This delightful vegetarian dish combines a refreshing cucumber and yogurt curry with a spicy, aromatic gooseberry pickle, perfectly paired with plain rice. The creamy curry offers a soothing counterbalance to the bold, fiery flavors of the pickle, making it an ideal choice for dining in warmer weather.
The Hot Gooseberry Pickle requires minimal preparation with a total cook time of just 10 minutes, serving four people. To prepare, 250 grams of gooseberries are washed and dried, then soaked in a mixture of apple cider vinegar, water, caster sugar, and salt, which is brought to a simmer until the sugar and salt dissolve. After ten minutes in the liquid, the gooseberries are combined with a spice paste made from dry-roasted fenugreek seeds, mustard seeds, and crushed garlic. The mixture is seasoned with Kashmiri chili powder and additional salt, coated with vegetable oil, and then chilled for at least two hours before serving.
The Cucumber Yogurt Curry, with a prep time of 15 minutes and a cook time of 10 minutes, also serves four. Start by peeling and lightly crushing two cucumbers, reserving their skins and seeds. A portion of the cucumber, along with the seeds and skins, is blended with soaked and drained coconut, green chilies, garlic, coriander, black peppercorns, and sesame seeds to form a smooth paste. This paste is then stirred into whisked yogurt, creating a creamy, pourable consistency, and seasoned with salt. The curry is chilled until serving time.
To enhance the curry’s flavor, a tempering is prepared just before serving. Curry leaves are cooked in hot vegetable or coconut oil until they sizzle, followed by optional fenugreek seeds, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, and dried red chilies. This spiced oil is poured over the chilled cucumber yogurt curry, adding a burst of flavor. The dish is served immediately alongside plain boiled rice and the prepared gooseberry pickle.