Tavsali Recipe | Goan Steamed Cucumber Cake Recipe | Eggless Cucumber Cake Recipe

Tavsali is an eggless steamed cucumber cake from Goa. Tavsali is made with a handful of ingredients in a steamer. It has the delicate taste of cucumbers and is mildly sweet from the jaggery. Tavsali is refined sugar free. Tavsali suits a Jain diet and can be adapted to a vegan or plant based diet by just replacing the ghee with oil.

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Tavsali always takes me back to my childhood. When I think of Tavsali, a scene is formed in my mind and I would give anything to go back to it. It is afternoon in my mom's kitchen, stormy dark grey clouds outside and my mom has just removed this fragrant cake from the steamer while the whole house is having their Sunday afternoon siesta.

My mom loved to cook for us when we were little. She'd learn new recipes from friends, colleagues, and neighbors and try it out on Sunday afternoon when we all slept after a good heavy lunch. And this Tavsali is one of those things that she made for us. I don't think it was a dish she grew up with, but learned it later in life and made it several times for us. It was also something she liked, it had all the flavors of her home, Mangalore, for her in it. cucumber, coconut, and jaggery. 

When it started raining this last month, I'd been craving for this. I don't know why but that scene I wrote before was evoked and I just had to have it. So although I got very lukewarm responses to "I'm going to finally make Tavsali", I went ahead and made a small batch. It didn't take much for the lukewarm to turn to favorable response though. One little half piece from the edge of the cake was all it took, frankly speaking. Even the people I thought would not enjoy it, like my brother in law, seemed to take on a liking for it.

All my recent recipes have been a video, but I was unable to shoot one for this. Reason? It was raining cats and dogs and cows and horses when I started cooking this and the stormy winds caused a blackout and I really had the poorest lighting possible. Luckily, I did take a few pics on my phone, so I added those in the step by step photos.

What is Tavsali?

Tavsali is an eggless steamed cake that is made with coarse rava or semolina/cream of wheat, grated cucumbers, fresh coconut, jaggery, cardamom, and some cashew nuts. It is a very delicate dessert. The mild flavors of cucumber actually shine. The cardamom just adds to the aroma without being overpowering. Tavsali is also not one of those desserts that is cloyingly sweet. It is just mildly sweet. But you can definitely increase the sweetness as required. It is also a very moist cake because of the cucumbers which soften when cooked.

More details...

To make Tavsali, we use the thicker rava not the chiroti rava. Rava used to make upma or uppit or Bansi rava can be used. You can also use Dalia or broken wheat partially. While one can use the yellow cucumber, I used the regular green cucumber to make this.

Firstly, the rava is roasted in a little bit of ghee until it is slightly browned or you get a toasty aroma from it. For a plant based alternative, replace the ghee with coconut oil or any flavorless oil. Allow it to cool, while you grate the cucumbers and coconut. Mix together the rava, grated coconut and the grated cucumber along with the water. Add in powdered or grated jaggery, crushed cardamom seeds, a pinch of salt and broken cashew nuts. Mix until the jaggery is dissolved.

Prepare your steamer, you can use an idli steamer or a pressure cooker without the whistle or just place a kadhai or large vessel with water in it and allow it to come to a boil. Place a stand in your steamer or any vessel just to give the cake tin some height. Grease your cake tin or any vessel in which you are going to make the cake with ghee or coconut oil and pour in the cake mix.

The cake mix is not very thin like regular cakes, it is on the thicker side. But if your cucumbers were on the drier side and you did not get enough juice from them, add a little milk or coconut milk to loosen the batter.

Steam for 30-40 minutes on medium heat. A wet knife inserted into the cake should come out clean.
Remove from heat and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before demoulding the cake. Wait at least 20-30 minutes before cutting it.

Tavsali can serve as a dessert or as a mildly sweet breakfast too. It lasts well for at least one week in the fridge.

