Cucumber Cake Recipe | Dhondas | Tavsali
Looking for some Indian regional Eggless Cake recipes? Then, you must try this Cucumber Cake sans eggs that I have shared in this post. This is a traditional Goan Dhondas Recipe, which is also known as Tavsali in this region. This cake is steamed instead of baked and has an amazing taste. The fact that it also has cucumber as the star ingredient makes it a unique one.
About Cucumber Cake Recipe
In the lush, tropical kitchens of Goa and Konkan, where the rich aroma of coconut and jaggery fills the air, eggless Dhondas Recipe, also known as Cucumber Cake, stands as a testament to the region’s culinary ingenuity and love for sweet treats.
This unique Goan delicacy begins with the humble cucumber, grated finely to reveal its juicy, refreshing essence.
The grated cucumber is mixed with roasted semolina (sooji or rava), creating a batter that’s light yet substantial, with a hint of texture from the grains. Another cake from Goan Cuisine that you may like is this Rava Cake also known as baath cake.
Generally, we use yellow cucumber to make this Cucumber Cake. But the recipe can even be made with regular cucumber or the long dark green cucumbers. Apart from cucumber and semolina, jaggery and coconut is also added.
This Dhondas Recipe is very easy to make and only grating the cucumber takes some time. After that, you just need to mix everything. Then, pour in a greased pan and steam for 30 to 40 minutes.
For steaming, you can use your electric cooker or pressure cooker or any steamer or the Instant Pot.
While steaming, turmeric leaves or banana leaves can also be used. Since I did not have any of these, I greased the pan with coconut oil. Ghee can also be used instead.
This Goan-style Cucumber Cake is quite a nutritious sweet treat. When my mother shared this recipe with me, she even got the long yellow cucumbers for the same.
If you like cucumbers, do try this refreshing Cucumber Raita that I make with regular cucumbers.
Why This Recipe Works
The natural flavors of the cucumber is complemented by the deep, caramel-like flavor of jaggery, which melts into the batter, imparting a rich sweetness that’s distinctly Goan.
Freshly grated coconut is then folded in, adding a creamy, tropical note that enhances the Dhondas Recipe’s moistness and flavor.
Aromatic spices such as cardamom is sprinkled into the mix of Cucumber Cake, its warm, inviting scent weaving through the batter and adding a layer of complexity to the cake’s flavor profile.
This Dhondas Recipe prominently features the taste of cucumber, which tends to overshadow the other ingredients, including the jaggery and coconut.
It has a mild sweetness that is not too overpowering, though the amount of jaggery can be adjusted to your preference. The texture is light, moist, and soft, characteristic of most steamed cakes.
Serving Suggestions
Served warm or at room temperature, this eggless Cucumber Cake captures the essence of Goa in every bite, inviting you to experience the coastal region’s rich culinary traditions and the innovative ways in which its people have turned everyday ingredients into extraordinary delights.
You can have it plain or add a side of ghee or milk to it. It is a light, wholesome dessert that is favored by kids and adults alike. Refrigeration of this dish is also possible, and it can be warmed in the oven just before serving.
If you like traditional Indian sweets and bakes, here are some regional favorites worth trying:
- Rava Cake – A soft, aromatic Goan cake made with semolina and coconut.
- Mawa Cake – A rich Irani bakery-style cake made with khoya.
- Plum Cake – Kerala-style eggless cake made with whole wheat.
- Honey Cake – A bakery style recipe of soft sponge soaked in honey syrup and topped with jam.
- Thekua – A crispy cookie made with jaggery and whole wheat from the Bihari cuisine.
- Chenna Poda – Odisha’s caramelized baked dessert made with chenna.
Step by Step Photo Guide Above
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups rava (semolina or sooji)
- 1.5 cups jaggery powder or chopped jaggery – organic
- 4 to 5 green cardamoms
- ¾ cup fresh coconut – grated and fresh
- 2 cups cucumber – grated, tightly packed – regular or yellow cucumber – approximate 1 large yellow cucumber
- ¼ teaspoon Cumin Powder
- 2 to 3 tablespoons cashews – chopped, optional
- ½ teaspoon coconut oil – for greasing the pan
Instructions
Preparation
- Roast the rava/sooji/semolina until fragrant in a pan or skillet and set aside.
- Take the cardamoms in a mortar-pestle and powder them.
- Discard the peels and keep the cardamom powder aside
- Rinse and peel the yellow cucumber. Slice the cucumber and remove the seeds.
- Grate the cucumber and set aside.
- A lot of the cucumber juice will be collected in the bowl or in the plate. Just add this juice to the batter.
Making batter
- In a mixing bowl, take the roasted rava or suji.
- Mix in the grated cucumber along with its juice, grated coconut, chopped cashews and add the powdered jaggery.
- Add the cardamom powder and cumin powder.
- Mix the batter very well without any lumps.
- The batter has a medium consistency and is neither too thick nor thin.
- Depending on the consistency of the batter you can add a few tablespoons of milk or coconut milk.
- I did not need to add any milk as the batter had a medium consistency.
Steaming cucumber cake
- Place a trivet inside a steamer or stovetop pressure cooker.
- Add about 2 to 2.5 cups water or as needed and let it get hot.
- Grease the pan with coconut oil. Pour the batter in the pan.
- Place the pan on the trivet, in the steamer, or pressure cooker.
- Cover the steamer with its lid. If using pressure cooker, then remove the vent weight (whistle) from the lid and then tightly cover the cooker with its lid.
- Steam for 30 to 40 minutes until a knife inserted comes out clean.
