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.