Kakadiche Gharge /Kakadiche God Vade (Sweet Cucumber Poori)

Gharge means sweet poori. Gharge is a traditional Maharashtrian recipe made with rice flour, jaggery and cucumber or red pumpkin or banana or jackfruit.
Today, I am showing you Cucumber Gharge.
In our Kokan region, Kakadiche Gharge are made in generally during Ganpati festival for goddess Gouri.

हि पाककृती मराठीतून वाचण्यासाठी इथे क्लिक करा. 

Ingredients:

• Jumbo Cucumber (Shravan kakadi/Tavas), peeled, grated and squeezed- 2 cups from 1 cucumber
• Jaggery (gul)- 1 cup (Grate or cut into small pieces)
• Cardamom powder- ½ tsp
• Rice flour - approx 1 ½ cup
• Fine Semolina (Barik Rava) - ½ cup
• Hot refined oil (mohan) - 2 tbsp
• Salt - a pinch
• Refined Oil to Deep fry- as required

Method:

• Peel and discard the seeds from cucumber. Then grate and squeezed tightly cucumber and keep aside. 
  
• Soak rava in ½ cup of juice of cucumber for 15-20 minutes.  
  
• Combine jaggery and grated cucumber in a heavy bottom or non-stick pan.
  
• Cook together, saute in between. 
  
• Once jaggery is melted and mixed well with cucumber, remove from the flame. Let it cool a little. 
  
• Add cardamom powder and mix well.
• Take rice flour, add hot oil (mohan) on it and mix well.
• Now combine soaked rava, rice flour and cucumber mixture. 
  
• Mix well and make a firm dough. The dough should be neither too tight nor too lose. (If you feel it is loose you can add some flour to it.) 
  

Cover the dough and rest it for 15-20 minutes.

• Make small balls of dough. Pat them out with fingers on the greased plastic sheet. 
  
• Deep fry on medium heat in hot oil until golden brown from both sides. Drain Gharge on a tissue paper. 
  
• Gharage taste better with rice kheer.

Tips:

• Gharage can be stored for 2-3 days without refrigeration.
• Don't add extra water to dough try to knead dough in juice released from a cucumber.
• Traditionally gharge are patted on a banana leaf.
• You can make drink from remaining cucumber juice. Add some lemon juice, some mint leaves, a pinch of black salt. and jeera powder