Stuffed cucumber is a traditional dish from Karnataka in South India. It is served with jowar roti or chapati.Â
Today, various kinds of stuffed vegetables are prepared. South Indian cooking differs from its counterpart in many aspects. Here, brinjal, ridge gourd, cucumber and bittergourd are usually used in the preparation. Today, we take a look at the southern style of stuffed cooking. I am using cucumbers.Â
Ironically, cucumber is used mainly in a salad in many parts of the world. Thus, here it tastes different. It is tender and tastes good with the spice mixture. Give a try to this forgotten recipe of Karnataka.
I would like to inform, cucumber used are the small variety. The have a smooth surface and the skin is not peeled. The cucumber has to be washed well and dried before cutting them for the below recipe. I do not recommend the use of tender ones here. You can use the large ones; they will be more ideal for filling the mixture. The large ones are usually used in making stir fry or masala bhat in our region. Sometimes, it is also used in majjige huli too.
The making of stuffed cucumber involves three stages :
- Cutting the vegetable
- Preparing the filling
- Stuffing the paste into it
- Cooking
The vegetable should be cut into medium sized of 1 inch. Then, you have to make an incision on each piece. The filling is made and then filled into these cut vegetable pieces. They are later cooked in a pan.

stuffed cucumber
Let us get to the recipe of Stuffed Cucumber:
Ingredients:
- 1/2 kg cucumber
- 1 cup fresh grated coconut
- 3 tablespoon coriander seeds
- 1 tablespoon bengal gram
- 1 tablespoon urad dal
- 3 dry chilly
- 2 green chilly
- handful coriander leaves
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- salt to taste
- 3 tablespoon oil
- 1/4 teaspoon asafoetida
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
METHOD:
- Wash the cucumber, pat dry and cut them into two or three pieces.
- Make an incision on four sides on each of them, you will be filling the paste in it later. Keep them aside.
TO MAKE STUFFING:
- Dry roast the bengal gram and urad dal and keep aside.
- Roast the coriander seeds with a little oil. Do not burn them.
- Roast the red chilly with a little oil.
- Now ,grind the roasted ingredients along with green chilly, coriander, and cumin to a fine paste.
TO FILL THE STUFFING:
Gently, take a piece of cucumber, and put some filling in it. Take care, as they tend to break easily. Repeat for all pieces.
TO PREPARE:
Take a pan and make the seasoning. Slowly, add the stuffed veggie into it. Close it with a plate of water. This eases the cooking process. Keep stirring in between. When tender, remove into a serving bowl. Stuffed cucumber is ready to be served.
About the event:
Sending the Stuffed Cucumber Recipe to Shhh Secretly Cooking Challenge. It is a group which I have been associated since a long time. A theme is decided, and the members are paired. The partners, accordingly agree to discuss and provide two secret ingredients. The dish is later shared in the group and the ingredients are guessed by other members.
My partner Archana has given me bengal gram and oil as the secret ingredients. I have shared this post which has been redone thoroughly with the group. Archana has prepared Stuffed Capsicum for the challenge.
The other stuffed recipes on the blog are :

Stuffed Cucumber
Ingredients
Method
- Wash the cucumber, pat dry and cut them into two or three pieces.
- Make an incision on four sides on each of them, you will be filling the paste in it later. Keep them aside.
- Dry roast the bengal gram and urad dal and keep aside.
- Roast the coriander seeds with a little oil, do not burn them.
- Now, roast the red chilly with a little oil.
- Grind the roasted ingredients along with green chilly, coriander and cumin to a fine paste.
- Slowly, take a piece in the hand . Take a little of the filling and stuff it using both the hands. Take care, as they tend to break easily. Repeat for all pieces.
- Take a pan and make the seasoning. Slowly, add the stuffed veggie into it. Close it with a plate of water. This eases cooking. Keep stirring in between. When tender, remove into a serving bowl. Stuffed cucumber is ready to be served.
If you ever make Stuffed Cucumber in your kitchen, take a photo and share with me by tagging @foodiejayashree on Instagram and @evergreendishes on Facebook.
Pin it for later:

stuffed cucumber

Sounds great…Can any cucumber be used? I’m curious as to how it tastes, cos the picture is making me drool…:P
Thankyou dear Kimberly
A unique..recipe with cucumber.. Lovely
Thankyou dear Vani
Really this is quite an interesting dish, with just a simple cucumber, great one…
Thankyou dear Jeena
Very unique recipe.. Its tempting me:)
It is ages since I have cooked with cucumbers! I love these stuffed cucumber dish and will definitely try making it. It is delicious and I think Amma made it juts like this. Thanks.
This is a recipe I had long forgotten. Thankyou for bringing it back to life. It is so succulent and tasty.
Stuffed cucumber sounds interesting. We love stuffed vegetables at home . Bookmarks this recipe to make it soon. I can’t wait to try it .
When on offer hubby tends to buy too many cucumbers and I get tired or eating them on its own. Now I know what I will be doing with the extra cucumbers, stuffing them. Had no idea that we could stuff and cook cucumbers. Thanks for this wonderful recipe, which I will be trying out soon.