Khamang Kakdi is a healthy and tasty Maharashtrian-style vegetarian cucumber salad also known as Kakdi Chi Koshimbir.
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
- About Koshimbir
- Ingredients You’ll Need
- How To Make Khamang Kakdi
- My Tried and True Tips
- Khamang Kakdi Recipe
About Koshimbir
Koshimbir or Kosambari is a term for traditional Indian ‘salad’ recipes with pulses, peanuts, and cucumbers. Kakdi is the Hindi term for cucumber. It is a vegan, gluten-free salad perfect for Indian meals.
You can sample a variety of Kosambari salads in Maharashtrian, Kannada, or Tamil Cuisines. It is served in small quantities at the beginning of a traditional meal to build the appetite or as sattvic prasad in temples.
Unlike other salads, a delicious Indian-style tempering (tadka) is added to a Kosambiri, making it unique.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Cucumber: Use English, Spanish, Chinese or Indian Cucumbers.
- Peanut: Skinned, roasted peanuts are a good choice for khamang kakdi.
- Coconut: Use freshly grated coconut, not pre-packaged, desiccated, or frozen.
- Seasoning: Salt, Lemon Juice, Green Chilli, Jaggery Powder or Sugar
- Tempering: Sesame or Coconut Oil, Mustard Seeds, Urad Dal, Curry Leaves
- Other Ingredients: Fresh Coriander, Green Chilli
How To Make Khamang Kakdi
Step 1) Chop the cucumbers. Transfer them to a large mixing bowl. Season them with salt, mix, and set aside for 10 minutes.
Step 2) Heat a small pan and add peanuts. You can skip this step of roasting peanuts if you have pre-roasted, skinned peanuts.
Step 3) On low heat, dry roast the peanuts while stirring continuously till a few black spots appear on them. Keep them aside till they are cooled completely.
Step 4) Rub roasted peanuts between your palms; the skin comes out easily. Transfer them to a mortar and pestle. Crush the peanuts to a coarse powder.
Step 5) Squeeze water from the cucumber by cupping them between your palms or holding them in your fist. Or you can tie them to a muslin cloth and squeeze gently to drain out excess liquid.
Step 6) Transfer cucumber to a bowl. Add chopped green chilli, grated coconut, salt, lemon juice, and sugar. Mix nicely.
Step 7) Prepare tadka with heating oil. Add mustard seeds, urad dal, and curry leaves. Allow the seeds to pop.
Step 8) Pour this sizzling tadka over the khamang kakdi. Add crushed peanuts and chopped coriander, and mix nicely.
Khamang Kakdi is ready to serve.
My Tried and True Tips
- If you prefer fewer seeds in cucumber, scoop them out before chopping or use English Cucumber. Indian variety of cucumber has a lot of seeds and pulp.
- Make sure to squeeze out water from the cucumber so that the khamang kakdi does not become soggy or watery.
- You can refrigerate this cucumber salad for a couple of hours before serving. Place it in an air-tight container and season with salt and sugar before serving.
- Instead of roasting peanuts at home , you can use pre-roasted, skinned peanuts for this Kakdi Koshimbir.
More Salad Recipes
- Korean Cucumber Salad
- Green Barley Salad
- Mung Sprout Salad
- Kachumber Salad
- Kosambari Salad
- Pomelo Salad
- Chana Salad
Get all my Salad Recipes here and you can watch the videos on Instagram .
Ingredients
- ▢ 2 Cup diced cucumber
- ▢ 1 green chilli chopped
- ▢ 2 tablespoon grated coconut
- ▢ 1 teaspoon jaggery powder or sugar
- ▢ 1 ¼ teaspoon salt or to taste
- ▢ 2 tablespoon crushed peanuts
- ▢ 2 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander
Ingredients For Tadka (Tempering)
- ▢ 2 tablespoon peanut oil
- ▢ 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds (rai)
- ▢ 1 teaspoon white urad dal
- ▢ 1 tablespoon curry leaves
Instructions
- Heat a small pan and add peanuts. You can skip this step of roasting peanuts if you have pre-roasted, skinned peanuts.
- On low heat, dry roast the peanuts while stirring continuously till a few black spots appear on them. Keep them aside till they are cooled completely.
- Rub roasted peanuts between your palms; the skin comes out easily. Transfer them to a mortar and pestle. Crush the peanuts to a coarse powder.
- Chop the cucumbers. Transfer them to a large mixing bowl. Season them with salt, mix, and set aside for 10 minutes.
