Yellow Cucumber Dal

దోసకాయ పప్పు - Dosakaya pappu

For vegetarians in India, dal is one of the main source of protein. So, I make dal as much as possible in my meals, in many different ways. With yellow cucumber, this dal is not only easy, it makes one delicious and healthy meal. With very little, basic seasoning, this dish's taste comes mostly from the yellow cucumber. For this dish, I've added tomato for the missing sour taste of the cucumber, which is common with the ones available in the US. I've also retained few seeds in the yellow cucumber for the extra crunchy texture.

Ingredients :

Yellow cucumber (Dosakaya) - 1 medium sized
Toor dal ( Kandhi pappu) - 1 cup
Tomato - 1 medium ( optional )
Green chillies - 3
Curry leaves - Few
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Red Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Asafoetida (Inguva, hing) - pinch
Salt - 1 1/2 tsp or as needed
Oil - 2tsps
For tempering :
1 tsp - Mustard seeds (Avaalu, Rai)
1 tsp - Urad dal ( Mina pappu)

Method :

Wash, peel and cut dosakaya into small cubes. Cut tomatoes into cubes. Slit green chillies into two. Cook dal, dosakai, tomatoes and green chilles together in a pressure cooker. Keep aside.
In a deep pan, add oil. On medium heat, add mustard seeds and urad dal. When mustard splutters and the urad dal turns golden brown, add curry leaves and asafoetida.

Add the cooked dal and vegetable mixture. Add little water if the dal is too thick. Add turmeric, salt and red chilli powder and cook for 5 mins. Turn off the heat and the dal is ready.

It tastes good with hot rice or with rotis.

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Yellow Cucumber

Yellow Cucumber - Dosakaya

Yellow cucumber, Dosakai as they call in telugu is available in many parts of India. This vegetable is usually used in making sambar, dal or dosa-avakaya దోసావకాయ (pickle) or chutney.

This vegetable is now available in some Indian stores here in USA. Though the sizes may vary, it is generally yellow in color and may have green patches like the one shown in the picture above. It is mildly sweet-tart in taste. Although, caution has to be taken, cause some of them may be bitter too. So, after peeling the skin of this cucumber, cut a small piece and taste to check if it is bitter. Discard if it turns out to be bitter as it will spoil the entire dish. Bitterness is rare, but it does happen in cucumbers - green or yellow. If it tastes good, cut the cucumber in half and scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Few seeds may be retained and can be used for a different crunchy texture- it is personal choice.

Yellow cucumbers like regular green cucumbers is 96% water and has minerals like Vitamin A and Vitamin C.

Choose firm fruit with smooth, brightly colored skins; avoid those with shriveled or soft spots. Store cucumbers, unwashed, in a plastic bag in the refrigerator up to 10 days. Wash thoroughly just before using. Cut cucumbers can be refrigerated, tightly wrapped, for up to 5 days.

Dosakai at a market in India ( photo courtesy : wiki )

Okay, a question for you all - Cucumber is called Keera or Kaakdi in Hindi or Vellarika in tamil. But, does yellow cucumber has a special name or is it called the same ?

Ragda Patties

Ragda Patties is a simple, yet nutritious meal. Potato and bread make the patties and for the ragda I've used whole green dried peas (vatana) instead of the whole yellow dried peas. Peas has been soaked and cooked along with spices, then garnished with chopped coriander and onions and drizzled with sweet chutney on top made the wholesome meal experience, simply irresistible.


Ingredients :

For Patties :
Potatoes- 8-9 (medium sized)
Bread slices - 6 slices
Green Chillies - 2
Salt - 1/2 tsp or to taste.
Oil - For shallow fry.

For Ragda :
Whole dried green peas or yellow peas - 1 1/2cups
Onions - 2 (medium sized)
Mint leaves - 10-12 leaves
Coriander leaves - 1 small bunch
Red chilli powder - 2 tsps
Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp
lemon juice - 3 tsps.
Salt - 2 tsps or as required.
Oil - 3 tbsps

To make Ragda:

Soak peas overnight or for atleast 7-8 hrs. Cook them in the pressure cooker along with the potatoes for the patties. Keep potatoes aside for the patties.
Chop onions, coriander and mint leaves finely.
Now for the ragda, take a shallow pan. On medium-high heat, add oil. When hot, add chopped onions and fry till transperant.
Add the mint leaves and fry for few seconds. Add cooked peas. Add salt, red chilli powder and garam masala powder and cook for few minutes. Add little water if the gravy becomes very dry. The gravy should not be very runny or very dry.
Turn off the heat. Add chopped coriander and lemon juice and mix well. Ragda is ready.

To make Patties:

Take the boiled potatoes and peel the skin. Mash them well without any lumps when it is still warm. You can cut out the brown sides of the bread if desired . Dip bread slices one by one into water , squeeze out the water and add it to the potatoes.
Chop green chillies finely and add them into the potatoes-bread mixture. Also add salt and mix well like a dough.
Bread slices in the potato mixture make the patties crispy and slightly crunchy.
Make even sized balls from the dough and flatten them like a patty.
Shallow fry the patties in a pan one after the other carefully by adding oil liberally, till crisp and brown on both sides.

To serve :

Place two patties on a plate and serve ragda on side. Garnish with chopped onions and coriander leaves and sev if it is readily available at home. Place a small lemon wedge for people who prefer more sour.
Other way for serving is to break the patties into bite-size pieces and pour the ragda on top. Garnish like above.

Either way it tastes like heaven. Enjoy !

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