“Magge/ Southekayi Palya (South Indian Cucumber Dry Curry)” … a simple yet delicious lip smacking side dish that tastes awesome served with bajra bhakri/ roti or any chapathi/ pulkas/ parathas especially during winter season … Yummilicious ….
** Here is a simple side dish that tastes great served with roti/ parathas/ bhakri or even with dal chawal, though personally I prefer it with bajre ki roti, somehow the combination tastes great. During winter bajra roti is prepared by and large in most homes in and around Maharashtra state as it is supposed to produce heat to the body giving way to winter chills. I am always in search of simple side dishes and coconut based ones are my favorite. Being a Konkani Saraswat in my community we somehow have this craze for coconut that just sticks on to our routine cooking wherever we settle and yes we just love it.
** Magge/ Southekayi (Southekai)/ Indian Cucumber or South Indian or Mangalore cucumber as known is a very delicious veggie that weighs somewhere from 500 gms to 2 kgs depending upon it size. A must stored in most homes as it has a real long shelf life, while olden days they were tied on ropes on ceilings these days we get them all round the year making it easier to buy as and when needed. A highly water content veggie it is good coolant to body and can be used round the year in form of many preparations, be it bhaji, curry, dosa etc. Here is a simple yet delicious semi dry curry that tastes awesome served with roti, try it, sure to be loved.
** Here is my simple method of preparing “Magge/ Southekayi Palya (South Indian Cucumber Dry Curry)” …. My Style …
** Ingredients :
Magge/ Southekayi/ South Indian Cucumber : say about 2-3 cups pieces.
Piyavu/ Kanda/ Onion : 1 large sized.
Losun/ Garlic/ Lehsun : 3-4 cloves
Urad dal/ Black Gram Dal : 1 tsp
Sasam/ Mustard Seeds/ Rai : ½ tsp
Karbevu/ Curry Leaves/ Kadipatta : 8-10 fresh ones.
Haldi/ Turmeric Powder : ¼ tsp
Salt/ Namak/ Meeta : to taste
Oil/ Tela/ Tel : 2 tblsp
** Masala to be ground :
Coconut/ Soyi/ Nariyal : 3-4 tblsp freshly grated.
Kashmiri Red Chillies/ Kumte Mirsanga/ Byadgi Mirchi : 4-5 (+/- as desired)
Jeera/ Cumin Seeds : ½ tsp
Coriander seeds/ Kothambari/ Dhania : ½ tsp
Tamarind/ Chinchama/ Imly : just a pinch
** Slice off the edges, remove and discard the inner seeds and cut the magge/ south Indian cucumber into small sized pieces, say in all about 3 cups. Rinse under running water and keep it aside ready in a colander for excess water to drain off.
** Peel off the skin of both onion and garlic, chop them to fine pieces and keep them aside ready separately to be used while cooking.
** Add coconut, jeera, coriander, tamarind, red chillies into mixer grinder and grind to a coarse paste WITHOUT adding water. The ingredients should have been well combined.
** In a thick bottomed kadai/ pan add in the oil, when hot add the urad dal and when it turns slightly in color add in mustard seeds, when they begin to splutter add in curry leaves and garlic and fry for a about a minute, then add in the onion pieces and fry all together till the onions turns translucent or is softened. Add haldi powder and fry for another second.
** Now add in the magge/ south Indian cucumber pieces, about 2-3 tblsp of water and mix well. Cook covered on low heat until the veggie is 70% done, stirring it a few times in between to avoid sticking to bottom. Add salt to taste and the ground masala and mix well. Sprinkle water only if necessary, once again, cover and cook on low heat until cooked and done.
** “Magge/ Southekayi Palya (South Indian Cucumber Dry Curry)” is done and ready to be served as side dish along with any dishes of your choice. My most preferred combo over the years with this side dish is Bhajre Ki Roti (Pearl Millet chapati) which somehow I find compliments each other well. Do give it a try, your family and friends are sure to love it.
** This is a semi dry consistency palya/ bhaji/ curry, so be careful with addition of water and do so sparingly. Again, add in the ground masala only after the magge/ south Indian cucumber has been cooked to 70% to avoid the veggie remaining uncooked. You can increase or decrease the spice level as this is a medium spicy side dish.
** There are many more wonderful recipes in the Blog shared using “Magge/ South Indian Cucumber/ Southekayi”, sharing a common link to them all below, do browse through and try them in leisure, they are not only tasty but the veggie is very good for health too ….
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