If you made this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment here or on Facebook,  tag your tweet with @oneteaspoonlife on Twitter and don't forget to tag your photo @oneteaspoonoflife on Instagram. You can also email me at onetspoflife@gmail.com I'd love to see what you are up to.

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Tavsali Recipe | Goan steamed Cucumber Cake Recipe | Eggless Cucumber Cake

Tavsali is a traditional Goan steamed cucumber cake made with rava or semolina, grated cucumber, coconut and jaggery. It is a mildly sweet dessert with an option to make it vegan.

Recipe Type:  Dessert
Cuisine:            Goan
Prep Time:     15 minutes
Cook time:     60 minutes
Total time:     60 minutes
Yield:                Serves 4-5

Author:                Anupama

Ingredients:

1 cup Coarse Rava (Semolina)
2 Cucumbers
0.5 cup grated Coconut
1 cup powdered Jaggery
0.25 cup broken Cashewnuts
1 tsp Cardamom powder
2 tsp Ghee or Coconut Oil
1-2 Tbsp Milk (Optional)

Method:

1. Heat 1 tsp of ghee or coconut oil in a pan and add the rava. Roast on low-medium heat until lightly browned. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely.
2. Peel and grate the cucumbers and add to the rava, once cooled.
3. Add the grated coconut, cashewnuts and cardamom powder.
4. Add jaggery powder to taste. I used the full 1 cup, you can add more or less as per your taste.
5. You can either shape the cookie dough as a log before chilling or as a ball of dough.
6. Keep water in a steamer to heat or in a pressure cooker. If using a cooker, don't close the lid.
7. Grease a tin with ghee or coconut oil and add the cake batter to it.
8. Place the tin in the cooker or steamer and close the lid. If using a cooker, do not put the whistle.
9. Steam on medium heat for 35-40 minutes or until an inserted knife comes clean.
10. Allow to cool slightly and then demould. Cool completely before cutting.
11. Store in the fridge if not eating the same day.

Step by step photo instructions:

If you liked this, you may also like:

Patoli

Puran Poli

Mango Saasav

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Cucumber Pakoda or Khire ka Pakoda

Cucumber Pakoda or Khira Pakoda is my latest offering in the junk-food-meets-healthy-food recipes.

I've grown up on cooked cucumbers more than uncooked ones. I know, not a lot of you have heard of cooking cucumbers. But if you are from around Mangalore, you know your cucumbers well. My mom used cucumbers in sambar, palya, kadabu and my favorite -Akki Rotti.

I've recently started experimenting with cucumbers. I've made Cucumber Dhokla recently. But never in my wildest thoughts had I imagined I would be making Cucumber Pakodas and ENJOYING it too !!!

I was introduced to them recently at a temple that refrains from using root vegetables. I was unaware of this fact and very unsuspectingly ate it assuming they were potato pakodas. I was pleasantly surprised that they were cucumber. I have been waiting to make them since then. Saturday was the perfect day. It was raining. Well, it'd been raining the whole last week, and heavily, I must add. Eating pakodas and sipping hot tea is my favorite thing to do when it rains.

So on Saturday, I dragged my bean bag as close to the balcony, that little spray of rain on my face gets me all excited. Took my plate of cucumber pakodas and my steaming hot cup of tea and plonked on it. I also had this really exciting English Regency romance novel by Sophia Nash that made a perfect read considering the stormy weather outside. Ah! Simple pleasures of life. 

Let's get back to the Cucumber Pakoda. This pakoda is made just like all the other pakodas, only this time instead of an onion or a potato, we dip sliced cucumber into the batter and fry it. I used regular cucumbers that we use in salads. Not the Mangalore Cucumber. Preferably, use something that has a lower water content to get an even tastier pakoda.

The batter is very simple. Take some gram flour or besan and add salt, red chilli powder, salt and water to get a smooth batter. The consistency of the batter should be thick enough to coat the cucumbers. I added ajwain or carom seeds as I love the flavor in pakodas. You can skip this or replace it with coriander powder or cumin seeds. I also added a pinch of baking soda, this can be avoided too. 

