I recommend English cucumber for this recipe, which has thinner skin, fewer seeds and a sweeter taste than the “kheera” cucumber.

The primary seasoning in this recipe is a dry mustard-fenugreek spice blend. Check out the link for the steps to prepare this spice blend – you can make a batch and store it for later use.

You Need:

[For 2-3 servings]

• English cucumber – 250 grams
• Green chili – 2 (adjust to taste)
• Ginger – 1/2-inch stick
• Fresh lime juice – 1/2 tablespoon
• Mustard-fenugreek powder – 1 teaspoon
• Turmeric powder – 1/3 teaspoon [buy here]
• Salt – 1 teaspoon or to taste
• Mustard oil – 1/2 tablespoon [buy here]

The links above are amazon.com affiliate links. The Steaming Pot will earn a small commission if you buy via the links, at no additional cost to you.

In the picture above English cucumber, ginger, lime, green chilies, mustard-fenugreek powder.

How To Make Cucumber Side Dish with Mustard and Lime:

1. Before you cook

Crush the ginger. Slit the green chilies diagonally.

Snip the ends off the cucumber.

To reduce the cucumber’s bitterness: Rub the cut end against the rest of the cucumber till a foamy substance oozes out. Stop when you see no new foam being formed (about a minute). Rinse.

Note: Some say this trick is a myth. I don’t know – I do this always and believe it works. Even if I’m mistaken, this trick is fun! Here’s an article/video with more detail about it.

Cut the cucumber into wedges about 1.5 inch long. De-seed if the cucumber has too many seeds. (The English cucumber generally does not need de-seeding.)

2. Into the pan

Heat mustard oil in a pan or kadhai. When the oil is hot, set heat to low and add turmeric powder, crushed ginger, slit green chilies. Give it all a quick stir and follow with cucumber wedges.

Cook for 4-5 minutes on high heat, turning the cucumber regularly to avoid burning. Sprinkle salt to taste and mustard-fenugreek powder. Mix.

Cook another minute, then switch off the heat. Squeeze the juice of fresh lime over the cooked cucumber. And that’s it! Your cucumber side dish with mustard and lime is ready to serve.

Meal below: chapatis, aloo tamatar sabzi, chaulai saag, cucumber with mustard and lime, fresh mooli sticks.

Notes:

Do more with cucumber – check out these recipes:

Other ways to use mustard-fenugreek powder:

The post Cucumber Side Dish with Mustard and Lime appeared first on The Steaming Pot.

In Hindi, kachumber is colloquially used to mean something that’s minced. One can find Hindi film characters issuing threats of making kachumber of their enemies! This post limits itself to the word’s literal interpretation of delicious salad ;-)

Ingredients:

[For 4-5 servings]

Fresh vegetables:

• Cucumber – 2 small (~1.5 cups when diced)
• Tomato – 2 medium (~1.5 cups when diced)
• Onion – 1 medium (~3/4th cup when diced)
• Green chili – 1 (more if you want it hotter)
• Lime wedge
• Fresh coriander leaves – a few sprigs

Dressing:

• Salt – 1/4 teaspoon
• Powdered jaggery – 1/3 teaspoon
• Roasted cumin powder – 1/4 teaspoon
• Kashmiri red chili or paprika powder – 1/4 teaspoon
• Kala namak (black salt) – 1/4 teaspoon

How To Make Kachumber Salad:

Take the skin off the onion. Lightly peel the cucumber if you like (I let the peel remain on).

Dice the onion, tomato and cucumber. Finely slice the green chili. Chop the coriander leaves.

Get the seasoning ready: salt, kala namak, red chili powder, jaggery, roasted cumin powder.

Toss the salad ingredients with the seasoning and a squeeze of fresh lime.

Kachumber salad is ready. Serve immediately.

Variations:

What to Serve with Kachumber:

Kachumber can be had as a standalone snack, or as a “salsa” of sorts with crisp savories such as papad or nimki to scoop it up with.

Traditionally served with an Indian meal on the side as a salad. Here’s an example: Indian meal thali: kachumber salad, chapatis, vegetable red lentil dal, gobhi methi, potato fry.

FAQ:

Q1. Can I make kachumber ahead of time?

A. The vegetables can be chopped and kept ready for assembling ahead of time, but DO NOT mix the dressing until you are just about to serve the kachumber.

Q2. What happens if I mix salt and lime juice into kachumber in advance?

A. The salt and lime juice draw out the water from the vegetables and cause the kachumber to lose its crunch and color. The flavor of lime juice also tends to degrade and turn somewhat bitter if left to sit.

Q3. Is kachumber vegan?

A. Yes. Traditionally kachumber only contains raw vegetables, lime juice and plant-based seasonings.

Q4. I do not have jaggery. What can I use instead?