- Squeeze water from the cucumber by cupping them between your palms or holding them in your fist. Or you can tie them to a muslin cloth and squeeze gently to drain out excess liquid. Transfer cucumber to a bowl.
- Add chopped green chilli, grated coconut, salt, lemon juice, and sugar to the cucumber. Mix nicely.
- Prepare tadka with heating oil. Add mustard seeds, urad dal, and curry leaves. Allow the seeds to pop.
- Pour this sizzling tadka over the khamang kakdi. Add crushed peanuts and chopped coriander, and mix nicely.
- Khamang Kakdi is ready to serve.
Recipe Notes:
- For tadka, you can use sesame, coconut, or peanut oil.
- Instead of roasting peanuts at home , you can use pre-roasted, skinned peanuts for this Kakdi Koshimbir.
- I use Indian cucumber for making this salad. If you prefer fewer seeds in cucumber, scoop them out before chopping.
Nutrition
We follow a strict NO SPAM Policy
Khamang Kakdi Recipe
Equipment
- Salad Mixing Bowl
- Tadka Pan
Ingredients
- 2 Cup diced cucumber
- 1 green chilli chopped
- 2 tablespoon grated coconut
- 1 teaspoon jaggery powder or sugar
- 1 ¼ teaspoon salt or to taste
- 2 tablespoon crushed peanuts
- 2 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander
Ingredients For Tadka (Tempering)
- 2 tablespoon peanut oil
- 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds (rai)
- 1 teaspoon white urad dal
- 1 tablespoon curry leaves
Instructions
- Heat a small pan and add peanuts. You can skip this step of roasting peanuts if you have pre-roasted, skinned peanuts.
- On low heat, dry roast the peanuts while stirring continuously till a few black spots appear on them. Keep them aside till they are cooled completely.
- Rub roasted peanuts between your palms; the skin comes out easily. Transfer them to a mortar and pestle. Crush the peanuts to a coarse powder.
- Chop the cucumbers. Transfer them to a large mixing bowl. Season them with salt, mix, and set aside for 10 minutes.
- Squeeze water from the cucumber by cupping them between your palms or holding them in your fist. Or you can tie them to a muslin cloth and squeeze gently to drain out excess liquid. Transfer cucumber to a bowl.
- Add chopped green chilli, grated coconut, salt, lemon juice, and sugar to the cucumber. Mix nicely.
- Prepare tadka with heating oil. Add mustard seeds, urad dal, and curry leaves. Allow the seeds to pop.
- Pour this sizzling tadka over the khamang kakdi. Add crushed peanuts and chopped coriander, and mix nicely.
- Khamang Kakdi is ready to serve.
Video
Notes
- For tadka, you can use sesame, coconut, or peanut oil.
- Instead of roasting peanuts at home , you can use pre-roasted, skinned peanuts for this Kakdi Koshimbir.
- I use Indian cucumber for making this salad. If you prefer fewer seeds in cucumber, scoop them out before chopping.
Nutrition
Jeera Rice is a famous Indian fried rice flavoured with cumin. It perfectly complements all Indian curries. You can make fluffy, aromatic cumin rice in under 15 minutes with an instant pot.
- What is ‘Jeera Rice’?
- Ingredients Required
- How To Make
- Serving Suggestion
- My Tried & True Tips
- More Indian Rice Recipes
- Instant Pot Jeera Rice Recipe
What is ‘Jeera Rice’?
In Hindi, the cumin seeds are called Jeera. Hence, the cumin-flavoured basmati rice is known as Jeera Rice. It is a vegetarian, one-pot, gluten-free rice dish with a subtle spices flavour and a fluffy, non-sticky texture.
You do not need fancy pulao or flatbread if you know how to make perfect jeera rice. It effortlessly fits as a side dish with every Indian main course .
Earlier, like my mother, I used to make jeera rice in a casserole over the stovetop. It is a failproof but time-consuming process. I always say that Instant Pot has been a total game-changing equipment for my Indian kitchen .
From making The 100 Best Curries for my debut cookbook to rice dishes, I cook it all on my Instant Pot.
So I am sharing a tried and tested instant pot method to make the BEST jeera rice in under 20 minutes.
Ingredients Required
- Rice: Use long-grain, best-quality basmati rice. I would not recommend using short to medium-grain, starchy rice.
- Ghee: It gives a sweet aroma and taste to the rice. For vegan jeera rice, use flavourless vegetables or refined oil.
- Cumin: It is the star ingredient of this fried rice recipe. Use whole cumin seeds (jeera) and not the powder.
- Whole Spices: Green Cardamom, Cloves, and Bay Leaf. Use whole spices and not spice powders.
