Cucumber Pancakes

I tend to gravitate towards simple recipes with minimal ingredients and minimal steps. So, when I saw these soft and melt-in-your-mouth pancakes on Nupur’s blog, I knew I would be making them soon.
I understand this is a common preparation in many Konkani homes but using cucumber in a dosa was a first for me.

Ingredients:
1 large cucumber, peeled and grated
1 cup rice flour
½ cup rava/semolina/sooji (cream of wheat)
1/2 - 3/4 cup buttermilk
4-5 green chillies, chopped finely
A handful of coriander (cilantro) leaves, chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
Salt to taste
2-3 tsp sesame seeds
Oil

Method:
Peel and grate the cucumber into a large bowl. Throw in the rest of the ingredients (except the sesame seeds) listed above, and mix well to prepare a relatively thick batter. A little bit of water may be used to bring the batter together.

Grease a hot skillet with oil; pour a ladleful or two of the batter. Tilt and move the skillet around a bit so that the batter spreads out a little and then use the back of the ladle to do the rest. Sprinkle some sesame seeds on the pancake.

Cook on medium heat until the bottom is cooked and turns brown. Flip over and cook the other side similarly. Repeat with the remainder of the batter.

Serve hot with your favorite chutney. I think this batter gave me around 7-8 pancakes.

Cucumber and Tomato Curry

Ingredients:

½ cucumber (medium), peeled & cubed
2 tomatoes, cubed
½ cup yogurt
½ cup grated coconut (I used the frozen variety)
½ tsp cumin seeds
2 red chillies

Pinch of turmeric powder
Salt to taste

For the seasoning:
1 Tbsp oil
½ tsp mustard seeds
½ tsp fenugreek/methi seeds
3-4 curry leaves
Pinch of asafoetida/hing
1-2 red chillies

Method:

Cook the cubed cucumber and chopped tomatoes with a little water and some turmeric powder in a vessel till the veggies are soft.(Take care to see that the cucumber is not falling apart).

Meanwhile, grind the coconut, cumin seeds & red chillies to a fine paste with very little water.

Add the ground coconut mixture to the cooked vegetables & mix well. Cover and cook for about 5 minutes or so.

Beat the yogurt well & add to the vegetable-coconut mixture. Cook on medium heat, stirring continuously to mix everything well and also to make sure that the yogurt does not separate.After 2-3 minutes, set this aside.

In a separate pan, heat the oil and add all the ingredients for the seasoning.

Add the seasoning to the curry . Serve hot with some rice.