A. Sugar, or maple syrup / agave nectar. Use 1/4 teaspoon of sugar or syrup for 1/3 teaspoon of jaggery.

Related Recipes:

If you liked this kachumber salad recipe, do try making other colorful salads from The Steaming Pot archives –

The post Kachumber Salad: Classic Indian Cucumber Onion Tomato Salad appeared first on The Steaming Pot.

Here’s the step-by-step recipe with pictures.

You Need:

[For 6 cheelas]

• Fine semolina (rava/sooji) – 2 cups
• Curd (dahi) – 2 cups
• Cucumber – 2 small (~3/4 cup, when grated)
• Carrot – 1 medium (~3/4 cup, when grated)
• Ginger – 2 teaspoons, grated or finely chopped
• Green chilies – 2, finely chopped (adjust to taste)
• Salt – to taste
• Oil – for frying

How To Make Carrot Cucumber Rava Cheela:

1. Assemble the batter

[Preferably 7-8 hours before you make the cheela]

Take two cups of semolina in a mixing bowl.

Add two cups of curd to the semolina.

Mix to a smooth batter of dropping consistency i.e. if lifted up on a spoon, the batter should fall off the spoon without needing to be shaken off. Add a little water if the batter is too thick.

Grate/finely chop ginger and green chilies.

Grate carrot and cucumber.

Squeeze out excess water from the cucumber.

Mix grated ginger, green chilies, grated carrot and cucumber into the batter along with salt to taste.

Let the batter sit covered in the fridge for a few hours, till you are ready to use it.

3. Cook the cheela

After 7-8 hours of standing time, stir the batter around – the semolina would have absorbed the fluids by now and the batter would have cohesed.

We are ready to cook!

Heat a round non-stick pan sprinkled with a few drops of oil. Pour the rava cheela batter into the pan and shape it into a disk of about 5-6inch diameter.

Keep the cheela’s thickness even: not too thick not too thin, no lumps, abrupt mounds or craters.

For best results make carrot cucumber rava cheela slightly thicker than besan cheela or moong cheela.

Cover and cook on low heat, undisturbed, for 7 minutes.

Resist the urge to dig under the base of the cheela too early – if you do that, your cheela might end up as a sorry version of upma! Wait out those 7 minutes and your cheela will reward your patience: its edges will, without effort from you, turn golden and gracefully part from the pan.

Gently slide a spatula under the cheela: check if you can lift it entirely up without scraping. If you can’t, cover the pan again and wait a few more moments. Retry – it should work now.

Flip the cheela over. Press with your spatula.

Cover again and cook for 5 minutes or till no raw spots remain.

Cucumber carrot rava cheela is ready.

Repeat till all the batter is used up.

To Serve:

Serve carrot cucumbe rava cheela with any sweet/spicy chutney.

My breakfast today: carrot cucumber rava cheela with mango chutney and fresh pomegranate.

Notes:

Shape variation: To change things up, use a square grill pan instead of a round pan for cooking the cheela.

Try semolina in other recipes too: a healthy upma with moong sprouts, an Asian-style pancake, or a festive sweet pua.

The post Carrot Cucumber Rava Cheela appeared first on The Steaming Pot.

This is a no-oil salad with the classic Indian flavors of chaat masala and jaggery for seasoning.

Chaat masala can be replaced with a sprinkling of kala namak if that works better for you.

You Need:

[Serves 2]

• Cucumber – 100 grams (~1 cup when chopped)
• Pomegranate, shelled – 100 grams
• Mint leaves – 5 or 6
• Lime juice – 1 teaspoon
• Jaggery, powdered – 1/2 teaspoon [buy here]
• Chaat masala – 1/4 teaspoon [buy here]
• Salt and pepper – to taste

The links above are amazon.com affiliate links. The Steaming Pot will earn a small commission if you buy via the links, at no additional cost to you.

How To Make Cucumber Pomegranate Salad:

Dice cucumber into small (~1cm) cubes.

In a large bowl, throw in diced cucumber and shelled pomegranate arils. Sprinkle chaat masala, powdered jaggery, chaat masala, salt and pepper. Drop in a few mint leaves.

Squeeze lime juice over it all. Toss well.

Cucumber pomegranate salad is ready.

Serve cucumber pomegranate immediately, garnished with a lemon slice and mint leaves.

Meal below: poi saag toor dal, bhindi bhujiya besanwali, cucumber pomegranate salad, garlic chili chutney and chapatis.

Notes:

The post Cucumber Pomegranate Salad appeared first on The Steaming Pot.

I make this curry generally with English cucumber – less seeds, and I leave its thin green skin on. You can, if you like, substitute it with Indian cucumber*.

