsp Hing/ Asafetida. To this tadka, add 1 finely chopped Green Chilly and a few curry leaves.

Add 2 1/4 cups water. Once the water boils, add juice of 1 lemon, 2 tsp sugar. Slowly add the roasted Sooji. Mix well, so that no lumps are formed. Cover and cook for 4-5 mins. Drizzle 1 tsp. of butter/ ghee on the sides and cover and cook for another 2 mins.

Upma is ready!

Makes only 6-7 Pesarattu with this measure.... which is not enough :( , well, maybe for one meal ( this can become a meal!!!), but I feel like I want to have some more today as well!

This is going to Lata of Masala Magic as my entry for RCI- Andhra Pradesh Cuisine. Thank U Lata for hosting the event for this month!

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