Sprinkle chat masala while serving or serve it with some delicious mint coriander chutney.

Send me an email or leave me a comment on this Post or Facebook or Tweet to me if you tried these awesome pakodas. I love hearing from my readers, so write to me.

Cucumber Pakodas or Khire ka Pakoda

Cucumber slices dipped in a batter made of besan or gram flour and spices and deep fried until golden brown.

Recipe Type:  Appetizer
Cuisine:            Indian
Prep Time:     10 minutes
Cook time:     20 minutes
Yield:                Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

1 Cucumber
4-5 Tbsp Besan or Gram Flour
1 tsp Red Chilli Powder
1/4 tsp Ajwain seeds or Carom seeds
1/2 cup Water
Salt to taste
Pinch of Baking soda
Oil to fry
1/2 tsp Chat Masala(Optional)

Method:

Slice the cucumber into thin slices.
Mix together the besan, red chilli powder, ajwain seeds, baking soda and salt.
Add water by the spoonfuls until you get a batter of desired consistency. The batter should be thick enough to coat the cucumbers.
Heat oil in a deep pan or kadhai. To test if the oil is hot enough, drop a small spoonful of batter in the oil. If it immediately rises to the top, then the oil is ready for frying the pakodas.
Dip the cucumbers in the batter and carefully drop them into the oil.
Cook them on medium heat until one side is golden brown. Flip the pakodas and cook until the other side is done.
It takes around 3-5 minutes per pakoda. Cook them in batches and do not crowd the pan.
Sprinkle some chat masala over them and serve hot with mint coriander chutney or ketchup.

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Instant Cucumber Dhokla | Cucumber Chickpea Steamed Cakes

Cucumber Dhokla is a savory steamed chickpea flour and semolina cake with added cucumber that is perfect for breakfast or as a tea time healthy snack.

I've been missing around the blog for 2 weeks now. I've been busy cooking up an amazing spread that will soon appear here. Now that's what I would love to say. But that's not what I have been doing. Everyone at home has been under the weather and what I have been cooking has been just soup and regular dal rice. and my taste buds totally ditched me too. I could barely make out what the food tasted like. 

I can finally taste the food and I'm SOO happy about it. 

I've recently gotten obsessed with one particular fruit and one particular vegetable - the water melon and the cucumber. And today is all about the Cucumber. I've been adding cucumber to almost everything - Upma, Akki Rotti, Sambar etc. What I love about adding Cucumber to any dish is that it ends up giving it that moistness along with a very subtle flavor. That is exactly what it did to this Dhokla.

Cucumber Dhokla is my own concoction that is inspired from the traditional Dhokla. I recently had a cucumber pakoda (Seriously!!!) and it tasted good (Really!). I never would have guessed that cucumber that besan (chickpea flour or gram flour) would go so well together. So when I set out to make dhokla this time, I got a little creative, I added in a grated cucumber and a bit more. I also added in a little bit of grated carrot, a few frozen peas, and finely chopped capsicum. Although technically, I should be calling it a mix vegetable Dhokla. I prefer calling it the Cucumber Dhokla, cause that flavor it had in the end was all fresh Cucumber.

You can skip the remaining vegetables and just stick to the cucumber and it will taste just as good - I promise.

Instant Cucumber Dhokla | Cucumber Chickpea Steamed Cakes

Instant Cucumber Dhokla is a savory steamed chickpea flour and semolina cake with added cucumber that is perfect for breakfast or as a tea time healthy snack.

