249) CHILLED SWEETENED CUCUMBER

CHILLED SWEETENED CUCUMBER

MOGGÉ KANTHILÉ

A KONKANI SUMMER RELIEF

Ingredients:

     1)    Fully mature Indian curry cucumber (‘vellarikka’ in Malayalam, ‘moggé’ in Konkani) – 2 or 3 large ones

     2)    Jaggery – 500 gm.

     3)    Cardamom – 5 or 6 pods

To Make:

          Peel the cucumbers. Cut lengthwise into 4 quarters and cut out and discard the seed core. Grate the cucumber pieces and set aside. Set a small vessel on low heat.  Pour in 50 ml. of water and tip in the jaggery. Stir occasionally till the jaggery is fully melted. Switch off the heat. Sieve the melted jaggery (to remove particles of sand, if any).

          Once the melted jaggery has cooled, pour and mix in just enough jaggery into the grated cucumber to bring it to your desired sweetness. Children like it sweeter.

          Cover the vessel and keep it in the refrigerator to chill for an hour or two. When it is time to serve, shell the cardamoms and crush the seeds to powder. Take out the chilled sweetened cucumber from the fridge and tip in the fragrant cardamom powder. Mix nicely and serve in large bowls.

          In burning summer, it is a welcome delight for everyone, especially children, to eat the grated cucumber and to drink the nectar-like juice which oozes out.

Tip:

          Even though jaggery is compulsory in the original Konkani dish, you can try out honey in place of jaggery but avoid the cardamom as honey has its own natural fragrance.