"Magge Thoy" or Malabar Cucumber Rasam

This is an easy and quick to cook side-dish cum accompaniment for rice, especially on days when you do not feel like cooking both a side dish and a rasam or dal.
I learnt this dish from my paternal grandmother would make it in a jiffy.
And yet it tastes so good.
Hence am sharing this recipe with you.
This vegetable is called "Magge" in Konkani and known as "Mangalore or Malabar cucumber" in the shops I buy them from, but any other fleshy vegetable which gets soft on boiling like ash gourd or pumpkin could be used.
This vegetable is widely used in Mangalorean, Kerala and Goan curries.


Serves 3
Ingredients:
Malabar Cucumber - 1/2 kg

Water - 4 cups
Oil - 1 tsp 
Garlic cloves mashed coarsely - 8
Tamarind juice - 1 tbsp
Dry red chillies - 7 or 8 - cut into bits (you can alter the quantity depending upon your palate)


Method:
Remove the skin of the cucumber, discard the seeds, and cut into cubes.
Now put the cubes of cucumber in a vessel with 2 cups of water and boil either in a cooker or directly on the stove. Cook till soft.
Now keep the vessel with the boiled cucumber on one stove on low heat. Add salt and the tamarind juice and mix well.
Take a seasoning pan, keep on low heat, add oil and fry the garlic cloves till almost golden.
Now add the red chilly pieces and fry for 1 minute and pour over or season the boiling cucumber mixture and mix well.
Allow to boil for another 5 minutes till all the spices have been absorbed. Once the heat is switched off, allow to rest for atleast 20 minutes before serving so that all the flavors are well absorbed.
Serve hot with rice.