Pachadi Kerala Style

Pachadi belongs to the vegetable-and-fruit preparations made for Kerala’s Onam Sadya in Dassana Amit’s account. This profile selects her cucumber-based Vellarikka Pachadi, a Kerala-style yogurt side dish, as one representative preparation.

Fresh coconut, cumin, mustard seeds and green chili are ground smooth with water. The selected regular cucumber is rinsed, peeled and chopped, then cooked in a separate water portion until most evaporates.

The same coconut paste and salt join the cucumber and briefly cook together. After the mixture cools, beaten curd is mixed in; the author also allows adding it while the cucumber mixture is warm.

In coconut oil, a separate mustard portion crackles before dried red chili and curry leaves are briefly fried. The entire tempering is poured into the same cucumber-yogurt mixture and stirred through.

This selection takes the author’s offered chilled presentation with steamed rice. Other fruits, vegetables and yellow cucumber are distinct pachadi choices rather than additions to this regular-cucumber recipe.