You Need:

• Cucumber – 250 grams (3 English cucumbers, small)
• Tomatoes – 3
• Green chili – 1
• Red chili powder – 1/2 teaspoon
• Turmeric powder – 1/4 teaspoon (buy)
• Sugar – 1/2 teaspoon
• Salt – to taste
• Cumin seeds – 1/2 teaspoon (buy)
• Mustard seeds – 1/2 teaspoon (buy)
• Asafoetida powder – a pinch (buy)
• Oil – 2 teaspoons

The links above are amazon.com affiliate links. The Steaming Pot will earn a small commission if you buy via the links, at no additional cost to you.

How To Make Cucumber Tomato Curry:

Cut the cucumber into 1-cm cubes.

Cut the tomato into similar sized chunks.

Chop the green chili finely.

Heat the oil in a pan. When hot, set heat to low and add cumin seeds, mustard seeds and asafoetida powder.

When the cumin seeds have crackled, add chopped green chilies. Add turmeric powder next, follow immediately with the chopped cucumber and tomatoes.

Stir the vegetables. Add red chili powder, salt and sugar and mix well.

Cook covered on medium heat. Add a few tablespoons of water if it gets too dry.Stir a couple of times in between to make sure the vegetables cook evenly.

Take cucumber tomato curry off the heat when the vegetables have softened but still retain their shape. This should take arond 6-7 minutes.

Cucumber tomato curry is ready to eat. Serve hot with chapatis.

Meal below: cucumber tomato curry with plain toor dal, chapatis and bhindi bhujiya besanwali.

Notes:

*Indian cucumber tends to have more seeds and a thicker skin. If using Indian cucumber, you might want to discard some of the seeds and peel the skin.

Try other tomato-based curry recipes from The Steaming Pot: eggplant tomato curry, aloo tamatar sabzi with nigella seeds.

The post Cucumber Tomato Curry appeared first on The Steaming Pot.

You Need:

[per glass]

• Cucumber – 1
• Coriander leaves – 1/2 packed cup
• Mint leaves – 1/2 packed cup
• Lime – 1
• Honey – 1/2 tablespoon (adjust to taste)

How To Make Cucumber Coriander Mint Juice:

Cut off the ends of the cucumber. Carve out a 3/4-cm thick vertical stick of cucumber and keep it aside for use as a stirrer.

Trim the roots of coriander leaves and mint leaves. Pluck out any wilting leaves – use only the freshest herbs possible for juicing. You need not de-stem the leaves if using a juicer designed to handle it. Wash the herbs well in several changes of water.

Pack coriander and mint leaves into the juicer funnel, stack the cucumber on top.

Squeeze the lime (taking care to remove the seeds) into the mug you’ll use for collecting the juice. If you’re a braveheart that would drink this juice unsweetened, skip the honey, else add honey to the mug too.

Activate the juicer. As soon as the juice has been collected, give the contents of the mug a vigorous stir to mix the lime and honey.

To serve cucumber coriander mint juice:

Add ice cubes to the glass. Pour cucumber coriander mint juice over the ice. Stick in the cucumber stirrer, add a sprig of mint.

Drink immediately.

The post Cucumber Coriander Mint Juice appeared first on The Steaming Pot.

The combination of apple, cucumber and mint is loaded with nutrients and has excellent digestive properties. Their flavors and hues play off each other beautifully as well. Apple adds sweetness to the drink, and cucumber and mint color it a beautiful translucent green.

I have got myself a nice new juicer recently and am going bonkers trying out various combinations of fruit and vegetable juices with it. This juicer has a wide-mouthed funnel into which the fruits and vegetables go in without the fuss of peeling and chopping. Apples need not be cored, nor mint leaves plucked off the stems. One can simply wash the fruits and vegetables and put them straight through the funnel.

You Need:

[per glass]

• Apple – 1* (weight ~150 grams)
• Cucumber – 1 (weight ~200 grams)
• Mint leaves – 1/3 cup
• Lime juice – 1 teaspoon, freshly squeezed

*Choose any variety of apple you like. The color and sweetness of the juice will vary according to the apple used. I have used the Fuji apple.

How To Make Apple Cucumber Mint Juice:

In the juicer funnel, stack the ingredients. Place mint leaves at the bottom – this extracts the maximum juice from the mint leaves.

Squeeze the lime juice into the bowl that would collect the juice.

Start juicing. And it’s done within seconds.

To serve apple cucumber mint juice:

Add ice cubes to the glass. Garnish with a slice of lime and some fresh mint leaves. Serve immediately.

Notes:

Tender, non-bitter cucumbers work best for juicing. Cucumber need not be peeled, but I remove the ends before juicing as they tend to be bitter.

The post Apple Cucumber Mint Juice appeared first on The Steaming Pot.