Wishing Well- Cucumber Carrot Well ( Vegetable and Fruit Carving)
by Tarla Dalal

Throw in a few coins and watch how the wishing well transforms your dinner into feasts.

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Wishing Well- Cucumber Carrot Well ( Vegetable and Fruit Carving) recipe - How to make Wishing Well- Cucumber Carrot Well ( Vegetable and Fruit Carving)

What Will You Need
1 long thick madras cucumber
1 long thick orange colured carrot
chopping board
knife
scooper
pins
black thin thread

Method

Place the madras cucumber on the chopping board and trim the edge from one side using a knife. This side will face downwards.
Mark and carve the outline of the well with straight poles and angular poles on either sides of the cucumber, using a knife. A=1/3 of the cucumber, b=1½ cm. As shown in the illustration. Detach the carved portion and discard it.
Place the cucumber on a chopping board and trim the insides of the pole using a knife and/ or scooper.
Leaving around 1½ cm. Om the edge of the cucumber make a deep cut along the diameter, using a knife.
Scoop out the seeds from the centre of the cucumber (well) using a scooper in a way that you leave 1½ cm all around (including the bottom of the cucumber). This makes the well hollow.
Place the cucumber on a chopping board with the flat side facing downwards.
With the tip of a knife, cut a horizontal line from left to right along the outer side of the diameter of the cucumber. Keeping the knife at an angle of 45° cut another horizontal at a distance of ½ mm. From left to right. Gently lift up the portion in between the 2 lines and discard it.
Repeat to make parallel left to right slits a distance of ¾ cm. Repeat the same procedure to make small vertical slits between the horizontal slits in a way that it looks like bricks. Keep aside.
To make the pulley, peel a carrot using a knife and cut a piece of the size of the distance between the 2 angular poles. In the centre of the carrot piece, make 2 shallow cuts around 2 cm. Wide, using a knife. From one side of the cut start trimming the carrot, using a knife to obtain a uniform roun
This is how it looks like when the carrot is trimmed from one side.
In the centre of the 2 shallow cuts, make 2 more shallow cuts around 3/4 cm in width, using a knife. Gently remove the portion in between these 2 cuts, using a knife and discard it.
Repeat the steps 7 on the other side of the pulley. This is how the pulley looks like other carving completely. Keep aside.
To make the vessel of the well, take a carrot and cut a piece of around 4 to 5 cm. In length. Using a knife, trim the carrot from outside to obtain a round shape throughout. Do not use a peeler or else you will not get a round shape required here.
From one end of the carrot, trim off at an angle of 45° (around ¾ cm in height) in a way that you get a v-shape as the base of the vessel.
1½ cm. Above this v-shape, make 2 shallow cuts of ½ cm wide, peel off the portion between these 2 cuts and discard it.
1 cm. Above this, cut the extra carrot piece and discard it. Similar to the base of the vessel, trim along this 1 cm of the carrot to get a v-shape as the top portion if the vessel.
From the top of the carrot (vessel), scoop a little using a knife to form the hollow space in the vessel.
This is how the vessel looks like after the carving is complete. Keep the vessel aside.
To make the thatch of the well, cut a piece of the carrot as show, using a knife.
From one side of the carrot, make a deep v-shaped cut along both the sides leaving around ¾ cm from both the sides. Gently lift the portion between the 2 cuts and discard it.
This is how it looks like after cutting from both the sides.
On one side of that thatch, make small neat cuts as shown in step 6 of the bricks of the well. Keep the thatch aside.
To make the roof, place a peeled carrot on a chopping board and cut medium sized rectangular shaped carrot slices, using a knife.
Leaving around 1 cm. From one end, make slits at regular intervals, using a knife. Repeat the same with more carrot slices, enough for both the front and back sides of the poles of the well.
Attach the carrot slices one next to the other, using pins. Repeat with more carrot slices, on the other side (behind) the pole.
Attach the roof on top of the thatch using pins.
Attach the black thread around the vessel, using a pin.
Attach the pulley in between the 2 angular poles of the well, using pins.
Attach the vessel on the edge of the well using a pin.
Tie the thread around the pulley and the well in complete.
To decorate the well, put a little water in the hollow space of the well, spread some mud around it, arrange a few leaves, some stones and 1 to 2 houses to get the perfect village environment.