Cucumber Salad ( काकडीची कोशिंबीर )

Koshimbir in marathi means salad .
This salad is made with very few ingredients which are easily found in your kitchen .
You can omit any ingredient if you don't like it or you if it is not easily available in your area .
But each ingredient used imparts its unique taste and enhances the taste of this very refreshing , crunchy and low calorie side dish .....

Ingredients : 

2 cucumbers ( peeled and chopped )
2 / 3 tbsp roasted peanuts ( slightly crushed )
2 chillies - finely chopped
2 tbsp - coriander leaves chopped
2 tbsp -  grated fresh coconut
1 tsp lemon juice
salt and sugar as per taste

For tadka : 

1 tbsp - ghee
1/2 tsp - mustard seeds
a pinch of hing  ( asefotida )
1 dry red chilli
8/10 curry leaves

Method : 

Take a vessel and mix all the items listed under ingredients .

Heat ghee in kadhai and add mustard seeds.

When the splutter add red chilli and curry leaves .

Add hing and immediately switch off the gas .

Add this tadka to your above mixture .

The tasty delicious salad is ready to eat .

Cucumber Peanut Butter Sandwiches

I love sandwiches , they are one of the quickest and most delicious way to start your mornings. They are simple to make and you have a liberty to choose and change the filling of your liking. They make a great option for kids school tiffins too.

I had some green chutney and some store bought peanut butter , so decided to combine them with cucumbers and made this simple sandwich for our breakfast a few days back.

It tasted yummy. You can even make these sandwiches for your dinner along with some hot soup to go with it.

Ingredients :

1 pack....................sliced bread
4 to 5 .......................cheese slices ( I used Amul )
4 to 5 tbsp.................green-coriander-chutney
4 to 5 tbsp................peanut butter
2 to 3 tbsp................salted butter
2 ............................cucumbers ( peeled n sliced)

Method :

Apply salted butter on the slices.
Apply green chutney on half the slices and peanut butter on remaining half slices.
Arrange cucumber slices on chutney slice and top it with a cheese slice.
Arrange the peanut butter slice on it .
The delicious sandwiches are ready .


Sending this to :

health-diet-lunchbox  @ nivedhanams 

walk-through-memory-lane @ adaythroughmylife

Nupurs - whats in my cuppa  at nandooskitchen 

Kakdi Thalipit

Thalipits are regularly  made for breakfast  in Maharashtrian households. These Kakdi  thalipits that I am posting today are though a konkani speciality. They are usually  made with Tavshe ( big dark green cucumbers) and can also be made with regular cucumber but the taste won't be same. These delicious thalipits are had with ghee or home made butter and any chutney.

Ingredients :

2 cups........................peeled and grated cucumber (Tavshe)
1 cup.......................onion finely chopped
1/2 cup.......................freshly grated coconut
1/2 cup......................chopped corainder leaves
2 to 3..........................green chillies chopped fine
2 cups.......................Semolina (rawa)
1/2 cup.....................rice flour
1tbsp............................sugar
salt
oil ( for shallow frying)

Method :

Mix all the ingredients with enough water.
The consistency of the batter should be little thicker than idli batter.
Heat a pan and spread some batter on the pan.
Spread it evenly with your fingers dipped in water .
Put some oil and cover the thalipit with a lid.
After some time remove the lid and cook the thalipit on other side too.
Serve with home made butter and any chutney of  your choice.

Tavsalli (Cucumber Cake )

       First of all I would like to wish all my blogger friends a :

                        "Very Happy Friendship day "

I would like to celebrate this day by sharing with all of you today's special sweet called ( Tavsalli )
Tavshe  is a type of  cucumber which we get during monsoons. It is much larger than the usual cucumber and the skin also is dark green coloured. This Tavshe  is used in many dishes like dosas, thalipits, cakes etc
It lends its own peculiar flavour to these dished but if you don't get it in your area , you can always use the normal cucumber. The taste will of course vary a little bit . One more unusual ingredient in this recipe is the use of Haldi pana (fresh turmeric leaves). I am sending this entry to the event  know-your-natural-sweetness -JAGGERY An event hosted by Archana from tangymind and  owned by Jagruti from Jagruti's Cooking Odessey :

                                                   Tavshe (dark green skinned cucubers )

                                                                             
                                                      Haldi paanna ( Fresh Turmeric leaves )




Ingredients :


Very finely chopped tavshe (cucumber)- 1 big bowl
Semolina (rava )-1 big bowl
Grated fresh coconut - half bowl
jaggery - 3/4 the bowl
Fresh turmeric leaves (haldi paana) - 2 to 3
milk
cardamom powder - 2 tsp
cashews -optional
baking powder - 2 tsp
baking soda 1/4 tsp

Method :

Dry roast the rawa till it slight pinkish and gives out nice aroma, let it cool.

Mix the chopped cucumber with cut pieces of jaggery and coconut and keep aside for 1 hour.
See whether the jaggery has melted , crush the unmolten jaggery pieces by hand as they would have become softer by now.

                            Add rawa, cardamom powder, cashews and again keep for 1 hour.
                                       It the mixture has become too dry add little milk .

                   Line the cake container with turmeric leaves. this lends a beautiful flavour to the cake.
                                Add baking powder and baking soda to the mixture and mix well.

  Put the mixture in the container and bake in a pre heated over at 180 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes.

                                                 Insert a knife to see if the cake is baked.

                                    Invert the cake and remove the turmerice leaves.

                                        While serving add a tsp of ghee on the cake slice .
                                                              This enhances the taste.