Cool cucumber rounds tossed with mint, lemon and coconut; the simplest possible summer refresher, kindling nothing and cooling everything.
Snack · 10 min prep · serves 2 Newly added
Ingredients
- 1 cucumber , large, diced with skin if organic
- 2 tbsp mint leaves , finely chopped
- 2 tbsp coconut (fresh grated)
- 1 tbsp lemon , juice
- ¼ tsp ginger (fresh) , very finely grated, optional
- to taste rock salt
Preparation
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Toss the diced cucumber with the chopped mint in a bowl.
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Add the coconut and, if using, the whisper of ginger.
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Dress with lemon juice and rock salt just before serving, so the cucumber stays crisp.
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Serve immediately, well chilled or at cool room temperature.
In the tradition
In the Indian summer, when pitta blazes and even thinking about the stove is too much, this salad is the whole recipe: cucumber for water and coolness, mint for its clean bite, coconut for a little substance. Ayurveda’s one caution about raw salads is timing, they sit best at midday, when agni is strongest, and worst late at night.
Sources & further reading
- Bhāvaprakāśa Nighaṇṭu (Śākavarga, cucumber classed as sweet and cooling)
- Ayurvedic Cooking for Self-Healing , Vasant Lad & Usha Lad
Classical citations mark where a tradition is drawn on; modern books are shared as further reading, not as prescriptions.