HALLOWTIDE IN MY HOME
It’s not only about pumpkins but also about cucumbers
Say the word Halloween and you almost instinctively think of jack-o-lanterns and pumpkins. Personally I have never carved a jack -o- lantern. But I do have direct access to organically grown pumpkins either from our own farm which is in a village not far from Mumbai or from the home-gardens of neighbours in the village. So yes at this time of the year I do cook pumpkin in various ways . It’s tasty and wholesome in soups, dals (lentils cooked with spices) and salads. And it’s heavenly in pumpkin pie and pumpkin cake.
But taste wise, what’s even better than pumpkin is the organically grown “kheera- kakdi”- a variety of cucumber. In Indian cuisine pumpkin is not eaten raw, but is always cooked; even in a salad you will have cooked pumpkin slivers or cubes tossed with herbs and spices. Cucumbers on the other hand are usually eaten uncooked. In comparison to regular pale green cucumbers which are generally available all year round , kheera -kakdis are longer, larger , pale green on the inside but striated dark green on the outside, much more juicy, distinctly aromatic and flavourful. Kheera -kakdis are in season for a brief period from late August through September and October and sometimes upto mid November, in the area around my farm. Which makes them all the more precious. After a spell of field work under the hot sun, peel and slice a kheera-kakdi , sprinkle over with salt and chilli powder and you have an instant hunger and thirst quencher. Liven up an everyday raita (salad of cucumber ,tomatoes , onions, green chillies, fresh mint and coriander leaves -all uncooked- and mixed together with curds) with kheera kakdi instead of regular cucumber. Kheera- kakdi pickled and preserved with spices and vinegar can be enjoyed with everyday food for weeks after the season is over.
But Kheera- kakdi is surprisingly and unexpectedly scrumptious when baked in a pie or a cake. For the pie I bake a short crust pastry base of whole wheat flour and butter with a thick layer of grated kheera -kakdi sprinkled over with sugar, cinnamon powder and sour lime juice. For the cake I use grated kheera- kakdi, jaggery powder, butter, semolina, coconut, cardamom powder and sourlime juice.
Whenever I bake kheera -kakdi pie or cake, it brings back fond memories of my late mother Joan and my late mother- in- law Melanie. Both these ladies could take simple locally grown fruit and vegetables and cook them in way that could have taken them to the final rounds of the popular televised MasterChef competition , had they been alive today.
For me the month of October being the month of Thanksgiving at the beginning and Halloween at the end , gives me reason to celebrate by baking either pumpkin or kheera- kakdi. And its always amusing to me when friends and relatives (who know all about pumpkin pie and pumpkin cake) initially hesitate to try a slice of kheera — kakdi pie or cake and then CANNOT believe that it could be so truly tasty .
Personally for me, if pumpkin pie and cake are heavenly …. then kheera- kakdi pie or cake is well… mmmmmm…. divine ! And perfect for any hungry, tired earthly souls to eat a slice and for a few fleeting moments feel transported to the company of saints !!
Francesca Pereira
