Recipe - Khamang Kakadi (Stir-Fried Cucumber Salad)
Khamang kakadi is a very easy and simple recipe. This is an authentic, traditional Maharashtrian recipe. This crunchy cucumber salad is lightly spiced and tastes fabulous. Do try this easy to make recipe at home.
Ingredients: -
1. 2-3 cucumbers, peeled and chopped to small/medium pieces.
2. 4-5 tbsp coarsely crushed, roasted peanuts.
3. ¼ cup freshly grated coconut.
4. 3 tbsp finely chopped coriander.
5. Salt to taste (use fasting salt, if you are going to consume it for fasting/upavas).
6. 2 tsp sugar.
7. 1 tbsp jeera/cumin
8. 3 tsp desi ghee (it tastes best when made only in desi ghee).
9. 3-4 chopped / ground green chillies (adjust as per your taste, but since it’s a salad, it not on a spicier side).
10. Freshly squeezed juice of 2-3 lemons.
Method: -
1. Wash & peel the cucumbers and cut off its both ends. With knife make as many cross cuts as possible (virtually make a crowd of the cuts) on the breadth of one end of the cucumber and keep cutting in small – medium chopped cubes. Keep doing this procedure on the entire set of cucumbers. In Marathi, this process is called as “kakadi chirane/chochane”.
2. Transfer the chopped cucumber into a bowl. Squeeze a chunk of it between your palms, to release excess water from the chopped cucumber.
3. In a fry pan/kadhai, heat desi ghee and crackle the jeera/cumin in it, adding the chopped or ground green chillies into it.
4. Add the chopped cucumber into this, over a slow-medium flame. Add salt to taste and mix it well.
5. Cook this in its own steam, by putting a lid on this, for about 3-4 minutes.
6. Add grated coconut, crushed roasted peanut, sugar & lemon juice and cook for a minute or two more. Or till the entire water secreted from cucumber evaporates from the pan.
7. Turn off the heat, transfer in a serving bowl and garnish it with more fresh coconut and freshly chopped coriander (optional).
Your khamang kakadi as salad or as a subji dish is ready to be served.
PS: Adding green chillies in the tadka, dilutes the fire of the green chillies and it becomes light for easy on digestion palette.