- When the Cucumber Cake become warm or is cooled completely, then slice and serve them.
Notes
- Before prepping cucumber, slice it and check the taste. If its bitter, discard it.
- You can use regular cucumber. If the cucumber has large seeds, then remove these.
- The batter has a medium consistency. If it becomes too thick, add some milk or coconut milk. If it becomes runny or thin, add some more roasted rava or suji.
- Instead of jaggery, you can use regular sugar or brown sugar or raw sugar. Other options are palm sugar and coconut sugar. Note that the taste will change with the kind of sugar you use.
- Add more jaggery if needed and according to your taste preferences.
Nutrition
This Cucumber Cake recipe from the archives was originally published on January 2014. It has been updated and republished on May 2024.
Can we omit , sooji? What can we replace in place of sooji for flourless. Cake ?
In this traditional recipe sooji is an essential ingredient. But I think you can use rice flour in place of sooji. Try adding a slightly coarse rice flour and it should work.
Yellow cucumber means Mangalore cucumber?
no rita. it is not mangalore cucumber but a large variety of cucumber having a yellow skin.
Steamed on last week, baked one in the oven two days ago (it’s that time of the year again). Oven temperature was 180°C, the cake was in the oven for 45 minutes.
thanks for the inputs philippe.
Thanks for sharing this wonderfully different recipe Dassana! I prepared this using ripe white cucumbers. Though the cake was delicious, the seeds did not give a pleasant taste and are better removed. Also, adding some milk and ghee to the mixture imparts more aroma and softness.
Looking forward to the next creation inspired by your recipes!
welcome hamsa. ripe cucumber will have more tougher seeds than unripe ones. so it is better to remove them. definitely adding ghee or milk will make the cucumber cake more rich and soft. thanks again.
This recipe tastes very good. Used dark green cucumber, the one that is available all season and really the cucumber taste empowers all the other flavours. I applied ghee all around at the top and it gave an amazing fragrance to the recipe. Thank you Ma’am for this wonderful recipe.
pleased to know this uttam thankyou so much 🙂 and you are always welcome.
Such a wonderful recipe and it tasted AWESOME 🙂 🙂 And I must say your blog is fantastic and clicks are artistic !!!!!
pleased to know this Sandhya thankyou so much for your kind words 🙂
Hiiii Amit,
I just wanted to ask can we bake this batter by keeping it in a loaf pan and if we r using wet jaggery what should be the quantity?
nishu, yes you can bake also. but do’t bake for a long period of time. about jaggery you have to add and then check the taste.
what should be the temperature of the oven and the baking time ?
bake at 180 degrees celsius. time you will have to see as i cannot tell you exactly how much time it will take.
Hi Dassana, Tavsali recipe looks great ! I’m planning on trying this next week. Just curious about one thing…are these yellow cucumbers the same as southekayi or mangalore cucumber???
thanks radhika. these are not mangalore cucumber. you can make with regular cucumber.
Hi Dasaana,
Am still learning the art of cooking and I love ur blog .and the photographs . So I tried this recipe and everyone loved it. My parents were amazed that cake could be made out of cucumber And had a fun time playing , guess the ingredient game !! No one came up with cucumber ( by looking at it ) So all thanks to u !! We had a lot of fun with this recipe.
welcome neethi. good to know your experience. keep on trying more recipes and soon you will become good in cooking. thanks for sharing positive feedback on recipes and photographs.
Thanks!
welcome urmi
Hi Dassana…for steaming in the pressure cooker, I have to cover the container with the cake batter, right?
urmi, which container? the container in which we cook dal and rice?
you have to put the cake batter in the round container of the cooker… in which we cook dal and rice. grease the container.
Thanks for your reply,Dassana…what I meant was if I put the cake batter into a separate container and place in a pressure cooker with some water, should I cover the container with the cake or leave it open?
welcome urmi. no need to cover the container. because anyways you are covering the cooker with the lid.
Hi,
This is a great recipe I am going to try it right away!. Also is there an alternative to powdered Jaggery.
neha, you can add sugar
Hi dassana
Try it with boil rice. Soak it for 1 or 2 hrs n later grind it with water but not too fine n other procedure is same
thanks emtiyaz for your suggestion. will help the other readers too.
happy to look out this conner….superb
thanks thila
Hi,can I omit sooji to make it gluten free or pls tell me any substitute. I love to try it for my son
i would suggest you to use amaranth/rajgira grains or barnyard millet/sama ke chawal or vari. just roast them lightly before adding to the grated cucumber.
Can I make this recipe in a Microwave oven
you can but i am not sure about the timing part. one has to be careful so that the cake does not dry out too much. better to steam.
Yes, I know this receipe very well. My mother use to make this occasionally at the time of Nag Panchami.
It is not Tavsali. The coarrect word is Tavshi (Tavsi).
Devyani
some folks call it tavsali and some taushe or tavshi.
Hi.. i tried this cake yesterday.. it was so nice and very easy to make too.. thanks a lot for this healthy recipe. Even my 2 yr old loved it.
welcome subhashree
All the recipes are superb & healthy !!!! Thanks for sharing
welcome shubhangi
Noorin Hie dassana, can I use this cucumber for this recepi?
replied to you on fb msg.
Lovely cake .Loved ur step by step pics.very clear instructions as well.
Looks super soft and tempting.. great recipe!! 🙂
thanks chandana
That is a very unique recipe and method. This cake has captured my imagination and I have got to try it soon…very soon indeed. Thanks alot for sharing my friend 🙂