Ambade God Nonche (Hog Plum Sweet Pickle)

Ambade God Nonche is a recent try in my kitchen. The hog plums are cooked in water and then a spicy freshly ground masala is added.  To balance the sourness of hog plums and spiciness of masala, jaggery is added. Finally to enhance the taste and flavor, tempering is added. This dish is generally served with rice.

Few months back, a good friend of mine R, gave me this recipe. This is the first time I am trying this recipe and it did turn out good. My mother makes a similar sweet pickle using bitter gourd. You can get that recipe here. Do try making this and I hope you enjoy it. Leave me a comment down below if you did!

Ingredients:

• Hog Plums (Ambado), medium sized- 8-10
• Jaggery - 2-3 Tbsp (adjust accordingly)
• Salt- To taste

For roasting:

• Dry Red chilli (byadgi variety)- 5-6
• Mustard seeds- 2 tsp
• Fenugreek seeds/ Methi- 1/4 tsp
• Asafoetida (hing)- 1/4 tsp
• Turmeric powder- 1/8 tsp

For Seasoning:

• Oil- 1-2 tsp
• Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp
• Curry leaves - Few

Procedure:

Wash the hog plums. 

Pat them dry with a towel and then slice them (Hog plums have seed in the middle. So remove the edible part as much as you can. Luckily my hog plums didn't have any seed. You can add the seeds to the pickle or just discard it. Seed cannot be eaten but you can suck the yummy juice)

Making Masala:

Roast the dry red chillies with few drops of oil until it changes its color slightly. Then transfer them to a plate. Now in the same pan start roasting the mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds in few drops of oil, until a nice aroma is got. Then turn off the heat and add asafoetida and turmeric powder immediately. Mix well and fry for few seconds. Then transfer it onto a plate/ bowl and allow it to cool. Once cooled, transfer it into a blender.

Now grind the roasted spices to get a fine powder. Then add few tablespoons of water, so as to get a fine paste. Masala is ready. Set it aside until required.

Now start heating water in a small pot, just enough to cook the  hog plum slices. When it comes to a boil, add in the sliced hog plum and allow it to cook for 4-5 minutes, on a medium flame (the color of the skin turns from green to slight yellow, once cooked).

Once the hog plums look cooked (not mushy), add the ground masala, jaggery and salt. Mix well. Adjust the consistency of the pickle by adding water (I kept it medium thick). At this point taste it and check if salt/jaggery is required. Allow it to boil for 3-4 minutes. Turn off the heat and then add the seasoning.

For Seasoning: Heat oil. Then add mustard seeds. Once it starts spluttering, add curry leaves and turn off the heat. Add this to the prepared pickle and mix well.

Ambade God Nonche is ready!!

Serve it hot or warm, as a side dish to rice. Above measurement serves 3-4 people.

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Ambade Bharth (Coconut Based Hog Plum Dish)

Ambade Bharth is a 'no- cook' coconut based dish. It is a traditional Konkani dish and unfortunately (I guess) this is in the list of forgotten recipes. In this dish the hog plums are used as a souring agent. The cooked hog plum pulp is mixed with spicy coconut paste, chopped onion, ginger and green chilli. It is then diluted with water to get desired consistency. Finally coconut oil is drizzled on top which gives a kick to the dish. It is generally served with white rice. 

I grew up eating this dish. My mother makes it whenever hog plums are in season. I used to help her in making it. It had been a long time since I had it. This is my first try in making it. While I was making, it brought back fond memories of cooking with my mother. It tasted exactly how my mother used to make. I am so glad to find the hog plums in my International stores. The dish is very simple yet tasty. Do try making it and I hope you will like it. 

Ingredients:

• Grated Coconut, Fresh/Frozen - 1/2 cup
• Hog Plums, medium sized - 3
• Roasted Dry red chilli - 1-2
• Ginger, finely chopped - 1/2 tsp
• Green Chilli, finely chopped - 1/2 tsp
• Onion, finely chopped- 1/4 cup
• Coconut oil - 1 tsp
• Salt- To taste

Procedure:

Wash the hog plums and take them in a small saucepan along with 1/2 cup water and little salt.

Cook them for 4-5 minutes or until it turns soft. Then turn off the heat and let it cool completely.

Meanwhile chop the onion, ginger and green chilli finely. Set it aside until required.

Now take grated coconut, roasted dry red chilli in a blender.

Grind it along with little amount of water to get a paste (not very fine).

Take a mixing bowl and mash the cooked hog plums. Remove the pulp as much as possible discarding the seed. (Usually hog plums has a seed in the middle. Mine was tender, hence it didn't have any).

Then transfer the ground paste, chopped onion, ginger and green chilli into the bowl containing hog plum pulp. 

Add water to get the desired thickness (I kept it medium thick). Taste the mixture and add salt accordingly. Drizzle coconut oil at the end and give a good mix. 

Ambade Bharth is ready!

Serve it along with white rice and any side dish of your choice. Above measurement serves 2-3 people.

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Karathe Sukke (Coconut Based Bitter gourd Curry)

Karathe Sukke is a coconut based dry curry. The bitter gourd is simmered on a low heat in a spicy coconut paste. The spiciness is very well balanced by the addition of jaggery and tamarind. A bite into this dish and you can get the spiciness, sweetness, tanginess and slight bitterness all at once.
I am not a great of bitter gourd but whenever my mother made this dish, I would enjoy eating with warm rice and dal. It had been a long time since I had it. Hence I called my mother to get the method. I made it and it turned out exactly how my mother makes it. I was so happy that I could recreate it. Now I am wondering as to why it took so long for me to post this dish! Do try making it and let me know it turned out for you :-)

Ingredients:

• Bitter gourd, small sized - 3
• Jaggery - 1-2 Tbsp
• Oil - 3 tsp
• Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Curry leaves - Few
• Salt - To taste

For Masala:

• Grated Coconut, fresh/frozen - 1/2 cup
• Roasted Dry Red Chilli - 3-4
• Tamarind - A small piece
• Coriander seeds - 1 tsp
• Urad dal (split black gram) - 1 1/2 tsp

Procedure:

Clean the bitter gourd, chop off the ends. Cut it into small cubes and discard the seeds.

