Recipe: Darshana Muzumdar
Makes around 10 two-inch squares of almost 2 inch thickness.
Ingredients
- 1 tavshe or large ripe cucumber preferably a Malabar cucumber like the image above or any other ripe cucumber
- 1 cup or 250 gms wheat rawa (semolina)
- 1/2 cup grated fresh coconut
- 1/2 cup grated jaggery
- 6-7 cardamoms or 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder (optional)
- 1/4 cup broken cashews (optional)
- groundnut oil for greasing the pan
Method
- Peel the cucumber and cut it in half or three parts along the length. Remove the seeds and grate the white part using the large holes of the grater. This should make around 1 cup grated cucumber.
- Dry roast the rawa on low to medium heat till it releases its flavour but doesn’t change colour.
- Once the rawa is cool, add the rest of the ingredients and mix it all well. Allow it to rest for 15 minutes till the rawa has absorbed all the moisture. The mixture should be thick but not too dry. If it is, add up to a cup of water to get the right texture.
- Grease a 10-inch diameter steel tin and put the mixture into it. Level the top surface with a spoon or your fingers. You can also use a larger shallow thali instead of the tin.
- Steam the mixture for 20 to 25 minutes. You can steam it in a kadhai, idli steamer or pressure cooker if you don’t have a steamer.
- Remove the tin and allow it to cool to room temperature. If you don’t, it won’t be easy to remove it from the tin.
- Run a knife around the rim edge to loosen the tausoli and turn it out onto a plate.
- Cut the tausoli into squares and serve.
For the Whole-Food Plant-Based (WFPB) version:
- Rawa is usually made from whole wheat so it is already a WFPB ingredient.
- Do not peel the cucumber.
- Use soft mashed dates instead of jaggery.
- Use unrefined salt.
