Vellarikaai Inji Thayir Pachadi | Cucumber Ginger flavored yogurt - No cook recipe

 Cucumbers are my best friend in summer . I love to munch on some juicy Cucumbers as is or use them in salads or raitas .

Raitas or pachadis are a must have in summer as they cool down the body heat and are comforting on our stomach aiding digestion. 

Across the length and breadth of India ,Cucumbers are an integral part of summer meal be it the Khamang Kakdi of Maharashtra ,Southekaai kosambri from Karnataka ,Vellarikai Kichadi of Kerala or Pahadi Raita from Himachal Region . 

Today , I shall be sharing another favorite recipe using cucumber.  Thayir Pachadi is the South Indian version of raita . We can make thayir pachadi with many vegetables like tomatoes,  sweet potatoes,  ladies finger,ginger etc .

• Sweet potato thayir pachadi
• Dangar Pachadi
• Inji (Ginger) Thayir Pachadi 
• Thakali (Tomato) thayir pachadi 

Inji Vellarikaai thayir pachadi ,is very easy to make and is a No cook recipe.  We will need fresh and tender cucumbers to make this raita . Donot use an over ripe cucumbers as the cucumber won't be juicy and also the seeds will be too mature and rough.

Spice level can be adjusted by increasing or decreasing the number of chillies used .I prefer to keep the pachadi mild so that the flavor of ginger is lifted up. 

Preparation Time - 10 mins
Cooking Time - Nil 
Complexity- easy 
Serves - 3 to 4

Ingredients 

2 small Cucumbers or 1 medium Cucumber
150ml thick yogurt /dahi/curd 
Salt as needed 
Small piece of ginger 
1 small green chilli
Few curry leaves 
2 tsp finely chopped fresh corriander 

1 tsp oil

1/4 tsp mustard seeds

1/4 tsp udad dhall 

Pinch of asafoetida 

Method 

• Peel the skin of the cucumber.  Finely chop half the quantity of the cucumbers and add it to a mixing bowl.
• Roughly chop the other half of the cucumber and blend it with ginger , chilli, corriander, curryleaves and little salt to a very fine paste.
• Whisk the curd with adequate salt and make it lump free. 
• Mix the cucumber paste , chopped cucumber and the whisked yogurt.  Adjust salt if needed. 
• Prepare a tempering of mustard seeds and udad dhall in hot oil with asafoetida.  Cool it and then add it to the raita . Donot pour hot tempering over the pachadi as the curd may turn sour in the hot weather .
• Delicious thayir pachadi is ready to serve .

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Inji Thayir Pachadi | Ginger yogurt dip | Adraki Raita

 Inji Thayir Pachadi also known as Inji thayir is frequently made in a Tambrahm home and also a part of Sadhya menu in Kerala .  Whenever there is an elaborate festive  spread ,then inji thayir will definitely be a part of the menu.

Thick yogurt /curd is whipped well and to this is added a finely ground paste of ginger,coconut, green chillies and curry leaves  along with salt and tempered with mustard .

Puli Inji is a lipsmacking dip from Kerala cuisine and Inji Karvepillai Thogayal (ginger curry leaves chutney)from Tamil Nadu  compliment the quint essential thayir saadham ( curd rice )  especially during hot summers

Ginger - the Magic Spice

Ginger is widely used in India and world over across cuisines.  We can see that ginger will be a mandatory ingredient as part of cooking be it vegetarian or meat based recipes.  The reason for the wide spread use of ginger /adrak/inji is the refreshing strong flavor and the immense medicinal value it exhibits.

 Ginger is a wonder herb which aids in digestion,  relieves mild colic pain ,immunity booster and aids in improving metabolism. Ginger is also anti inflammatory ,eases cough and cold .Ginger also plays a very major role in Ayurveda .

In North Indian cuisine ginger is used in various types of gravies ,dhalls, sabjis , biryanis and pulao in combination with garlic while in south indian cooking, we use it in chutneys,  thogayals, pachadi a.k.a raita variety.

Ginger Tea flavored with cardamom is a very popular and refreshing drink in India and we all love to sip on it regularly.  

Preparation Time - 5 mins

Cooking Time - nil

Complexity  - easy 

Serves - 2 to 3 

Ingredients 

1/2 cup fresh grated coconut 

2 medium green chillies 

1/4 inch of fresh ginger 

Few curry leaves 

Salt to taste

2 cups thick yogurt/dahi/curd 

1 tsp oil 

Few mustard seeds 

Few udad dhall 

1 dry red chilli 

Method 

• Whip the curd in a mixing bowl and keep ready.
• In a blender grind the coconut ,green chillies, ginger and curry leaves to a fine paste with little water.
• Add this paste to the whipped curd and mix well by adding required amount of salt. 
• Prepare a tempering of mustard seeds , udad dhall,  red chillies and curry leaves in hot oil . Once this seasoning cools down ,pour it over the curd .  If you pour hot tempering over the curd,there is a tendency for the curd to get sour if you are not going to eat immediately. 
• Serve this flavorful and delicious inji thayir with your regular meal or even with a spicy biryani or pulao too.

