Magge-beeyechi Kadhi/ South Indian Cucumber Inner Seeds Curry.

“Magge-beeyechi Kadhi/ South Indian Cucumber Inner Seeds Curry” … A delicious aromatic garlic flavoured curry that tastes awesome served with Red Boiled Rice/ Ukde SheetHa … Yummilicious .... 

** Magge/ South Indian Cucumber/ Southekayi is extensively used in GSB Konkani Saraswat Cuisine, so also by all south Indians. This vegetable is said to have immense coolant properties and is very good for health. There are many dishes that can be prepared out of the same. Many times we discard the innermost seeds from this cucumber as inedible. But these seeds have loads of healthy nutrients and should not be discarded

** Magge has a very fleshy interior center part, which is almost jelly like watery fleshy part with edible seeds. You can use them either sun-dried or as it is in many dishes, though I must admit I have never attempted sun-drying them for lack of sun-light facility. However, I have prepared quite a few dishes like juice, curry etc. using them and you will find them all if you use the search option in the blog. 

** The credit for this dish goes to my friend Shri Kripa When my friend Sri Kripa who has a lovely blog "Kripas food Diary" shared her recipe using these seeds I was really eager to try it out. I tweaked a little bit of her recipe to suit my family preference and prepared it like kadhi instead of gojju and gave it a garlic seasoning. Do, try out this recipe, you will never ever want to throw away the inner seeds of magge again.

** A word of CAUTION before using the core ie the inner fleshy part with seeds is that you have check if they are bitter. Some cucumber impart bitterness and those are not good for using in cooking form. The inner core has to be flavorful with the awesome aroma of magge if you have used them in cooking before. You can check  the smell by inhaling deeply and also pop in a few into mouth for checking them for bitterness.

** Here is my recipe for “Magge-beeyechi Kadhi/ South Indian Cucumber Inner Seeds Curry” ... my style ...

** Ingredients:

Inner fleshy seeded part of magge/ southekayi/ South Indian Cucumber : About 2 cups

Coriander seeds/ Kothambari/ Dhania : 1 heaped tblsp

Cumin seeds/ jeera : 1 heaped tsp

Fenugreek seeds/ methi : ¼ tsp

Garlic/ Losun/ Lehsun/ Belluli : 3-4 peeled.

Kashmiri Red Chilly Powder : 2 tblsp

OR

Kashmiri Chilly/ Kumte Mirsanga / Byadgi Mirchi : 6-8

Haldi/ Turmeric Powder :1/4 tsp

Coconut/ Soyi/ Nairyal/ Tengina kayi : ¾ cup freshly grated

Tamarind/ Chinchama/ Imly : small marble sized ball.

Coconut oil/ Nariyal Tel/ Narlel Tela : 1 tsp (You may use any edible oil)

Jaggery/ Gud : ½ tsp grated (optional) … I have not used.

Salt/ Namak/ Meeta : to taste.

** For Tempering/ Seasoning/ Tadka/ Pannaka/ Oggarane :

Coconut oil/ Nariyal Tel/ Narlel Tela  : 1 tsp (You may use any edible oil)

Garlic/ Losun/ Lehsun : 4-5 peeled and slightly crushed.

** Do not discard the inner seeds with little bit of flesh part attached to it while using South Indian Cucumber. You may collect it and store it in an air tight container in fridge for a day. It remains good for 1-2 days.

** Add the collected seeds, I had about 2 heaped cups in a pressure cooker along with half a cup of water and pressure cook on medium heat for 1-2 whistles. Let the pressure from the cooker drop on its own. 

** Once you are able to open the lid, gently open and allow to cool. Add in a mixer grinder along with another half a cup of water and grind to a smooth paste as much as possible. You may add in more water if necessary.

** Remove ground pulp and sieve through a very fine sieve. Put back the roughage obtained while sieving back into the mixer grinder add some water and grind once more and sieve the same. Collect the sieved water and keep it ready aside.

** Heat coconut oil or any other edible oil, in a thick bottomed kadai, when hot lower the heat and add in the garlic and fry till they are slightly browned. Now add in the coriander and fry for a minute and then add in the methi and jeera. 

** Add turmeric powder and If using whole red chillies add them now and further fry for a minute. Fry all for a minute or two and then add in the grated coconut and mix well. Fry for 3-4 minutes till you get a good aroma. 

** Finally add in the chilly powder, if using powder, mix well and remove from fire and keep it aside to cool down for 5-10 minutes. Add fried ingredients into mixer grinder with tamarind and grind to a fine paste with a little bit of water. 

** Add water sparingly,  you can also use the sieved water retained from cooking the seeds for this purpose. Remove the fine paste into a thick bottomed stainless steel vessel and add in the cooked, sieved seeds water and mix well.

** Note : I have added kashmiri red chilly powder. When you add powder to very little oil and fry the same it turns blackish in color and the colour of the curry does not turn the awesome red colour I love, so I prevent the addition of the powder into the oil and add it towards the end and remove from fire immediately. This helps in retaining the colour, however, you may do so if desired, the choice is yours. 

** Check the consistency and add more water only if required. Kadhi is always served slightly thick textured with rice as it taste great that way, so be careful with addition of water. Add salt to taste mix well and bring to a boil on medium flame. 

** You can add in gud/ jaggery now if desired. I have not added as we prefer spicier dishes. Cook stirring often to avoid it getting burnt at the bottom. When well done, lower the heat to minimum and let simmer for 3-4 minutes.

** For Tempering/ Seasoning/ Tadka/ Pannaka/ Oggarane : Heat coconut oil in a small pan, when hot lower the heat, add slightly crushed garlic and fry until they are evenly browned. Pour this over the simmering curry and mix well.  

** Remove the curry from fire and keep it aside covered for some time for the flavors to seep into the kadhi. Resting the curry for 5-10 minutes covered after seasoning is an important step which turns the curry that much more aromatic. 

** “Magge-beeyechi Kadhi/ South Indian Cucumber Inner Seeds Curry” is done and ready to be served. I have prepared this in kadhi thick in consistency to be served with Red Boiled Rice/ Ukde SheetHa and found it as the best combo dish. However, you can make it thinner like rasam and relish as appetizer too.

** As I mentioned we relished this delicious aromatic garlic flavored kadhi with boiled rice, however, you may serve it with normal/ ordinary cooked rice too or even with mildly spiced pulav or any other rice dishes, I am sure it will taste great. Do try my version of this kadhi and enjoy with your family and friends.

** You can use the search option for "Magge or South Indian Cucumber" in my Blog, where you will get many more dishes prepared using this healthy vegetable. Do try out various types of dishes to relish with dosa/ Idly/ roti etc. or with dal- chawal too. Enjoy the dishes with your family and friends and do give me a feedback if possible. You can also click on the link below for checking the same.