Kachri ki sabzi
AI-drafted · awaiting admin review
Small wild desert melons (kachri) cooked with spices into a tangy dry dish, a speciality of the sandy south and west of Haryana.
Region: Haryana (especially Bhiwani, Hisar, Mahendragarh and Rewari)Occasion: Everyday meals in the monsoon and afterTime: 30 minServes: 4Vegan
Ingredients
- 250 g fresh kachri, halved (or 1 cup dried kachri, soaked)
- 2 tbsp mustard oil
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- A pinch of hing
- 1 onion, chopped (optional)
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- ½ tsp turmeric
- Salt to taste
Method
- Wash the kachri and halve them. If using dried kachri, soak for an hour and drain.
- Heat the mustard oil and add cumin and hing, then the onion if using, and fry until soft.
- Add the spice powders and salt, then the kachri.
- Cover and cook on low heat for 10–15 minutes until soft, sprinkling water if it sticks.
- Serve with bajra roti.
History
Kachri grows wild among the bajra and guar crops on the sandy soils of south-western Haryana, and people pick it in the rainy season and dry the extra for later.
Significance
Kachri is a food of thrift: free from the fields, sour without needing tomatoes, and easily dried for the dry months.