Madras Cucumber Sambhar

Madras cucumber sambhar on steamed rice
with cabbage bhaaji and fried Karnataka sandage
and watermelon juice with black pepper.

Whenever we eat a South Indian meal ofcourse in a hotel. The Sambhar with large chunks of ash gourd or cucumber is something my Dad does not appreciate much.

So this Madras cucumber has never made it's way into our kitchen. Recently when I was working from home tending to Dad. I went grocery shopping. You will not believe that day I bought many type of gourds and the likes if we can call them that. I bought melons actually, water, musk etc. In the same breath I reached out for this cute little thing, the Madras cucumber.

As I brought home the bags. I was planning the recipes. Half for the Sambhar and other half for the Majge HuLi.

So here is the how to

Ingredients

2 cups of diced Madras cucumber
1 cup toor dal
1" ball of tamarind
2 tablespoons jaggery powder
1 tablespoon MTR sambhar powder
2 teaspoon ghee
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
5-6 curry leaves
salt to taste

In a small pressure cooker put toor dal. Wash it thoroughly. Add the washed and diced Madras cucumber. Add the sambhar powder. Top up with 3 cups of water. Close the cooker and allow 3 whistles or 20 mins of cooking time. Put of the heat. Let it cool.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl wash the tamarind add water to cover it. Add the jaggery and heat to boiling point. Let it cool. Extract the pulp by mashing with hand. Save.

Now open the pressure cooker. Add the tamarind jaggery pulp and salt. Place it back on heat.

Using a seasoning bowl, prepare the tempering. Heat ghee. Crackle up the mustard seeds. The curry leaves go in, make them crisp. Pour it on the boiled dal. Bring the sambhar to a rolling boil. Cover and keep.

Serve with hot steamed rice. Mix with your finger and lap it up. It smells so good and distinctly cucumbery taste.