IT'S summer, it's still salad days...and cucumbers are in abundance. Try making a cucumber karamb which is a typically Mangalorean salad. With a paste of ground coconut, green chillis, ginger, mustard seeds and a tiny bit of tamarind mixed in, it's no different from a pachadi. However, what distinguishes it from the usual pachadi is its piquant flavour lent by the mustard.
What you need:
2 small cucumbers
1/2 cup fresh, grated coconut
1/2" piece of ginger
1 green chilli
1/2 teaspoon mustard seed
A tiny bit of tamarind
Wash, peel and cut the cucumbers in half, lengthwise and then slice them. Add some salt to taste and set aside. Meanwhile grind all the other ingredients into a paste. Drain the cucumber and mix in with the ground paste.
You can give it a seasoning of mustard seeds and a sprig of curry leaves fried in two teaspoons of oil. I did without, but if you're using it, then I suggest you add the seasoning when it has completely cooled, else it will singe the cucumber and soften it, losing its crunchiness.
PS: This is optional, but I gave it a slight twist by mixing in about 3 tablespoons of raw mango slivers.
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