Simple, practical, and full of everyday flavour, Vellarikka pachadi | Cucumber pachadi is a gluten-free, vegetarian Kerala, South Indian side dish made with simple everyday ingredients in about 15 minutes. The recipe lays out the ingredients and each cooking step clearly, so you can adjust seasoning, texture, and serving size for your own kitchen.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 5 minutes
  • Cook time: 10 minutes
  • Total time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 4
  • Category: Side Dish
  • Cuisine: Kerala, South Indian

Ingredients

  • ¼ cup grated fresh coconut
  • ¼ teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1 green chili, (chopped)
  • ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons water (or add as required)
  • 1 medium to large cucumber (or 1 cup chopped cucumber)
  • ¼ cup water
  • ½ cup curd (- beaten)
  • salt (as required)
  • ½ tablespoon coconut oil
  • ¼ teaspoon mustard seeds
  • 1 dry red chili
  • 5 to 6 curry leaves

Method

preparing coconut-mustard seeds paste

  1. In a grinder jar take ¼ cup coconut, ¼ teaspoon cumin seeds, ½ teaspoon mustard seeds and 1 green chili (chopped).
  2. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons water and grind till smooth. Keep the coconut paste aside.

cooking cucumber

  1. Rinse, peel and chop 1 medium to large cucumber. You will need 1 cup of chopped cucumber. Add the cucumber in a pan with ¼ cup water.
  2. Keep the pan on stove top and on a low-medium flame cook the cucumber for 5 to 6 minutes. Do stir at intervals.
  3. Let most of the water evaporate from the pan. The cucumber will also have a cooked taste.

making vellarikka pachadi

  1. Then add the ground coconut paste.
  2. Add salt as per taste.
  3. Mix very well and cook for 2 to 3 minutes on a low flame. Then keep the pan down and let this mixture cool down.
  4. Beat 1 cup curd with a spoon or wired whisk till smooth.
  5. Once the cucumber+coconut mixture has cooled down or become warm, then add the beaten curd.
  6. Mix very well.

tempering vellarikka pachadi

  1. Heat ½ tablespoon coconut oil in a tadka pan or a small frying pan.
  2. Add ¼ teaspoon mustard seeds.
  3. Let the mustard seeds crackle.
  4. Then add 1 dry red chili (halved and seeds removed) and 5 to 6 curry leaves.
  5. Fry for a few seconds till the curry leaves become crisp and the red chili changes color. Do not burn.
  6. Pour the tempering in the pachadi mixture.
  7. Mix very well.
  8. Serve vellarikka pachadi as a side dish with sambar-rice or steamed rice. you can also refrigerate and then serve. Left over cucumber pachadi can be refrigerated.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.