Wild Apple / Crab Apple Pickle/ಬೆಟ್ಟದ ಸೇಬು ಉಪ್ಪಿನಕಾಯಿ

As we all love to try different pickles, including our 7 year old, I keep making Lemon pickles with different spices though I bring lots of tender mango pickle from India. This is one of the out comes of my interest in making pickles. A must try recipe if you get wild Apples.

When we were out for camping last year (end of August), we happened to see a wild apple tree with tons of mini apples on a hiking trail. We tasted them and they were little sour and tart.  We picked some thinking we can try something out of it. I made kadigaayi(something which is cut into pieces) pickle and instant pickle out of them. Both tasted amazing though I had to use lemon juice for the sourness as apples were little ripe. It was so exiting that I made about 2 kgs of pickle again and took it to India as a surprise for those who love pickle. They just liked it.

We managed to find whole lot of wild apples last weekend. Last week of July is the best time pick them for pickling. They are very sour, crunchy and perfect for pickling.  I made instant, kadigaayi pickle and thokku. It is very easy to make but little time consuming. I swear you don't regret it. If you are living in North America you can definitely find them. If not, try with granny smith (green)apples. Here I am sharing Karnataka style, especially Malenaadu/Havika style of making kadigaayi recipe. 
OK, now lets see what are the requirements and how to make cut apple pickle. These are the measurements I used to make a lot of pickle. You can reduce the quantity of spices as per the quantity of apple you are using. Do not change the ratio.

Important
All utensils, blender jars, cutting board, knifes  should be completely dried. If there is any water remaining on utensils and storage bottles, pickle will spoil in a week or two.  I washed and completely dried apples prior to the preparation.

Preparation time 1.5 hrs
Serving : approximately 3kg

Cups size: 250 ml water holding capacity

Ingredients:

• Large Bowl
• 12 cups chopped wild apple
• 3 cups salt(1cup+2 cups)
• 1 cup oil(divided into 1/4 cup and 3/4 cup)
• 3/4 cup Mustard seeds
• 1/2 cup cumin/Jeera
• 1 tbsp Fenugreek seed/ Methi
• 1 tbsp Pepper corns
• 3 cups red Chilli powder ( I used 2 cups kashmiri chili powder and 1 cup extra hot)

For tempering

• 1/2 cup Mustard seed
• 3/4 cup Oil (I used sunflower oil)
• 3/4 tbsp hing/ Asafoeitida
• 1/2 tsp whole Fenugreek seed/ Methi

Method:

• Heat a kadai/ pan, dry roast Mustard seeds until you hear spluttering. Keep aside.
• Dry roast Cumin seeds until its light brown or nice aroma.
• Dry roast Methi and Pepper corn togather untill light brown. 
• Allow them to completely cool.
• Once the ingredients are cool, put them in a blender togther and make fine powder.
• In the mean while, chop apples. When you are chopping keep a large bowl beside you with 1 cup of salt and 1/4 cup oil mixed togather. As you chop put the chopping in the bowl and mix. It helps in avoiding blackening of the apple.
•  When you are done with the chopping, add two cups of remaining salt, chilli powder and spice powder. Put salt as needed. I have mentioned minimum required salt. 
• Mix everything well. Everything has to come together nicely. It looks dry, but dont worry, it will ooze out water from the apple. 
• Lastly, important put the tempering.  Heat 3/4 cup oil in a pan, Add mustard, once splutter add fenugreek seeds and hing. Let fenugreek seed turn light brown. Pour on to the pickle. mix well. Store in a dry, airtight container. 
• Let it sit for 4 to 5 days. Keep tilting the jar for proper mixing every day for 4 to 5 days. Its ready. 

Soya Chunk Manchurian

Helloooooo, I m back with a delicious manchurian recipe. I don't think much needed about this dish. It is little time consuming recipe but you will not regret later. You can serve this as a started or with plain steamed rice or fried rice. Give it a try. Lets us quickly see what are the ingredients and steps to follow.

Preparation time : 1hr
Serving : 4 generous

Ingredients:

• 200 gm Soya chunk
• 3 tbsp Corn flour
• 1 tbsp rice flour
• 1 tsp red chilli powder(to taste)
• 1 tsp Ginger Garlic paste
• 1/2 tsp crushed pepper corn
  
• salt to taste
• Oil for deep frying

For the Masala

• 2 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp ginger finely chopped/ paste
• 1 cup Onion chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped spring Onion
• 1 medium size chopped Capsicum/bell pepper
• 1 cup sliced / shredded cabbage
• 1 cup snow peas ( optional)
• 1 tsp chopped green chili/ chili paste/ green chili sauce
• 1 1/2 tbsp tomato ketchup
• 2 tbsp Soy sauce
• 1 tbsp white vinegar
• 1/2 tsp crushed pepper corn
  
• 1 tbsp corn flour
• salt to taste

 

