Cucumber Lassi / Chaas: Sweet & Salt

Lassi /Chaas /Butter Milk whatever you call it, it is one of the healthiest drink in Summer Season. 

The summer is here. Already screeching son shows his heat. The hot air blows through out the day. You need to keep your mind and body cool. So let us have some Cucumber Lassi /Chaas Sweet or Salt. Both are easy to preapre and good for health.
I think You like my idea of having this cucumber Lassi. It is yummy, delicious, quick and simple.
All I have used is curd / butter milk, salt and jaggery, cucumber and water.
Let us see some benefits of having Cucumber in our diet. 
We know that cucumber helps to keep our body cool. It is full of nutrients. It has a rich source of anti oxidants that is good for our health. Cucumber is low in calories and it is fiber rich. Good for dehydration and good for loosing weight. It helps in easy digestion. Control the blood sugar level. helps in controlling the blood pressure. It is good for bones. It is good for hair and skin. Cucumber contain Vitamin C, Vitamin A, Vitamin K, Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B5 and minerals like protein and magnesium.
Cucumber Lassi is good for all aged people.  
Cucumber Lassi is diet friendly.
  It is diabetic friendly 

I have used pepper pods and salt for the Salted Lassi 
2. Jaggery for Sweetening the Lassi.

Things needed : 

Curd : 1/2 Cup
Cucumber : 2 ( Small Variety).
Pepper Pods : 3 to 4

For Salted Lassi / Butter milk 
Salt : As required
Ingh : A little

For Sweet Lassi 
Jaggery : 2 Tablespoons : Powdered or liquid

Method :

1. Wash and peel off the skin of cucumber and cut into small pieces.

2. Grind cut cucumber and pepper pods with little water. Grind it in to paste.

3. Add curd and  2 glasses of water and churn for 2 minutes.
4. Remove the done butter milk to a bowl.
5. Divide cucumber lassi two bowls.

6. Add required salt and a pinch of ingh/ Asafoetida to salted lassi and mix it well.

7. Add a tablespoon of jaggery to sweet Lassi and mix it well.

8.Sweet and Salt Lassi / Chaas /butter milk is ready to serve.

9. Put the lassi to glasses and serve. ( Adding ice cubes are optional ).

Note : 

Adding more curd is optional. You can also add little green chilly and cut coriander leaves to salty lassi. I have not added because in summer it is good to use pepper pods instead of green chilly.
Adding sugar instead of jaggery is optional. Remember jaggery is good for health. It helps in keeping your body cool.
Time : 15 Minutes
Serves : 2 to 3.

Cucumber -- Millet flour Pesarittu / Dosa

Pesarittu is a type of dosa, prepared using moong dal. Pesarittu or green gram dosa is very famous in Andra Pradesh. But now a days you can get Pesarittu in most of the places in the world.
Just check this recipe and try it out. YOU are going to say  " Wow ", I am sure.
This time Pesarittu - Moong dosa is a combination of moong dal, millet flour / Jolada hittu /Sorghum and cucumber.

Ready to serve Cucumber - Millet Pesarittu /Moong Dosa

As I said this Pesarittu is very famous in Andra Pradesh, may be because it is so hot there and moong dal or whole moong helps the body to keep cool.
When I think of Pesarittu , I do remember the experience we had when we first visited Hyderabad. My first son Ravi got his first job in Satyam which was very famous and one of the top software company. So we wanted to visit him and spend some time with him. Since he was living alone and not much of facility to cook at home we had gone to one of good hotel near by his house. I think it is Chutneys. Chutneys are the big chain of hotels and the food was really good I should mention here.
We were going through the Menu card and I saw a dish name as
" CHIEF MINISTER PESARITTU ". I was wondering how it might be. Even Ravi did not know the clue about the dish, though it mentioned Pesarittu. We ordered and there it came a big Pesarittu filled with Upma. It is just like filling Potato Palya in Masala Dosa. Uppittu/Upma was kept and Pesarittu was folded. After seeing Uppittu inside we started to laugh and could not control it. By the we were all almost full after eating so many idli, dosa, uppittu, kesari bath, Vada etc. So my self and Ravi gulped the whole dosa with Uppittu and believe me until 5 in the evening we never felt hungy. It was so heavy and full.
Coming back to This Dish Cucumber - Millet Pesarittu is one of the healthy, aromatic and healthy.
It is good for breakfast, as snack or even dinner. Try and enjoy then let me know your opinion.
Using millet helps the diabetic and diet friendly people. Use of jeera, peeper, curry leaves, ginger  adds to the healthy point of view and green chilly can be avoided if you are not keen to use. Now a days they say green chilly helps to digest food easily.
Let us see the recipe now :

Ingredients :

Moong Dal : 2 Cups
Millet /Jola /Soghum flour : 1 Cup
Cucumber : 2 ( Small type )
Ginger : An inch
Curry leaves : One handful
Coriander leaves : One handful
Black Pepper : 5 to 6 pods
Green chilly : 1
Salt : As required
Cooking Oil : 3 to 4 Tablespoons

Method :

1. Soak Moong dal for 1 hour and drain out the water.
2. Wash and cut green chilly, curry leaves, coriander leaves and ginger ( remove the outer layer
3. Wash and remove the outer layer of cucumber ( You can use the cumber peel for chutney) and cut into small pieces.

4. Put millet flour in a big bowl, add a glass of water and mix it well. ( Just enough water to mix).

5. Now grind moong dal, curry leaves, coriander leaves, cut green chilly, cut cucumber pieces and ginger.

6.Use water if necessary. Cucumber leaves out the water and is enough for grinding.
7. Add millet flour batter to moong mixture and grind it for 2 to 3 minutes. Add salt and churn for a minute.

8. Shift the batter to a big bowl.  Add water if required.

9. Keep dosa pan on the fire. Add little oil on dosa pan. Clean it out completely with a kitchen tissue.
10. Reduce the flame to low. Take a ladle of Cucumber- Millet flour Pesarittu batter and spread it on the tava in circle shape.
11. Now increase the flame to be medium. Put some oil on the top of dosa/Pesarittu.
12. Turn the other side to cook. Cook for another 1 minute and remove dosa from the pan and serve with side dish you have prepared.

13. Cucumber - Millet dosa Pesarittu is ready to serve.

14. Serve with the side dish you have prepared.

Note :

Use only required water when you grind. Mixing millet flour with water helps to mix the flour with moong batter. Use of jeera and pepper helps to avoid gas in the food. Adding millet flour is a healthy option. Adding cucumber helps the dosa to be soft and nice.
Time :
Soaking time 1 hour + grinding 5 Minutes + Preparing dosa 30 minutes.
Serves : 3 to 4 .