Serving the Guest: A Sufi Cookbook
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Cucumber Pickle
1 cup peeled and slivered carrots
¼ cup seeded and slivered green chili peppers
1 cup slivered red onion
2 tsp. cumin seeds
1 tbsp. mustard seeds
2 tsp. coriander seeds
2 tsp. white peppercorns
1 tbsp. turmeric
4 cups rice vinegar
1 tbsp. salt
Using a spice grinder or mortar and pestle, grind together the cumin seeds, mustard seeds, coriander seeds and peppercorns, then add the turmeric, and set aside. Mix together the carrots, chopped chilis and onion, then stir in the spice blend. Add one cup of vinegar and a tablespoon of salt, and stir well.
Fill the hollowed-out space in the cucumber with the vegetable-spice mix. Tightly pack the stuffed cucumbers into sterilized wide-mouth canning jars, or arrange in a glass baking dish just big enough to hold them in a single layer. Fill in the cracks between the cucumbers with leftover stuffing, then cover them with the rest of the vinegar (use more if needed). Cover and keep in a dark place at room temperature overnight.
To serve, slice each cucumber in three or four pieces, and arrange on a glass or porcelain dish. Leftover vinegar can be strained and saved for cooking or salad dressings.
from Serving the Guest: A Sufi Cookbook
Copyright © 1999, 2000 by Kathleen Seidel
Sources of previously published material by other authors used by permission, and print sources for images, may be found at http://www.superluminal.com/cookbook.