At my friend Sonal’s Indo-Euro grocery store today, she had this exotic-looking veggie that one of her customers told her was used in south Indian cooking. The name is supposed to be Dosakai but I have also found it described as Dosakaya, Kani Vellarikka, and Nakka Dosakai. According to the internet, it is widely grown in South Canara and is used in Konkani cooking, while another post told that it is widely available in Kerala. Dosakai is an Indian cucumber but is said to be more apple-like with a tart taste. I have not cut mine open yet as I’m still looking for the right recipe to use for such a beautiful veggie. I am looking for where to buy seeds for this cucumber, does anyone know of a good seed supplier for South Asian vegetables?

Made a batch of panch phoran today. What exactly is panch phoran you might ask? This spice blend is a Bengali mixture consisting of equal parts fennel seed, cumin seed, black or brown mustard seed, fenugreek seed, and kalonji. The first three ingredients are easy enough to find, the last two can be found if you know where to look. Indian grocery stores are where you will find the fenugreek seed. Ask for kalonji at any other store and you’ll get an odd look. Even at Indian groceries, it is not uncommon to find the wrong seed packaged as kalonji. This exotic spice is also known as charnushka, nigella, black caraway, and of course kalonji can easily be purchased through Penzeys Spices online.

If you would like to know more about the flavors and find a few recipes using this aromatic blend, step on over to Barbara Fisher’s excellent food blog Tigers & Strawberries for some truly inspired words regarding panch phoran.