Cucumber has generally been a salad vegetable in diverse cuisines. It comes in varied sizes and varieties and the larger versions can be made into dishes that showcase the cucumber. I had a large cucumber lying around in my refrigerator – and I wanted to use it anything but a salad. So I went ahead and made this stuffed cucumber gravy side dish which turned out to be extremely delicious and went perfectly with rotis or breads. You just have to try it to believe it.
Recipe for Stuffed Cucumber Sabzi/ Curry

Serves : 2-3
Ingredients :

Stuffed cucumber ingredients

• 1 large cucumber
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 1 large tomato, finely chopped
• 2 tsp ginger-garlic paste
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 4 tbsp peanuts, coarsely ground
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 2 tsp garam masala powder
• 2 tbsp oil
• 2 tbsp of freshly chopped coriander
• Salt to taste

Method:

• Peel the cucumber, cut them into 2 inch pieces and scoop out the seeds from the center. Keep the scooped cucumber pieces aside (as shown in pic)
• In a mixing bowl, take the ground peanuts, chopped onions and tomatoes, turmeric, ginger-garlic paste, garam masala powder, salt and mix them well.
• Fill this mixture in the center section of the scooped cucumbers and keep aside.
• Heat oil in a pan on a low flame. When it is warm, add the mustard seeds and wait till they splutter. Then add the cumin seeds.

Stuffed cucumber cooking in progress

• Add in the stuffed cucumbers and the remaining stuffing as shown in the picture. Cover and cook on a low flame till they become soft. Sprinkle some water at this stage to help steam the vegetables.
• After 5 minutes, flip the cucumber pieces so that the other side also gets cooked. If you feel that the stuffing is burning a bit at this stage, sprinkle some more water.

Stuffed cucumber final dish

• Add chopped coriander at the end and serve hot with rotis.

Tips :

• As cucumbers cook quickly, ensure to cook on low flame with covered lid.
• If you require more gravy, increase the quantity of both onions and tomatoes by 1.