Southekayi Uppinakayi / Cucumber Pickle

Ingredients:
3 medium sized Tender Cucumbers / Ele Mullu Southe
1/4 cup of  Salt
1 cup Pickle Masala
1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
Big pinch of Asafoetida powder
1/2 tsp Oil

Recipe:
Wash the cucumber and wipe it using a clean cotton cloth and make sure that there is no water content.

Cut the cucumber, remove the innermost part and chop it into small pieces as shown in the picture below. Put chopped cucumber, salt in a vessel and keep them aside by covering a lid for about 8 hrs.

Prepare the pickle masala as mentioned in Mavina Midi Uppinakayi recipe.

Add the prepared pickle masala to the vessel containing chopped cucumber and mix them well. Put 1/2 tsp mustard seeds, 1/2 tsp oil in a pan and heat. Once it starts spluttering, add big pinch of asafoetida powder, keep it for few seconds and then add it to pickle. Mix well before serving. Store this in a refrigerator. It goes well with rice, dosas, etc.

Chinikayi(Sweet Pumpkin) Payasa

Ingredients:
1 medium sized(10 cups of chopped) Tender Sweet Pumpkin / Ele Chinikayi
4.5 - 5 cups of fresh thick Coconut Milk
1.5 - 2 tsp Rice flour / Ground Rice Batter
5 - 6 Cloves / Lavanga
3.5 - 4 cups Jaggary
Pinch of Salt

Recipe:

Peel the sweet pumpkin, remove the inner part, seeds and chop them into medium sized thin pieces as shown in the picture below.

Grind 5 cups of fresh/frozen grated coconut into smooth paste by adding little amount of water. (If it is frozen coconut use hot water while grinding.) Squeeze the ground coconut, by placing it in a clean cotton cloth.

After this process, add around 3-4 cups of water to the squeezed coconut, mix well and squeeze it again. Cook the chopped pumpkin in a vessel by adding this thin coconut milk. Once its cooked, add jaggary, pinch of salt and bring them to boil. Keep this in low/medium flame for about 5 mins.

Take around 1/4 cup of thin coconut milk in a bowl, add rice flour / batter and mix them well. Add this to the vessel containing cooked bottle gourd and bring them to boil. Add thick coconut milk and bring them to boil. Add mashed cloves and keep the Payasa in low flame for about 1-2 mins.

Serve it hot or chilled. The above mentioned ingredients will serve 12-15 cups of Payasa.