Dosakaya Pachadi | Cucumber Chutney

Dosakaya pachadi is a traditional Andhra style cucumber chutney made with yellow cucumber, spices, herbs and a small amount of lentils. Also known as dosakaya chutney, this immensely popular everyday dish is served as a side in an Andhra meal. It is usually eaten by mixing with plain steamed rice and ghee. But it can also be served with roti, chapati, or dosa. Apart from being simply delicious & healthy, it also adds zing to your meal.

Dosakaya Pachadi

Dosakaya is the Telugu word for “Cucumber” and Pachadi means “chutney”. Hence the name. There are few different ways this chutney is made. In this post I share my Mom’s traditional recipe where raw cucumber is crushed with salt, cumin seeds, garlic and green chilies. A lot of people do not temper the chutney and finish off with some chopped coriander leaves garnish.

But tempering makes a difference as it enhances the flavors and keeps the chutney fresher for longer. Traditionally dosakaya chutney is made in a stone mortar pestle but since a lot of us do not own one or simply do not want to use one I have shown it in the mixer grinder. You may use a mortar pestle if you have, to get the right texture.

Andhra Cuisine is popular for its spicy foods, especially Chutney and pickles. It is very common to make chutney with many kinds of vegetables like tomatoes, eggplants, bottle gourd, ridge gourd and even with okra. Cucumber chutney is much loved and you will also see this even in Andhra restaurants served in a meal (Bhojanam).

My Cucumber Chutney Recipe

As I said there are a few different ways to make cucumber chutney. Cucumber is left raw/uncooked in my recipe. In a way you can assume this to be something similar to salsa –But here chopped sour cucumber is mixed with ground cumin, garlic and green chilies.

My mom also loved adding fire grilled or sautéed brinjal/ eggplants along with some tamarind pulp in this chutney.

Cucumber is one of the best low calorie vegetable good for weight watchers. They are high in vitamin c and vitamin A, low in sodium content and zero cholesterol. Consumed raw, we get all the benefits from this vegetable.

Check out more Andhra chutney recipes
Raw tomato pachadi
Dondakaya pachadi
Beerakaya pachadi
Menthi akku pachadi
Vankaya tomato pachadi

What kind of cucumber to use?

This cucumber chutney is made traditionally with sambar cucumber. It is also known as Mangalore cucumber or curry cucumber. These are used in various dishes like sambar, pulusu and curry. We also use it to make cucumber pickle and dal curry – dosakaya pappu.

I have a picture of the same in the picture below. However you can also use the salad cucumbers that we use in Vegetable Salad and Kachumber. If the cucumber is not sour, simply use some tamarind paste. Sometimes cucumbers taste bitter. So always ensure you taste test before using it in the recipe.

How to make Cucumber Chutney

Preparation

1. Slit and fry green chilies in oil till they are fully fried, takes 1 to 2 mins. Set aside to cool completely. If you like to use chana dal and urad dal, roast them till golden. Set aside.

2. Wash and peel cucumber. Remove the seeds and discard. Chop to small bite sized pieces. Check for bitterness.

3. Powder the dal first if you have roasted. Add green chilies, cumin/jeera, salt, turmeric, garlic, and handful of the chopped cucumber pieces. Blend to a smooth chutney. Keep the rest of the cucumber pieces aside. If you do not like to have pieces you can also blend the entire cucumber but the chutney turns out quite runny.

Make Dosakaya Pachadi

4. Pour the ground mix over the rest of the cucumber pieces, add salt and chopped coriander leaves.

5. Temper this with the tempering ingredients as mentioned in the recipe card below. Mix well. Taste test and add more salt if required.

If needed add lemon juice or tamarind paste and mix well. Serve dosakaya pachadi with hot rice and ghee.

Related Recipes

Recipe Card