At this point you can choose two different route. 
1. Retaining the bitterness of bitter gourd in the final dish.
2. To cut down the bitterness - Apply salt to the chopped bitter gourd and set it aside for 2 hours. Then squeeze it hard to remove the bitterness.
or you can also cook the bitter gourd in water until soft and then discard the water.

I chose to cut down on the bitterness. Hence boiled it in water and then discarded the liquid in which it was cooking.
Heat little water in a saucepan and add bitter gourd pieces. Cook it until it slightly changes color.

Then discard the water and set it aside.

While the bottle gourd is cooking, prepare the masala.
For Masala - Fry urad dal and coriander seeds in few drops of oil until it turns slight brown. Then transfer it to a bowl for cooling. In the same pan, add few drops of oil and fry dry red chilli for a minute and transfer to the same bowl.
Now take grated coconut, roasted red chilli, roasted urad dal and coriander seeds, tamarind and little salt in a blender jar. Add little water and grind it to get a paste (the ground paste should not be very fine). Masala is ready.

Now heat oil in a pan. Once hot, add in mustard seeds. After it splutters, add in curry leaves. Then add the ground masala paste. Fry it for a minute (if you have not cooked the bitter gourd earlier then add it after curry leaves along with water. Once it is cooked, then add the masala).

Then add in the cooked bitter gourd.

Add jaggery and little water. Mix well and lower the heat to medium low. At this point taste the mixture and add jaggery or tamarind or salt, if required.Cook this mixture for 10- 15 minutes or until the oil starts to separate and the curry is dry. 

Once done, turn off the heat. 
Karathe Sukke is ready!!

Serve it with rice and dal. It also tastes good with dosa or roti. Above measurement serves two people.

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Pathrade Panna Muddo (Spicy Colocasia Leaves Idli)

Pathrade Panna Muddo is a recent try in my kitchen. Few days back, I was suggested to try this recipe from my MIL's sister. I had everything on hand including banana leaves. I told about this suggestion to my mother and she told her mother used to make this all the time in rainy season as colocasia leaves are available abundantly during that season. I don't remember my mother making it and hence wanted to give it a try. It turned out awesome and we enjoyed it with rice and dalithoy. Do try making this and let me know how it turned out.

Ingredients:

• Rice - 1 1/4 cup
• Grated Coconut, fresh/frozen - 1/4 cup
• Roasted red chillies- 5-6
• Tamarind - A small ball (gooseberry sized)
• Colocasia Leaves**, medium sized - 18-20
• Salt- To taste
• Banana leaves - As required *

*Use idli moulds if you don't have banana leaves.

**You can also use spinach leaves if you can't find colocasia leaves.

Procedure:

Soak the rice for two hours. 
While it is soaking, wash the leaves and dry it completely. 

Then give a rough chop.

Wash the banana leaves and make small squares out of it. Allow it to dry completely.

Now grind grated coconut, roasted red chillies and tamarind (add very little water). 

It looks like this after grinding-

To this add the soaked rice without water. 

Start grinding so as to get coarse grains of rice (just like idli rava. If you make a smooth paste then the idlis will turn hard after steaming). Use water as less as possible. 

The mixture should be firm, in order to get firm dumplings. Transfer this mixture to a bowl. To this add chopped colocasia leaves, salt to taste. 

Mix well. The final mixture looks as shown below.

Then keep a portion of the mixture on each banana piece as shown.

Then close the banana leaf as shown below.

Place them in a steamer and steam for 25- 30 minutes.

Allow the idlis to cool for 5 minutes. Then remove from the banana leaf. 
Pathrade Panna Muddo is ready!!

Serve it warm along with rice and dalithoy. Drizzle little coconut oil for a twist. Above measurement makes eight big sized idlis.

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Takka Kadi (Buttermilk Soup)

Takka Kadi is a Konkani dish made using buttermilk. The sour buttermilk is seasoned with aromatic spices and other ingredients roasted in ghee and then flavored with cilantro. This tastes somewhat similar to Phannna Taak. You can drink as it is or pair it with rice and a spicy curry. This dish is very simple and requires only few basic ingredients. It takes only 5-10 minutes of your time and its healthy too! Do try and let me know how it turns out for you.

I adapted this recipe from a Konkani cook book written by Jaya V Shenoy.

Ingredients:

• Sour Buttermilk* - 1 cup
• Water - 3/4 cup
• Melted Ghee (clarified butter) - 2-3 tsp
• Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Green chilli, slit lengthwise - 2-3
• Curry leaves - Few
• Ginger, grated - 1/2 tsp
• Cilantro (coriander leaves),chopped - 3-4 sprigs
• Salt - To taste

*I just mixed 1/2 cup of curd with 1/2 cup of water to make my buttermilk.

Procedure:

Chop cilantro and green chilli. Grate ginger and set them aside.
Now in a sauce pan heat ghee. Once hot, add in the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, green chilli, curry leaves and ginger. 

Fry until fragrant and then add water and salt. Once it comes to a rolling boil, add cilantro and turn off the heat.

Finally add the buttermilk and mix. 

Takka Kadi is ready!!

Serve it immediately as it is or along with rice and a spicy curry. Above measurement serves 2-3 people.

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