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Pudina Chaas | Mint Buttermilk

The bacterial fermentation of milk using a starter culture is what gives us Yogurt or what we call as Curd/Dahi in India . This bacteria  present in the culture acts on the lactose in the milk during the process of fermentation and that is how Dahi is formed. This video on my YouTube channel demonstrates how to set thick Yogurt /Dahi at home. 

It is only in India where we use the term Curd for  home made yogurt while Curd actually refers to the part left after the curdling of the milk by adding an external substance like vinegar or lime or citric acid . Paneer or Chenna is the product that is got after the milk undergoes coagulation or curdling. 

 An Indian meal is never complete without the Dahi component in some form or the other . South Indians love to end their meal with some yummy curd rice with pickle while the North Indians love to end their meal with some chilled Chaas or sweet lassi . 

If you all are wondering why so much detailing about Curd/Dahi , it is because this week in our Foodie Monday Bloghop group, the theme is Curd or Dahi . We were given a choice by Poonam  to select between Tomato based or curd based recipes and needless to say Curd won the votes hands down and we named this week as Dahi Delights .. Poonam who blogs at Annapurna has some amazing recipes on her blog which you must definitely check but as it is curd based theme , do try her Curd Quinoa which is inspired from the famous curd rice /thayir saadham.  A fantastic twist using Quinoa . 

Use of Dahi in Indian Cuisine

Apart from lassi or chaas , Dahi is used in a lot of main stream dishes in both South as well as north Indian cuisine . There are many such lip-smacking famous recipes on my blog and I shall share the links in this post which you must try if you are  a dahi lover like me . 

Kerala special

Aviyal 

Kaalan

Mambazha (Mango) Mor kootan 

Tamilnadu Special

Morekuzhambu 

Irupuli Kuzhambu 

Mor Rasam 

Curd Rice/Thayir Saadham

Gujurat Special

Gujarati Kadhi 

Fajeto (Aam  Kadhi)

Karnataka Special

Udupi Majjige Huli 

Raita Varieties 

Mix veg raita 

Kumaoni Raita 

Sweet potato pachadi /raita

What is chaas/buttermilk?

Chaas is whisked yogurt that is diluted with some water  and seasoned with salt and some mild spices like cumin powder, asafoetida , jaljeera etc .Neer mor is the south Indian version of chaas and has ginger , curry leaves, green chillies as flavoring agent

Today's recipe is nothing complicated or fancy but a very flavorful Pudina or Mint flavored buttermilk which is very very refreshing on a hot summer afternoon. Mint as we know has a lot of health  benefits especially related to aiding digestion and preventing stomach disorders. Summers are time when we need to keep our body and stomach cool , which is why this pudina chaas is all the more recommended. 

Buttermilk Variations

Neer mor ,

Vazhaithandu Mor (Banana Stem BM)

Masala Chaas 

Preparation Time - 5 mins 

Cooking Time - Nil 

Complexity easy 

Makes - 500 to 600ml.

Ingredients 

10 to 12 fresh mint leaves 

1 small green chilly

Small piece of ginger 

200 ml or 2 cups thick curd /dahi 

400 ml chilled water 

Salt as needed 

Pinch of black salt 

Method 

• Blend the mint leaves , chilly,ginger and salt with little water into a fine paste and set aside 
• Whisk the curd using an electric beater or manual whisk till it appears creamy.  
• Add the ground mint paste, salt , black salt and chilled water and whisk it again until it appears nice and frothy. Adjust salt based on your need.
• Pour into glasses and enjoy with your meal or keep it refrigerated until your lunch time.

Note

1. Don't use sour curd as it will change the taste of the buttermilk .
2. Preferably use freshly set curd and make sure you whisk it properly so that the cream blends with the curd and doesn't float on top .
3. You can also add some coriander while grinding the paste for added flavor .

linking this to foodie Monday bloghop week #255 - Dahi Delights 

Iru Puli Kuzhambu

This is called as Iru Puli Kuzhambu as there is use of tamarind as well as slightly sour curd to bring about the tanginess in the gravy . Iru means "2" in tamil and Puli means " Tanginess"

Iru Puli kuzhambu / Iru Puli Kulambu, this name always fascinated me , but I was not sure of how this is made as whomever I asked said they have heard but have not tried . This recipe seems to be famous in the Thirunelveli - Kanyakumari belt of Tamil Nadu in India.

One fine day, when casually talking to a neighbor in my building she told me that she has prepared this Kuzhambu for lunch and then it immediately struck to me to ask her for the recipe and I made it immediately.
There are various recipes followed for the same depending on the individual family taste as well as the family recipe, I am penning down the recipe as told to me by my friend as everyone in our family have developed a liking to this gravy .

Preparation Time : 10 mins
Cooking time : 20-30 mins
Complexity : Medium
Serves : 3-4