Taushe- Ambade Sasam (Cucumber~ Hogplum Curry).

“Taushe- Ambade Sasam (Cucumber~ Hogplum Curry)” … A simple side dish that goes very well when served with Dalitoy (spiced dal)~Rice and with some papad roasted on flame (like I did) … Yummy Combo) … Cucumber always signals to mind as salad … but then it’s the season of these large variety of cucumbers and I was bored with salads … So for a change tried out this variation of sasam style curry adding garlic … Yummy Yumz …

Whenever I see cucumber, all I remember is either salad/ tousali (dosa)/ bakri. It is now the season of these dark skinned cucumbers now and they are available in plenty. I have already mentioned earlier that I am going through my old diaries and preparing the dishes as and when possible. This was one dish I had prepared many years back, but It had not turned out very good. So I thoroughly checked through the recipe and found that it was a little too bland and less flavorful for our taste also there was no tangy / tart taste to the dish, which we south Indians specially GSB Konkani Saraswats love the most. So I made changes to my earlier recipe and prepared this one adding garlic and hogplums and I was really amazed at the taste transformation of the dish. So here goes my simple cucumber ~ hogplum curry. If hogplums are not available, you can add bimbul or tamarind too. Just go through the recipe and you will understand when and how to add on the same. 

** Here is my recipe for “Taushe- Ambade Sasam (Cucumber~ Hogplum Curry)” ... my style ...

** Ingredients :

Cucumber (With green Skin)/ Taushe/ Khakdi : 2 large sized.

Hogplums/ Ambado : 1 large or 2 small ones.

Haldi/ Turmeric Powder : a pinch

1 cup water

Salt/ Namak/ Meeta : to taste

** For Ground Masala :

Coconut/ Soyi/ Nariyal : 1 cup freshly grated

Garlic Cloves/ Losun/ Lehsun : 12-15 small sized

Green Chilly/ Tarni Mirsanga/ Hari Mirchi : 7-8 (Less spicy)

Haldi/ Turmeric Powder : ¼ tsp

Methi/ Fenugreek Seeds : pinch

Mustard Seeds/ Rai/ Sasam : ¼ tsp 

Cinnamon/ Tike Saal : 1 inch piece

** For Tempering/ Seasoning/ Pannaka/ Tadka :

Mustard Seeds/ Rai/ Sasam : 1 tsp

Dry Red Chilly/ Sukki Mirsanga/ Sooki Mirchi : 1-2 

Curry Leaves/ Kadipatta/ Karbevu : 8-10 

Coconut Oil/ Nariyal Tel/ Narlel Tela : 1 tblsp.

** Peel off the skin of the cucumbers and slice off the edges and discard them. Now cut the cucumber vertically into 4 or 6 slices depending upon the thickness of the cucumber. With the help of knife slice off gently the center seed part of the cucumbers. Now cut them horizontally to get 1 inch sized pieces. I have added a picture above for reference.

** Note : The seeds are not added to this curry. However do not discard the seeds, you can store them in an air tight container in fridge and use them while preparing a few other dishes. You can use them while preparing the tousali/ cucumber dosa. 

** Wash and snip of the stem side edge of the hogplums. If they are tender you can cut them lengthwise into four pieces. If not you can either slice the sides and add the slices and the center seed or you can also crush them with a heavy weight and add on to the curry. 

** In a thick bottomed vessel add in the cucumber pieces and the hogplums along with center seed. Add one cup of water, pinch of haldi powder and bring to a boil. Once you see the water simmering, mix well, lower the heat, cover with a lid and cook for 5 mins.

** For Masala to be Ground : Add coconut, garlic (remove the outer skin), methi seeds, cinnamon, green chillies and turmeric into a mixer grinder and grind to a smooth paste. Do not add more water while grinding. Lastly when the masala is almost done add in the mustard seeds and further grind till crushed and mixed well. 

** Note : The amount of green chillies depend upon individual taste and the spice level of the chillies. Adjust according to your liking. 

** Note : Whenever mustard seeds are added to masala while grinding they are added towards the end when once the masala has been ground to almost smooth paste. This is done so to avoid mustard being ground too much, which if done so imparts bitter taste. So always grind the masala and when its done 80% add in mustard and further grind till done. 

** Remove, add masala to the cooked cucumber~ hogplum and mix well. Add salt to taste and water if required to bring to a thick gravy consistency. Cover and cook on medium heat stirring often to avoid  masala getting burnt till it comes to a good boil. Remove from fire. 

** For Tempering/ Pannaka : Heat coconut oil in a small pan, when hot lower the heat, add mustard seeds, when they begin to splutter add red chilly cut to pieces, curry leaves, fry for few seconds and pour over the curry. Cover with a tight lid and keep aside for 20-30 minutes for the flavors to be infused well into the curry and it is done. 

** Note : I have used coconut oil for tempering, as it imparts a lovely flavour of its own. You may use any edible oil of your choice or your regular oil too. But do give a try of coconut oil seasoning at times, it recognized world wide now as the best oil, though we southern Indian and Konkani Saraswats have been using it for ages now. 

** “Taushe- Ambade Sasam (Cucumber~ Hogplum Curry)” is done and is ready to be served. This is a thick semi dry curry that is served as a side dish during meals along with Dalitoy (Spiced Dal) and sheetHa (Rice) along with some upkari (bhaji) or just with some papads roasted on flame like I did. The combination is simply awesome and is served as mentioned in most Saraswat homes, however if you may serve it anyway you desire to have eg. with chapati too. 

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