The story of Cucumber Stew

It was a cool breezy summer evening as I sat with my friends sharing a lot of good times.  A time that went so swiftly that none of us realized that dusk had gone a long time back and it was time for supper.  I was too lazy to cook an elaborate supper as we all had a very sumptuous late lunch and tea followed soon after.

So we decided to have a light supper and ended up making the most of the only vegetable in our sight - The ever loving Cucumber.  I am sure all of you would relish this the way my friends did, lapping up every trace of it.  So here we go.

Ingredients:

1 long tender cucumber weighing approximately half a kilo.

2 tablespoons ghee

3 green chilies, chopped

1 tablespoon Refined flour

3 tablespoons White Vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

A handful of fresh coriander leaves, chopped

Method:

Peel the cucumbers, halve it lengthwise into fours, de-seed it and cut into thin strips of three inches length.  Boil this in a little saline water for ten minutes.  Drain off the water by placing the cucumbers in a sieve, BUT retain the water in which the cucumbers were boiled.  

Heat a stainless steel wok on low fire with ghee.  When the ghee melts, add the green chilies and cucumber and sprinkle the refined flour.  Mix well, without browning.  Gradually, add one cup of water in which the cucumbers were boiled.   Stir well to avoid lumps and pour the vinegar.  Let it simmer for ten minutes.  Transfer to individual bowls. 

Garnish with pepper, salt and coriander leaves and serve hot with toasted garlic bread slices.  

QUICK WAY OF COOKING BREAD UPMA

Here’s to a beautiful quote by Vikrant Parsai – “ If you find bread and water in the desert, you are bound to find God somewhere too.”  There are so many people in this world that go so hungry, and God cannot appear to them in any other form except in the form of bread.

Bread is the type of food that has become the first necessity since ages.  So here we go for those who are too lazy to cook anything elaborate when they are dying of hunger or tired after a hard day’s work. A quick boost to your energy when you see some fresh loaf of bread in the kitchen and an iced cold drink on a warm sunny evening.

How is that for ideas? So let’s see what can be done. Here we go with the bread Upma that is nutritious, refreshing and takes hardly any time. 

When I began getting ready with my bread Upma, my two dogs were more excited than anybody else.  You can see from the picture, I have posted, the desire drooling from their eyes and the expectant hunger for that 'at least one piece' of bread as I am chopping the slices.

The ingredients listed here is for an average serving for two people.  You can add-on the quantity if there are more hungry mouths to be fed.   J

Ingredients:

10 slices of bread, either brown whole-grain bread or white bread

2 medium sized onions, chopped finely

3 green chilies, chopped finely

½ inch piece of ginger, grated finely

1-teaspoon (leveled) turmeric powders

½ teaspoon Red Chili powder

½ teaspoon dried mango powder (commonly known as Amchur in Indian Stores)

1 tablespoon of cashew nuts, halved

2 tablespoons of fresh Coriander leaves, finely chopped

1 teaspoon of sugar

½ teaspoon of Garam masala powder

2 tablespoons ghee

Salt for taste

For the Tempering:

1-tablespoon oil or ghee

½ teaspoon Mustard seeds

½ teaspoon split black Gram Dal (commonly known as Urad dal)

1/2-teaspoon Cumin seeds

1 or 2 dry red chilies, halved

1 Sprig of Curry leaves

Method:

Cut the bread slices into small squares.  Heat a frying pan with ghee.  Fry the bread squares on a medium flame to a crisp golden color.  Remove when done and set it aside on a tray.

Now heat a wok with the oil and prepare the tempering.  First fry the mustard seeds and wait until it crackles.  Then add the black gram dal, followed by cumin seeds, dry red chilies and the curry leaves.  Sauté on a low flame and when the curry leaves shrivel, add the onions.  Fry till the onions are translucent. 

Now add the cashew nuts, green chilies, ginger and stir-fry for a few seconds.  Add the turmeric powder, red chili powder, mango powder, and the garam masala powder.   Fry until all the spices are well blended.

Now add the fried bread squares and stir till all the spices are well blended with the bread.  Add sugar, salt and stir once more.  Now, transfer this to a serving bowl.  Garnish with the coriander leaves.  Serve warm. 

I hope you have enjoyed cooking this dish and while I go on to my next blog, I am reminded constantly of what I remember, James A. Baldwin has to say: “ People who treat other people as less than human must not be surprised when the bread they have cast on the waters comes floating back to them, poisoned.”