Yesterday was Deepavali, so I thought of preparing this incredible rice cake called as Cucumber cake or Mandas (konkani) which my mom used to prepare occasionally at home. The steaming process gives a lovely aroma due to the common ingredients such as jaggery and coconut that I usually add to most of my mangalorean snacks (please check the Mangalorean Recipe categories for more on this).
Preparation time: 15 minutes + soaking time
Cooking time : 30 to 60 minutes
Serves: 4 to 6
Ingredients
Cucumber – 370 g / 1 large, peeled with seeds removed and chopped
Ghee / Oil – 3 tbsp
Idli rice / White small grain – 1 cup, soaked for 3 to 4 hours (*see here)
Fresh or frozen grated Coconut – 95 g
Jaggery – 70 g, powdered (more info on jaggery read here)
Directions
1. Soak the rice for nearly 3 to 4 hrs with water 2 inches above the level of rice. Prepare the rest of the ingredients.
2. First blend the cucumber to liquefy, otherwise the blender might heat up while adding the hard ingredients at the bottom.
Then, add the rest of ingredients such as rice, coconut and jaggery. Do not add any water and blend to make a smooth batter of running consistency.
3. Grease the container with 1 tsp Ghee. Pour the batter into a container and drizzle 2 tbsp ghee. Run a knife through the batter to evenly spread the ghee.
Cover with aluminium foil.
4. In a large pot or work with enough water, place it on a stand of water bath. Close the lid. Cook for 30 – 60 minutes until a toothpick or skewer inserted comes clean without any wet batter.
Cooking time varies so check after 30 minutes. You can remove the foil carefully with a pair of tongs and place it back. Steam can be very hot hence must take care not to cause steam burns.
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Stay Healthy! 🙂





