If it's hot where you are (and if you're in India this is very likely), here's a rather effective, if temporary, solution.
Assemble:
(i) Two or three cucumbers, peeled and grated.
(ii) A cup or two of chicken broth (dissolve chicken stock in water, boil, cool). If you're one of... "those", use vegetable stock.
(iii) Two cloves garlic, sprinkled with salt, chopped and then finely mashed with a knife. This is really good fun though it takes time. Salt is the key here.
(iv) A tablespoon of fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped.
(v) 50-100 g. cream, depending on your latest blood-test report.
(vi) A tablespoon of beaten yoghurt.
Mix in a bowl. Add salt and crushed black pepper. Do not add chillies and masala. I don't care if you're Indian, control yourself OK? This is a subtle dish.
Place in fridge for 3-4 hours. Depending on your fridge and the ambient temperature, consider placing in freezer for half an hour before serving. Serve with crunchy toast or crackers. Don't eat anything else. Divine!
6 comments:
A healthier version -- hold the cream, use beaten yogurt only. Boil the cucumbers with a bay leaf, salt and pepper and liquidise in a blender and add the yogurt. Garlic can also be excised from the dish. Excellent in hot weather and tried and tested about a dozen times...
Recipe is from the Joy of Cooking and one of our favourites.
And indeed, no jeera, no dhania, no garam masala...you get the picture.
Rahul: Just to clarify, yours is a rather different recipe. Mine does not boil the poor cucumbers, nor does it liquidise the results. Garlic (mashed with salt) is a must. No bay leaf.
OTOH, mine does not require a blood report :-) ... And no liquidising? Hmmm! Chunky/grated cucumbers...gazpacho with cucumbers, I see...
Sounds yummy, will certainly try it out.
Cucumber lassi is great, too. Very trivial to make, especially for laymen like me. My 1-minute version: half a cup of fresh yoghurt made of low fat milk (of course), half a peeled cucumber, a small pinch of salt, a spoonful of sugar and 4 ice cubes, all blended in the mixer. Hits the spot on a hot day, or even at midnight for that matter.
Similar results with a banana replacing the cucumber, or even a slice of peeled ripe mango.
As for boiled cucumbers --- like Obelix said about boiled boar: poor things!
discussion "hotting up" over cold soup - it is summer after all ...
A cucumber raita by any name!
(Avoids flying projectiles from all)
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