Method;

• Boil 2 litres of water in a pan, add 1 tsp salt and soya chunk. Cook until soya chunks are soft ( 5 min)
• Once the soya chunks are soft drain the water. squeeze excess water and keep aside.
• Take corn flour, rice flour, salt(as required), red chili powder, crushed pepper corn and ginger garlic paste in a vessel, mix well. Then pour the cooked soya chunk and mix very well. If you feel its very dry, you can add a tbsp of water and mix well. Make sure soya chucks are well coated.
• Deep fry in medium flame until outer coating of the soya chunk is crisp and light brown. Keep it aside.
• Now take corn flour in a bowl, add 1/4 cup of water. mix well. Keep aside.
•  Take a big pan, heat a table spoon of oil. Add garlic and ginger. saute  for a  30 to 40 secs until garlic is light brown.
• Add chopped onion, and chopped green chilies and little salt to taste, then saute for a min on high flame.
• Now add chopped bell pepper, snow peas and 1/4 cup chopped spring onion,  saute for 2 min.
• Now add Tomato ketchup, soya sauce,crushed pepper corn and vinegar. Mix well.
• Now add Corn flour mixture to the the above vegetable mixture and cook for a min until mixture becomes thick.
• Now add the fried soya chunk mix well on a high flame for a min. Make sure chunks are very well coated. 
• Add shredded cabbage and 1/4 cup spring onion. Toss well for few seconds.
• Serve as a starter/ snack or with steamed rice or fried rice.

Jackfruit Paayasa(kheer)/ಹಲಸಿನ ಹಣ್ಣಿನ ಪಾಯಸ

This is one of the most famous and common dish during the Jackfruit season at almost every havyaka house hold. Eating uddina dose (blackgram dal crepe) with Jack fruit paayasa is heaven. We managed to get atleast one whole jackfruit during the season. Some times the count goes up to 5 depending on the availability of the fruit. Eating Jackfruit is like a feast for us. We never missed it here in Toronto. Only thing I miss a lot is raw/tender Jackfruit. We can make several dishes from the Jackfruit .
Well, as you already know, I used fresh Jackfruit here. You can use tin Jack fruit if you do not get fresh ones.   It is very easy to make. Give it a try.

Preparation time: 20 min
Servings: 6 to 8

Ingredients 

• 4 cups chopped Jackfruit flesh/ Sole/Thole
• 1 1/2 cups Jaggery/brown suger
• 4 cups grated coconut or 4 cups of coconut milk ( i used fresh grates of 1 big coconut)
• 7 to 8 Cardamom/Elachi
• 2 tbsp soaked rice/ rice flour/ or Suji/Rava
• Pinch of salt. 
• Water as required

Method:

• Cook the Jackfruit with Jaggery in 2 cups of water until it becomes soft.
• In the mean while grind the Coconut with Cardamom and soaked rice/ rice flour/ or Suji/Rava   in 2 cups of water. Grind into smooth fine paste.
• Strain the ground mixture in a strainer or muslin cloth. 
• Grind again with 2 cups of water, strain again. Squeeze out all the milk.
• Now pour the Coconut milk into cooked mixture. Boil for 5 to 6 min  until it becomes thick and cooked well with occasional stirring. 
• Serve hot with Dosa or you can have it as a dessert. 

Turmeric Root Gojju/ ಅರಿಶಿನ ಗೊಜ್ಜು/Sweet and Sour Turmeric Root and Coconut sauce

Turmeric Root gojju / ಅರಿಶಿನ ಗೊಜ್ಜು is one of the famous havyaka delicacies. This delicacy is usually made during the winter and rainy season.Whenever we are bored of eating same sambar, rasam etc we can make gojju and enjoy. It is very easy to make and healthy. It can be stored for a week without any refrigerator provided we boil it twice/thrice a day.  Good when you have cold. Give it a try.

Preparation Time: 30 min
Servings 4

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp Cooking oil
• 3 inches Fresh Turmeric root chopped
• 2 tbsp Coriander seeds
• 1 tsp Jeera/Cumin
• 1/4 tsp Methi/Menthe/Fenugreek
• 1/4 tsp Hing/Asofoetida
• 8-10 Red chillies (to taste)
• 1 small lemon size Tamarind
• 2 cups grated Coconut
• 2 tbsp Jaggery (to taste, I personally like little sweet) 
• 1 medium Onion sliced (optional)
• few curry leaves
• Salt to taste 

Method:

• Heat oil in a pan, Add sliced Turmeric root, Coriander seeds, Jeera, Methi, Hing and Red chillies for 1 min.

• Grind the roasted ingredients with grated Coconut, Tamarind and little water into fine paste. 
• Add 2 cups of water ( not too thin or thick). Add salt to taste, Jaggery, Curry leaves and Onion. 
• Boil in low to medium flame for 20 min.
• Serve hot with hot Rice.Enjoy