Too many cucumbers -help!!

[George the Pigman]

Well I bought a couple of "mini" cucumber plants but the trouble with minicucumbers is they don't stay mini too long (It's the old "from a courgette to a marrow" problem.)
Anyone have any recipes for using them? Chutneys,pickles, soups etc

[George the Pigman]

[pigeonseed]

I don' t know whether you cook Indian food, but in South India they cook cucumber a lot. There's a dish called 'pachadi' for example. I won't give the recipe, as it's no good if you're not into that and have the relevant spices and stuff. But you could easily google recipes if interested.

Also it's nice grated in yoghurt with a tiny bit of garlic, plus perhaps mint or coriander leaves or whatever else you like - that is a lovely dip to go with cheese on toast, or meat and bread. I think you could get through a lot of it that way!

And I think we often just think of cucumber as something to take a few slices of at a time - which is fine if it's in short supply. But if you have the luxury of too many cucumbers - eat them like apples. Very refreshing.

One final one - risotto with fresh green flavours: peas, mint and cucumber grated in at the end.

[George the Pigman]

Pigeonseed
we love indian food and living in Birmingham we have access to most indian herbs and spices via the shops in our Asian areas.
I would be very interested in the pachadi recipe. Most food in Birmingham is North West Indian and Bangladeshi but over the last few years Southern Indian Food (mainly from Kerala) has become very popular and some restaurants are open here.

[kypfer]

Cucumber Chutney -  as made by me last year - it started as a bit of an experiment with some surplus cucumbers from my neighbour - turned out to be very popular  ;D

Ingredients (for one jar)

2x Cucumbers
2x Red onions
4x tomatoes

1 tsp Ground ginger
4.5oz Demerara sugar
Sufficient white vinegar to cover (abt. 3/4 pt)
1/2 tsp Coleman's mustard powder
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/8" ground from whole nutmeg
3 cloves
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Salt for cucumbers (see method)

Method:

1.Wash cucumbers and cut into four lengthways. De-seed and then cut into thin slices
2.Place the slices in a bowl in layers and sprinkle a couple of teaspoons of salt on each layer. Set aside 2-4 hrs. then drain.
3.Slicing the onions. Use the traditional chef's method. Slice off the tops and skin leaving the root intact. Cut in half from top to root and place the cut side down on the chopping board. Make 4 or 5 cuts from the top to a ? inch from the root end (so that the onion holds together) and then slice across 4 or 5 times.
4.Take the tomatos (skinned if you wish) and slice.
5.Put the salted cucumbers into a colander and rinse away the salt under cold running water, twice.
6.Place all ingredients, except sugar, into a large saucepan or stock pot.
7.Add vinegar to cover the vegetables.
8.Bring to the boil for 10 minutes and then add the sugar. Stir well until the mixture reaches boiling point. Reduce the heat immediately and simmer, stirring often to prevent it burning on the bottom of the pan.
9.The chutney should be ready after one and a half hours (give or take a half an hour either way).
10.Whilst the chutney is turning into something wonderful deal with your jars. Wash and sterilise them. When the chutney is ready it has thickened. The wooden spoon should leave a definite mark on the surface as you draw it slowly across your brew. The main thing is to keep a beedy eye on it, with all that chopping it would be a shame if it spoilt.

I can take little credit for the original recipe, it (mostly) came from another web-site, slightly tweaked to suit my tastes and what I had to hand in the cupboard. The main thing is it works!

[pigeonseed]

That sounds nice kypfer - and uses two cucumbers per jar!  :)

george the pm - I'm glad you like South Indian food - I love it!
Oh now you've got me started!

You could look up a recipe for sambar, and use plenty of cucumber in that, plus whatever veg you have going at the moment.

Generally for making tasty Andhra food out of any veg, just set yourself up with packets of mustard seeds, cumin seeds, turmeric powder and a little tub of asafoetida. Oh and curry leaves.

Here's one recipe for cucumber pachadi  http://www.indianfoodforever.com/south-indian/cucumber-pachadi.html

It sounds quite fussy, but here's another simple dish, which I ate for tea, coincidentally! I don't know what it would be called, so let's call it 'cucumber and lentils,' imaginatively. You could also make it without the lentils. (BUt would have to change the name  ;))

cucumber and lentils, Andhra style.
2 teacups red lentils
1 cucumber, peeled and cubed
two or three tomatoes (optional)
for tempering (adding heated spices at the end):
1 tsp brown mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
10-ish curry leaves
pinch asafoetida/hing
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp vinegar/lemon-sized lump dried amarind/1 tsp lemon juice - or other sour-tasting thing
chilli to taste
a pinch of sugar (optional)
-----
1. put lentils on to boil
2. when nearly soft enough, add the cucumber
3. meanwhile, heat a little oil in a pan and splutter mustard seeds, when they start to go white and 'pop' add the other ingredients, turn off heat and let them toast a little.
4. add the sour thing and tomatoes, chopped, and tip the whole lot into the cooked lentils and serve with rice.

If you use dried tamarind for sour flavour, to prepare it, you break off a lump about the size of half of our lemons (Indian lemons are little) and pour boiling water over it. Stir it about and the liquid becomes dark, keep squishing and then strain it, so you're left with the liquid - that's your tamarind for cooking.

[artichoke]

I learned this from my Norwegian sister-in-law: sweet pickled cucumber.

Finely slice the cucumber and get rid of as much water in it as you can by lightly salting it in a sieve, so that the water trickles out over 30 mins or so.

Make a mixture of wine vinegar and sugar to taste, plus dill (I used fennel). Put everything together and keep in a jar in the fridge. It is so delicious you find your self eating it up more quickly than left plain.

I don't expect it lasts for more than a week, but it didn't need to.

When I had finished eating the cucmber, I added slices of cooked beetroot to the remaining vinegar, and that is also delicious.

[Morris]

Delia's cucumber pickle; I plan for a glut on purpose to make it several times!

3 large cucumbers (or equivalent of mini I use about 6 x passandra)
3 large onions
50g salt
570ml white wine vinegar
450g sugar
1/2 tsp tumeric
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 tbsp mustard seeds

Thinly slice cucumbers and onions.  Layer in colander sprinkling with salt as you go.  Cover with plate and weight (eg tins of tomatoes) and leave to drain for 3 hours.  Then pour off as much liquid as possible, pressing down gently.

Put vinegar, sugar and spices in pan, stir over medium heat until sugar dissolved.  Add drained cuc/onion bring to boil and simmer for 1 minute only (uncovered).  Remove from heat and use slotted spoon to transfer cucumber/onion to jars (sterilised and warmed in usual way).  Boil vinegar uncovered for 15 mins to reduce, pour into jars.  Store one month before using.

This should be good for 12 months, and we have eaten 2  year old jars and survived!

It is a staple in our house, lovely with cold meats, pate, especially hummous.  I have made it every year for ages.