- Other Ingredients: Salt, Water
How To Make
Step 1) Rinse basmati rice with water 2 to 3 times or till water runs clear. Soak washed rice in water for 30 minutes ( images 1 & 2 ).
Step 2) To make cumin rice, set the sauté mode of the instant pot for 5 minutes.
Step 3) Add ghee to the inner pot. Once the ghee is melted and hot, add bay leaf, cardamom, cloves, and cumin seeds. Fry them for 40 to 50 seconds to release the aroma of the spices ( images 3 & 4 ).
Step 4) Add soaked rice without water. Do not discard the water. Gently fry the rice for a minute to infuse the rice grain with the flavour of spices and ghee ( image 5 ).
Step 5) Add soaked rice water and an additional ¼ cup of water and salt. Stir to combine ( image 6 ). Cancel the sauté mode. Close the lid of the instant pot. Set the steam valve to the sealing position. Set the PRESSURE COOK mode for 3 minutes.
Step 6) Once the set timing is over, you can either wait for a natural steam release or do a quick release manually.
Step 7) Open the lid, fluff the rice using a fork, and sprinkle chopped coriander or cilantro leaves ( images 7 & 8 ). Allow jeera rice to sit for 1 minute.
And then serve hot with your favourite curry or dal.
Serving Suggestion
My favourite comfort food combination is jeera rice and arhar dal fry or everyday masoor dal . Apart from dal fry, I like to serve it with Rajasthani Boondi Kadhi , Paneer Curry , or a bowl of Chana Saag .
At many Indian restaurants, the popular combination is jeera rice and chicken curry or jeera rice and paneer butter masala .
It is one of those Indian side dishes that taste delicious with all types of gravies and curries.
My Tried & True Tips
- Long-Grain Rice: I think basmati rice is the best choice for making Indian jeera rice. You can substitute it with other aromatic, less starchy, medium to long-grain rice.
- Rice To Water Ratio: 1 ¼ cup of water to 1 cup of basmati rice. This ratio of rice to water always gives me fluffy, non-sticky rice in an instant pot.
- Soak & Roast: Soaking rice for 30 minutes helps each grain fluff up while cooking. Roasting the soaked rice while cooking gives a lot of flavour to the dish.
- DO NOT COOK for too long. In an instant pot , the jeera rice takes only 3 minutes. On a stovetop pressure cooker, 2 whistles over medium heat are enough. If you cook the rice too long, each grain will break apart and become mushy.
More Indian Rice Recipes
- Curd Rice
- Lemon Rice
- Chana Pulao
- Coconut Rice
- Vegetable Pulao
- Mushroom Pulao
If you try this recipe and love it, please leave a comment and a rating. This helps us grow and reach other food lovers like you.
Ingredients
- ▢ 1 Cup basmati rice
- ▢ 2 tablespoon ghee
- ▢ 1 bay leaf (tej patta)
- ▢ 2 green cardamom (elaichi)
- ▢ 4 cloves (laung)
- ▢ 1 tablespoon cumin seeds (jeera)
- ▢ 1 ¼ teaspoon salt or to taste
- ▢ 1 ¼ Cup water
- ▢ 1 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander
Instructions
- Rinse basmati rice with water 2 to 3 times or till water runs clear. Soak washed rice in 1 cup of water for 30 minutes.
- To make cumin rice, set the sauté mode of the instant pot for 5 minutes.
- Add ghee to the inner pot. Once the ghee is melted and hot, add bay leaf, cardamom, cloves, and cumin seeds. Fry them for 40 to 50 seconds to release the aroma of spices.
- Add soaked rice without water. Do not discard the water. Gently fry the rice for 1 minute to infuse the rice grain with the flavor of spices and ghee.
- Add soaked rice water and an additional ¼ cup of water and salt. Stir to combine. Cancel the sauté mode. Close the lid of the instant pot. Set the steam valve to the sealing position. Set the PRESSURE COOK mode for 3 minutes.
- Once the set timing is over, you can either wait for a natural steam release or do a quick release manually.
- Open the lid, fluff the rice using a fork, and sprinkle chopped coriander or cilantro leaves. Allow jeera rice to sit for 1 minute.
- Serve jeera rice warm with your favourite curry or dal.
Recipe Notes:
- The quantity of water and cooking time may vary depending on the variety of rice you are using. If you want, discard the bay leaf before serving the cumin rice.
- You can substitute ghee with unsalted butter or flavourless vegetable oil.
- Store leftover cumin rice in an airtight container in the fridge. Reheat it in a microwave or a pan on the stovetop.
Nutrition
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