Dosakaya pachadi literally translates to cucumber chutney. It’s a dish from Andhra Pradesh 💕 Though it is called “pachadi”, it is more a salad than a chutney!
I love the layers of taste and textures in it despite being an extremely easy dish to make - the fresh crunch of the cucumber, the nuttiness of the fried dal, pungency of the mustard paste and sourness from lemon 🍋🥒🌶🌱 I have learnt this dish from my mother ❤️ Traditionally, the souring agent in this is tamarind juice, however I prefer to use lemon juice instead as it’s a lot easier 🤷🏻♀️
Recipe
Ingredients:
- Dosakaya (green cucumber ) - 1 (big; diced small)
- Green chillies - 2 (chopped)
- Coriander leaves - fistful (chopped)
- Juice of ½ lemon
- Mustard paste - 2 teaspoons **
- Sesame oil - 2 teaspoons
- Mustard seeds - ½ tsp
- White(urad) Dal - 1 tsp
- Salt - to taste
- Turmeric - ½ tsp
** Mustard paste: 1 part of mustard seeds : 1 part red chilli flakes + a pinch of asafoetida powder soaked in water - just enough to cover them- for 10 minutes and ground to a smooth paste
Method:
- In a bowl, add diced cucumber and sprinkle salt on it. Keep it aside for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, drain off the water and gently squeeze the cucumber pieces to removes excess liquid.
- Meanwhile heat oil in a skillet, add white dal and mustard seeds. Once the mustard seeds splutter and the dal has turned light brown, take off heat and add it to the cucumber.
- Add the rest of the ingredients, mix well, rest for 5 minutes and serve.
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