Stuffed cucumber is a savory dish prepared by stuffing peeled or unpeeled hollowed out cucumbers, either lengthwise or in round circles, with several ingredients like vegetables, ground meat, onions, and several seasonings and spices. There are several recipe variations of the dish explained in terms of distinct cucumber stuffing ingredients, and varied preparation method. Among several recipe variations of the dish, stuffed cucumber curry, stuffed cucumber cups, and spicy stuffed cucumbers are well admired.
Cucumber is a summertime vegetable, commonly eaten as a salad item, having its origin in India.
Popular Stuffed Cucumber Recipes
A few popular variations of stuffed cucumber are discussed below:
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Bacon stuffed cucumbers- the recipe for this dish suggests cutting peeled cucumber into two halves, scooping out the center portion, and then stuffing them with a sautéed mix of chopped onions, tomatoes, ground meat, fried bacon, and scooped out cucumber portion. Salt, black pepper, and red pepper are used as the seasoning agents for the cucumber stuffing mix. The stuffed cucumbers are then baked in oven with tomato sauce or a mix of butter and little amount of water in the baking tray.
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Cream cheese stuffed cucumbers- the stuffing mix for this dish is prepared by combining together cream cheese, sour cream, diced ham, chopped onions, chopped cilantro, lime juice, salt, and pepper. The cucumber is sliced into several round slices, and the internal portion of each round cucumber slice is scooped out with the help of melon baller, to create a hole for placing the stuffing mix. The stuffing is then placed onto each round cucumber slice with the help of a pastry bag. This dish is also popular by the name stuffed cucumber cups, because of its shape which appears like a cup. A recipe variant suggests preparing the stuffing mix by combining together cream cheese, blue cheese, sour cream, chopped walnuts, and green onions.
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Stuffed cucumber curry- the cucumber is peeled, a window is created to scoop out the center portion, salt is rubbed all around the cucumber, the stuffing mix is spoon filled into cucumber through the window; and the stuffed cucumber is divided into five inch long sections, before cooking them over low heat in a pan containing some oil, asafetida, and a mixture of cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, mustard seeds, nigella seeds, and fennel seeds. The dish can either be served with roti or rice, or in the form of starter. The cucumber stuffing mix used in this dish is a blend of gram flour, chopped green chilies, ginger, red chili powder, all spice, fenugreek leaves, lemon juice, sunflower oil, coriander seeds and leaves, and salt.
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Spicy stuffed cucumbers- the stuffed cucumber recipe for this dish suggests creating a slit in whole unpeeled cucumber without touching the ends, so as to create a pocket which is stuffed with a spicy mixture, consisting of several vegetables like carrots and onions, and kimchi paste made with fish sauce, hot pepper flakes, garlic, and sugar.
Health and Nutrition Facts about Stuffed Cucumbers
Stuffed cucumber is considered to be a healthy dish, because it is made with cucumber which is a low calorie food product containing several essential nutrients like potassium, and vitamins A and C. The vegetable is enriched with high water content, and does not contain any cholesterol or fat, which makes the food especially healthy for the heart. Further, cucumber also helps in fighting against colon cancer, and high blood pressure, and prevents weight gain.