Recipe Type:  Breakfast
Cuisine:            Indian
Prep Time:     15 minutes
Cook time:     20 minutes
Yield:                Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

For the Cucumber Dhokla:

3/4 cup Chickpea Flour or Besan

3/4 cup Semolina or Rava

1 grated Cucumber

1 tsp of Ginger- Garlic Paste

1 crushed Green Chilli

1 grated Carrot (Optional)

1 Tbsp Green Peas (Optional)

2 Tbsp chopped Capsicum

1.5 tsp Fruit Salt or Eno

1/4 tsp Asafoetida or Hing

2 Tbsp Yogurt or Curd

1 cup Water

Salt to taste

Oil to grease the steamer

For the Tempering:

3-4 tsp Oil

1 tsp Mustard Seeds

8-10 Curry Leaves

1-2 tsp of Lemon juice

1/2 tsp of Sugar or Jaggery

For Garnish:

2 Tbsp fresh grated Coconut

2 Tbsp finely chopped Coriander leaves

Method:

Preparing the Steamer:

1. You can steam in an Idli steamer or a pressure cooker or a large deep saucepan. If using a pressure cooker, remove the whistle.
2. Pour around 2-3 cups of water in it and cover it and allow the water to come to a boil.
3. Place a small upturned  flat bottomed bowl or vessel at the bottom of the steamer.

Preparing the Dhokla:

4. Mix together all the ingredients except the water, oil and the fruit salt.
5. Add 3/4 cup of water and mix well. Add more water if required. The dough should be thick yet pourable. Almost like a cake or idli batter. The quantity of water depends on the type of rava and besan.
6. Once your steamer is ready, grease a flat vessel that will fit into your steamer with oil. 
7. Now add the fruit salt and the remaining water and mix well. The fruit salt should cause the batter to start foaming and become light.
8. Pour the batter into the greased vessel and place it in the steamer.
9. Allow it to steam for 10-15 minutes. Depending on the depth of your vessel, you may need to keep it in longer. The Cucumber Dhokla is ready when a skewer or knife comes out clean.
10. Allow it to cook and remove from the vessel. 

Preparing the Tempering:

11. Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds.
12. Once the seeds splutter, add the curry leaves.
13. Remove it off the heat and add the sugar and the lemon juice.

Assembling the Cucumber Dhokla:

14. Cut into bite sized pieces.
15. Pour the tempering over the Cucumber Dhokla.
16. Garnish with the coconut and the coriander.
17. Serve warm with coriander chutney or sweet and spicy yogurt.

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Spicy Cauliflower with Tzatziki (Yogurt Sauce)

We Indians love our gobi / cauliflower, especially in North India. But our Gobi Manchurian is a favorite all across the country. While cauliflower tastes great when deep fried, it actually tastes equally awesome when baked. I’d never eaten baked cauliflower, but this recipe called out to me. So easy to make and also, so quickly it disappears.

The original recipe I looked up is from here.

I modified it with the spices I had available. The fragrant Indian spices go very well with the versatile cauliflower.

Tzatziki is a Greek yogurt dipping sauce. The coolness of the sauce complements the spiciness of the cauliflower. 

Spicy Cauliflower with Tzatziki (Yogurt Sauce)

Cauliflower marinated with spices and roasted in the oven. Served with a cucumber and yogurt sauce.

Recipe Type:  Snacks
Cuisine:          Indian / Greek
Prep Time:     15 minutes
Cook time:     40 minutes
Yield:              4-5 Servings

Ingredients:

Spicy Cauliflower:

1/2 head Cauliflower
1 tsp Garam Masala
1/2 tsp Red chilli powder
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
1/2 tsp Cumin powder
1/2 tsp Coriander powder
1 Tbsp Kasuri Methi
6-8 Curry leaves
3 Tbsp Olive oil
3-4 cloves Garlic
Salt to taste

Tzatziki:

2 Tbsp Yogurt / Thick curd
1/2 Cucumber
3-4 cloves Garlic
1 tsp Olive oil
1/4 tsp Black Pepper
Salt to taste


Method:

Spicy Cauliflower:

• Wash and dry the cauliflower head and cut it into bite sized pieces
• Mix all the spices, crushed garlic, salt and olive oil in a large bowl
• Add the cauliflower and mix well, let the spice mixture coat the cauliflower
• Preheat the oven to 220 degree celsius
• Bake for around 20-25 mins until the cauliflower is crispy
• Serve hot with tzatziki

