Crunchy Cucumber Salad

Crunchy Cucumber Salad (kosumbari), a nutritious & delicious salad that is made during spring & summer in southern parts of India. During Summer it is made almost every day in many homes due to its nutritional value, it’s simple ingredients &easy preparation.

Everyone enjoys it as it is a perfect salad to beat the heat. We have it as a snack by itself accompanied by seasonal fruit juice (Lemon, Melon) or we eat it as a side with our lunch menu. I have used it as a side dish for Lemon Rice (my previous recipe), which is a traditional combination in our home.

Do try this salad, it is easy to prepare. It is a delicious salad, the combination of veggies are really good as we get the beautiful juicy flavor of the cucumber, nutty flavour from the dal, sweet flavour from the fresh coconut & refreshing flavour of the coriander leaves. It goes without saying that all the ingredients are very nutritious & delicious.  You definitely need it to keep your mind & body cool, refreshing this summer.

It tastes great by itself, you can eat it as a side with your lunch menu (Lemon Rice, Tomato Rice, Pulao, Roti & dal etc)

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Ingredients:

• ½ Cup – Moong Dal (Split Mung Beans/Split Green Gram). You can reduce the                             quantity to ¼ cup if you wish, it will not alter the flavour of the salad.
• 1 ½ Cup – Cucumber (finely chopped)
• ½ Cup – Freshly Grated Coconut
• ¼ Cup – Coriander Leaves (Chopped)
• Salt

Prep Work:

1.Moong Dal

• Wash & soak the Moong dal in water for atleast 1 hour.
• Just before you assemble drain the water & let it sit in a colendar/filter for a few minutes until just before you start to assemble the salad.

2.Cucumber:

• Wash the cucumber & cut the tip off (1/2 inch), now we take the cut piece & rub it against the cucumber.
• We rub it for a minute & then we will see foam forming around the cucumber (this foam is the cause bitterness in the cucumber).
• We throw away the small piece of cucumber & wash the cucumber to remove the bitter foam.
• We follow the same method for the other side of the cucumber. We throw away the small piece & wash the cucumber.
• We peel the skin out, cut them into two. Then we cut the two pieces into four & cut the core (seeds) out.
• We dice them into fine pieces & set it aside.

Method:

• We take a flat wide box (as it is easy to store in the refrigerator).
• First transfer the moong dal into the box & spread it evenly. Press it with a spoon so it sets nicely.
• We transfer the cut cucumber on top of the moong dal, we spread the cucumber evenly & press it so it sets nicely.
• Then we transfer freshly grated coconut & spread it evenly.
• Finally we transfer chopped coriander leaves & spread it.
• We can prepare this ahead of time & refrigerate it. (it stores well in an air tight box in the refrigerator for upto 3-4 days).
• Just before we serve, we take the required quantity, add salt to our taste, mix well & serve. (please add salt just before serving else it makes the salad watery & soggy).
• Ready to Serve.