Vellarikka Pachadi Kerala Style Cucumber Yogurt Pachadi

Pachadi and kichadi are an integral part of the Kerala cuisine, especially the onam-sadya menu. But let’s not confuse pachadi with the Tamil Nadu style pachadi, which is more like raita and the kichadi with the North Indian rice and lentil dish khichadi or the upma khichadi. Pachadi is more like a curry where we cook the veggies and simmer it in the coconut yogurt sauce with the subtle flavor of mustard seeds. And kichadi is more like yogurt relish. We cook the veggies and mix them with yogurt and then do the tempering. You can find my beetroot kichadi recipe as well. If you are wondering what is the difference between pachadi and kichadi here it is. The inclusion of mustard seeds plays a major role. In pachadi, we add mustard seeds or crushed mustard seeds, whereas for kichadi mustard seeds are not added. And we can make kichadi with or without coconut also. You can read the difference in the Kothiyavannu blog as well.

It’s hard to give the exact English names for Indian dishes. You can call this as curry/gravy or raita or salad even. Whatever or however you call, this is a very simple and traditional side dish that is perfect for everyday meals or Vishu (New year) or onam sadya. Now let’s see how to make the vellarikka or cucumber pachadi with detailed step-wise pictures-

Prepare the coconut paste and mix with yogurt-

In a mixer jar, add the coconut, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, and green chili. Grind into the semi-smooth paste by adding 2 to 3 tbsps of water. In a wide bowl, take the ½ cup of yogurt. Add the ground paste to this yogurt. I rinsed the mixer jar with 1 tbsp of water and added that as well. Mix the ground paste well with the yogurt and set it aside.

Cook the cucumber and make the pachadi-

PS- You can start the cooking process and prepare the coconut paste in parallel.

In a saucepan, add the peeled and chopped cucumber. I used about 3 cups of cucumber approx, 375 grams. Add the salt, turmeric powder and 2 tbsp of water and mix well. Let the cucumber cook in medium heat. Cucumber oozes out water, so you don’t need to add more water, and the cucumber will be soft and tender within 8 to 10 minutes. You can cover and cook as well but make sure to mix in between the cooking process. When the cucumber is soft and tender, add the ground coconut-yogurt mix. Now reduce the heat to low. Cook until the curry becomes frothy. Then turn off the heat.

Tempering-

In a separate tempering pan, heat the coconut oil. When the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds, red chilies broken into pieces and curry leaves.

When the mustard seeds splutter, turn off the heat and add the tempering to the pachadi. Garnish it with cilantro and serve it right away.

Recipe Notes-

You can make a similar pachadi with okra, pineapple, etc. As I used Thai chili variety, I used only one. But adjust it according to your preference. And the same for salt as well. Adjust it as per your taste. I like to chop my cucumber into big chunks so that it doesn’t disintegrate while cooking. Make sure you are using the non-bitter cucumber variety.

Other Cucumber Recipes-

Yellow cucumber dal Cucumber raita Cucumber kootu Tzatziki sauce

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