Tzatziki

• Peel and chop the cucumber into rough pieces
• Blend all the ingredients until it is fine
• Serve this dip with the cauliflower or bread or chips

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Sautekayi Kosambri | Cucumber Koshambari

Kosambri is a south Indian salad that is a must for any festival or function in Karnataka. I think our ancestors intended for us to eat healthy by mandating a salad amidst all that festival fanfare. It is usually The recipe posted below is of the version I have grown up eating . It was my favorite in the entire habbada oota (festival food) and if there were any leftovers, the whole family knew who could be counted on to finish it :D.  These days you get various types of kosambri. There is one with grated carrot that tastes nice and the latest I have seen is with American sweet corn. It is either made with split moong dal or split chana dal. Personally I have always preferred moong dal. So the recipe below is for cucumber and moong dal kosambri....

Sautekayi Kosambri | Cucumber Koshambari

A traditional South Indian salad consisting of lentils and cucumber

Recipe Type:  Salad
Cuisine:          South Indian
Prep Time:     2 Hours (includes lentil soaking time)
Cook time:     10 minutes
Yield:              3-4 servings

Ingredients:

½ cup Moong dal
1 Cucumber
1-2 Green Chillies
A handful Coriander
1 Tbsp desiccated fresh Coconut
2 tsp Oil
1 tsp Mustard seeds
5-6 Curry leaves
1 Tbsp Lime juice
Salt

Method:

• Soak the moong dal in water for about 2-3 hours
• Drain the water and keep the moong dal aside
• Chop the cucumber finely and add to the moong dal
• Add lime juice and salt as per taste
• Heat oil in a small pan and add mustard seeds to it
• After the mustard seeds splutter, add curry leaves and slit green chillies and pour this tempering on the kosambri
• Add the desiccated coconut and finely chopped coriander leaves and mix well

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Akki rotti / Rice flour flatbread with cucumber (sautekai)

Hot hot akki rottis with fresh homemade butter… yummmmm…. What in it is not to like? Akki means rice and rotti means roti/bread. It is a flatbread or roti made of rice flour. Akki rottis can be enjoyed as breakfast, lunch or dinner. So many different things can be added or the ingredients varied a little to get various types of akki rottis, each to suit a different palate. Akki rottis are probably unique to Karnataka, and are very easily available in any darshini and sagars across Bangalore. Very easy and quick to make. Below is a recipe with cucumber or sautekai in it. Let’s go ahead and add a teaspoon of life into akki rottis… 

Akki rotti

Make balls from dough

Flatten the dough on a butter paper

Roll out the rotti using hand

Rotti after rolling

Place the rotti on the tava

Flip the rotti after one side browns

Cook on both sides

Enjoy rotti with homemade butter or chutney

Ingredients:

Akki hittu/ Rice flour – 1.5 cups

Cucumber – 1

Green chillies -1-2

Coriander leaves – a handful

Jeera/ Cumin seeds – 1 tsp

Oil – 2-3 tbsp

Salt

Warm water

Method:

Peel and grate the cucumber

Chop green chillies finely. You can slit them and remove the seeds and then chop if you find them very spicy.

Chop the coriander leaves finely.

Add the chillies and the coriander to the cucumber.

Add the rice flour and cumin seeds also to the cucumber.

Use warm water to knead it into a smooth dough.

Divide into balls.

Grease a paper or a plastic sheet. An A4 size or quarter of a single newspaper sheet should do. I avoid using newspaper as sometimes the print makes an impression on the rotti. Using a good quality butter paper is suggested.

Place the ball of dough on it and flatten it out as thinly as you can using your hands.

You can use a greased rolling pin if you find it difficult to flatten using your hands.

Heat a tava/griddle. Grease the tava.

Once the tava is hot, gently remove the rotti from the paper and place it on the tava. I gently overturn the paper in one hand and peel off the paper using the other hand.

Spoon oil onto the tava and cook until brown spots appear on both sides.

Enjoy when hot along with chutney, chutney pudi, pickle or butter.

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