This is an Indian sauce introduced to me by Madhur Jaffrey years ago, and I have been making it steadily ever since. It is, of course, good with almost any Indian curry dish, and I find that it is also delicious with cold chicken, lamb, salmon, or shrimp—in other words, an excellent way of dressing up leftovers.

Ingredients

　　Salt

　　3/4–1 cup whole-milk yogurt

　　Pinch of cayenne (optional)

　　A sprinkling of cumin seed

　　A light dusting of paprika

　　Grate the cucumber, and sprinkle a little salt on top. Put the yogurt in a bowl, starting with 3/4 cup, and beat until smooth. Pat the cucumber dry with a paper towel, and mix in with the yogurt. Add a small pinch of cayenne, if using (I like it without if I am eating this with something highly seasoned), and more salt to taste. Sprinkle cumin and a light dusting of paprika on top.

　　Cooks' Note

　　*A pickling cucumber can be used, or just a small garden variety of cucumber. If neither of those is available, try the slim Persian kind (they usually come only in pack of 6, but get someone to share the pack with you).

　　The Pleasures of Cooking for One by Judith Jones. Copyright © 2009 by Judith Jones. Published by Knopf. All Rights Reserved.Judith Jones is senior editor and vice president at Alfred A. Knopf. She is the author of The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food and the coauthor with Evan Jones (her late husband) of three books: The Book of Bread; Knead It, Punch It, Bake It!; and The Book of New New England Cookery. She also collaborated with Angus Cameron on The L. L. Bean Game and Fish Cookbook, and has contributed to Vogue, Saveur, and Gourmet magazines. In 2006, she was awarded the James Beard Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. She lives in New York City and Vermont.