Blogging Marathon Day 6 ~ Dosa Avakaaya (Dosaavakaya)

Today's 'Special Choice' post - Regional Cuisine (I chose Andhra)

Pickle making process (in India) is often considered a tedious and laborious task and this is indeed true to some extent. Our home state Andhra, the land of spicy food lovers can boast about the variety of pickles they make ranging from vegetable to meat based ones. Each year, people there dedicate a few summer days to prepare a variety of large batch of pickles that could be used for the rest of the year. Pickle filled large ceramic jars adorning the kitchen shelfs is a common scene in Andhra homes. 

Though pickle making sounds intimidating for amateurs, there are a few Andhra pickles that are super easy to prepare. Dosa avakaya happens to fall under this easy breezy category and all you need is some vegetable chopping skills. :) Also this is almost a guilt free pickle since this does not ooze with oil as the other pickles do. The star ingredient in this pickle happens to be dosakaya - the round cucumbers available locally in Andhra that range from greenish to yellow color. The regular, slender green cucumbers are not a substitute. 

Ingredients to make about 1.5 cup pickle:

2 dosakayas / yellow cucumbers (About 1.5 cups dosakaya cubes)
4 Tbsp chili powder (or as  needed)
1&1/4 Tbsp salt
3 Tbsp sesame oil (I used olive oil)
1.5 Tbsp mustard seeds powder

Note:
1. Choose firm cucumbers without any blemishes. There is no need to peel the dosakaya since the crunch offered by the peel is preferred in this pickle. Though I have removed the seeds, deseeding is entirely optional. If you prefer the seeds, they can be added as well.
2. Either mustard seed powder can be bought from the stores or prepared at home. If you choose to prepare it at home, it is quite an easy process. Just dry toast the mustard seeds for a few seconds, cool and grind them fine. Ditto with the chili powder. Lightly toast the red dried chillies, cool and grind them. Or use the store bought one.
3. This pickle is supposed to stay fresh for a few months, even unrefrigerated. I prefer to refrigerate it but leave the pickle outside two days before doing so.
4. Take care that the working surface, dosakaya and the utensils used are completely DRY. Even a trace of moisture would mean less shelf life of the pickle.

Making the Pickle:
* Wash the cucumbers and dry them thoroughly so that there is no trace of moisture left. Quarter them and remove the seeds, if not using them. Chop the cucumbers into small cubes.
* Take a clean dry bowl and add the cucumber pieces, chili powder, mustard powder, salt and the oil to it. Mix well and adjust the quantities of salt and chili powders if needed. Cover it and leave it overnight.
That's it. It is ready to use from the next day.

Dosa Avakaya - Cucumber pickle in a pungent mustard base 

Check what my fellow marathoners are cooking up!
Azeema, Bhagi, Champa, Gayathri Anand, Gayathri Kumar, Harini, Jay, Kamalika, Meena, Minu, Padma, Pavani, PJ, Priya Mahadevan, Priya Suresh, Priya Vasu, Rujuta, Santosh, Saraswathi, Savitha, Shanavi, Smitha, Sowmya, Srivalli, Usha, Veena

This goes to Hima's Pickle / Achar / Uragayi Mela.

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Authentic Andhra Meals ~ Dosakaya Pappu

Like a true Andhrite, I would drool over the mere mention of the word 'pappu' though I happen to eat it once or twice a week. Some pappus happen to be favored universally where as some happen to be personal favorites. Mamidi, gongura and dosakaya pappu happen to fall in the former category and so mentioning that how much I like this particular one is nothing but a reiteration.
Dosakya - the tangy cucumber available locally is the soul of this dish. The regular, green cucumbers / keera can be substituted in absence of dosakaya but the flavor / taste offered by the latter would be missing.

Ingredients for dosakaya pappu to serve 6:
1 cup - Toordal
1 dosakaya / cucumber - peeled and cubed (about 2 cups). Remove the seeds only if they are not tender.
1/8 tsp Turmeric powder
2.5 tsp - Salt
1.5 tsp - Chili powder
A small ball of tamarind - soaked in water and pulp squeezed
For tadka: 2 tsp oil, 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds, few curry leaves and a little asafoetida powder
Minced cilantro/kothimira for garnish (optional)



The cooking part:
1. Wash the toordal in two exchanges of water. Add toordal, cucumber cubes, turmeric and 2 cups of water to a container, place it in a pressure cooker and cook till you hear about 3 -4 whistles. If dal takes longer to cook, then cook dal and the cucumber cubes separately since the latter turns mushy easily.
In the absence of a pressure cooker, the dal can be cooked on stovetop in a sauce pan or a thick bottomed vessel on low to medium flame adding water as needed, till the dal reaches a fall - apart stage.
2. Remove the dal container when valve pressure is gone. Add salt, chili powder and tamarind puree to the dal mixture and mix well. Switch on the stove and bring it to a boil. Then on low setting, allow it to simmer for a couple of minutes more.
3. Meanwhile, in a small sauté pan, heat the oil and add all the tadka ingredients. When they start to sizzle, remove them and add it to the cooked dal / pappu and mix well.
4. Garnish with cilantro, if using.

Serve with hot rice and a tsp of ghee for a true Andhra meal experience.

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