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. 

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

Turmeric Tambli(Turmeric in Coconut and yougurt sauce)/ಅರಿಶಿನ ತ೦ಬ್ಳಿ

This is one of my favourite, healthy,  dish which goes super duper with hot steamed rice.You can even have it as a drink.  I learnt this recipe from my aunt Sowmya Bhat. In this recipe, we are using fresh Turmeric tuber. As we all know, Turmeric has its own medicinal values. I recently came to know by a eldery person that we have to have this dish at the begging of the meal. As I said, it has its own medicinal value and is more effective when our stomach is empty. Give it a try this super easy dish.

Preparation time: 10 min
Serving: 4

Ingredients:

• 2 inch freshTurmeric /root tuber sliced
• 1/2 tsp Jeera/ Cumin
• 5 to 6 Pepper corns
• 2 tbsp grated Coconut
• 4 cups of Butter milk
• 2 tsp Ghee/clarified butter or cooking Oil
• Salt to taste
• Jaggary to taste ( you can skip if you dont like sweetness

For tempring:

• 1 tsp Ghee or Oil
• 1/2 tsp Jeera/Cumin
• 1/4 tsp Mustard seeds
• 1 red Chili broken into pieces

Method:

• Heat 1tsp Ghee/Oil in a pan. Add sliced Turmeric, Pepper corns and Jeera. fry for a 40 sec to 1 min. DO not burn.

• Grind the above mixture with grated Coconut and little water into fine paste.

• Add Buttermilk, salt and Jaggery to taste. I personally like it little sweet.
• Temper with Mustard, Cumin and red chili. ( heat Ghee/Oil in a pan add Mustard seeds, once they splutter, add Jeera and brokern chili. Pour on to the ground mixture)
• Tada!! its ready. Isn't is so easy? 
• Serve with hot steamed rice :).