Spicy Cucumber Wedges (Masala Kakdi/ Masala Toushey)

With the sun shining in the horizon and piping hot summer days, I reach out to the cool foods to stay hydrated. Lucky me, I got a big loot of Kerby Cucumber from the Indian grocery. I yearn for the ones we get in India which are light green skinned. This one known as Kirby Cucumber comes very close in terms of taste, flavour and freshness. In Marathi, they are known as Kakdi and in my home its known as Masala Kakdi. In Konkani, Cucumbers are known as Toushey. The ones we get in US are palm sized, tiny and ideal for small bites. I also recall these sold on Bangalore street by cart vendors during summer season for a paltry sum of 2 rupees a Cucumber, slathered liberally with masala and lime juice.

During hot summer days, Mom chopped these beauties into wedges and serve as a salad item. Its a very simple one but I wanted to document the recipe for sheer nostalgia! The tender Cucumbers are juicy, full of water and less seeded. Spruce up with spice powders of your choice.

~ Masala Kakdi ~
Processing time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:
Kirby Cucumber - 4
Red Chilli powder - as per taste
Black Pepper powder - as per taste
Salt

Method:
Wash and peel the skin of Cucumber, you could also retain them if needed. Chop them into halved wedges. Sprinkle salt, black pepper powder and red chilli powder. Great as mid day snack and salad.