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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Trials & Triumphs ~ Aava Pettina Arartikaaya Koora

(Aava pettina aratikaya koora ~ Plantain - Mustard Curry)

'Aava pettina koora' - The addition of mustard paste to a vegetable preparation is popular in the Andhra region. Thanks to the flavor lend by the mustard seeds, a simple subzi preparation can turn into a special one.
The mustard paste can be a basic one made using mustard seeds, green chilies and salt as in my grandmothers' kitchens or a tasty  combination of several ingredients as in this version. Pedatha's recipe, Indira's description and images were so captivating and interesting that I have been planning to prepare this ever since Indira posted about this in her blog.
I am glad that I tried this delicious aava pettina aratikaaya koora, today. The combination of pungent mustard seeds, sweet coconut, spicy chilies and ginger, fragrant cilantro made this particular plantain curry pleasantly delightful.

Ingredients for 6 - 8 servings:
2 Plantains/ Aratikaya (peeled & cut into cubes - I got about 4 cups)
Salt and turmeric to taste
For popu or tadka:
1  - 2 Tbsp of oil
1 tsp each - urad dal, cumin and mustard seeds
4 red chilies broken into bits 
Few curry leaves 
A pinch of asafetida powder
For mustard seed - coconut paste:
Grind the following ingredients to a smooth paste adding little water if needed.
2 teaspoons mustard seeds and 4 tsp rice (I soaked in warm water for 30 minutes so that they can grind well)
¼ cup of fresh grated coconut
3 big sized Serrano peppers (or as needed)
1 inch piece of ginger
A handful of fresh cilantro leaves

Method:
Cook plantain cubes and turmeric powder in water just until tender & drain them.
Heat the oil in a kadai or sauté pan. Add urad dal, cumin and mustard seeds. When mustard seeds start to splutter and urad dal starts to turn reddish, add the other tadka ingredients and toast for a few seconds. Add the ground mustard paste and sauté on low - medium flame till the raw smell disappears. Then add the boiled plantain cubes, salt and mix thoroughly. Sprinkle two Tbsp of water and cook covered for about 10 minutes stirring in-between.

This goes to
1. 'Blog Bites - 6' hosted by Nupur 
2. 'Dish name starts with A' hosted by Akila.

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