Food: Cucumber Curry

The cucumbers are off and running; having grown four plants last year which was far too many, this year I cut it back to just two Burpless Tasty Green. And then I picked up some free seeds of Marketmore, a classic English ridge cucumber with a thick skin. So once again we have four plants.

Marketmore

My other half is not a fan of cucumber, or at least not its repetitive qualities and the Marketmore was just a belch too far. But cooking seems to have solved that problem.

Cooking? Cooking cucumbers? Too right. Sliced a sweated gently and briefly in butter with a good handful of dill they are delicious. A classic combination that goes well with any subtly flavoured white fish. A trawl through the internet produced a great sounding recipe for cucumber curry and, as is often the way, the recipe is from a book already on my shelf. Thank heavens for the library cataloguing system which is Google!

So here is the cuc curry recipe we have been eating loads of already this year, adapted from Das Sreedham The New Tastes of India (ISBN 074727147X) sadly now out of print 

For 2
1 cucumber, cut into chunks (I usually halve and quarter length ways and then cut into 3 or 4cm long pieces.
walnut sized lump of tamarind pulp
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
Fresh or dried chilli according to taste - we like things hot but this is a delicate curry!
2 tablespoons desiccated coconut
1/2 tsp black mustard seeds
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
5 or 6 dried curry leaves

Soak tamarind in 3 or 4 tbs hot water for at least half an hour, then sieve out the pulp.
Dry roast the fenugreek and the dried chillies (if using), then blend together with the coconut, turmeric, tamarind liquid and fresh chillies (if using).
Heat the oil and add the mustard seeds. As they begin the pop all over the kitchen add the curry leaves and finally the paste from the blender. Cook for a minute or two, stirring, turn the heat down to low and then add the cucumber. Turn over in the pan until just heated through - you are not really cooking the cucumber. Season with a pinch of salt to taste and eat.

It should be very fresh tasting - we usually have it with another wet curry, maybe beetroot or turnip, plus a dal, naan and perhaps onion bhaji. Curry night tends to use every pan in the place...