Wednesday, February 13, 2019

Cashew Nuts~ Pineapple Masala/ Curry.


“Cashew Nuts~Pineapple (Avanasa/AnanasMasala / Curry” … KhatHa MeetHa TeekHa side dish curry that tastes great as an accompaniment with full meals … Yummilicious … 

** I have added on quite a few pineapple curry dishes before too, like gojju, rasam, sasam, pickles, spiced biryani etc. I love experimenting with fresh pineapple pieces as they adapt very well into dishes imparting their own khatha meetha taste with distinct flavor that is simple a joy to relish upon. Rasam turns out the best with pineapples though other dishes are equally good too. Here is a dish that tastes great when served along with other dishes as a side dish. This is close to "Sasam" a very famous Konkani Saraswat dish with minute changes. 

** Sasam is not heated/ cooked as the masala here is added to cooked veggie/ fruits along with tempering only. Though its usually served as side dish with rice, it tastes great served with poori/ roti too. You can prepare the same as it is too, but I love to add on cashew nuts to it while cooking and crunch gives it an added on incredible taste. In a all a very lovely south Indian delicacy that needs to be relished before speaking much off. Let me straight away go to the recipe, but please do try this out if you are a pineapple curry lover like me. 

** Here is my simply method of preparing “Cashew Nuts~Pineapple (Avanasa/Ananas) Masala / Curry” … My Style … 

** Ingredients
Pineapple/ Avanasa/ Ananas : 1 small sized. 
Cashew Nuts/ Kajjubi/ Kaju : 1 heaped cup 
Turmeric/ Haldi Powder : one pinch 
Jaggery/ Goda/ Gud/ Bella : about ½ - ¾ cup grated. 
Salt/ Namak/ Meeta : to taste. 

** Masala to be Ground : 
Coconut/ Nariyal/ Soyi : 1 cup freshly grated. 
Kashmiri Red Chilly Powder/ Mirsange Pitti/ Mirchi tikkat : 2 tsp 
Garlic/ Losun/ Lehsun : 5-6 peeled and chopped 
Jeera/ Cumin seeds : 2 tsp roasted 
Mustard seeds / Rai/ Sasam : ½ tsp 
Tamarind/ Chinchama/ Imly : a small marble sized. 

** For Tempering/ Seasoning/ Pannaka/ Tadka : 
Coconut Oil/ Nariyal Tel/ Narlel tela : 1 tsp 
Cumin Seeds/ Jeera : ½ tsp 
Mustard Seeds/ Rai/ Sasam : 1tsp 
Asafoetida/ Hing Powder : a pinch 
Curry Leaves / Kadipatta/ Karbevu : 8-10 fresh leaves 


** Soak the cashew nuts in 3 cups of hot water for one hour. Keep this ready aside as it is along with the water in which it is soaked. 

** Remove the center core and the out thick skin of the pineapple and also the eyes on the surface of the edible part and cut them into medium sized chunks say about of one inch. Keep them aside in a bowl ready. I used about 4 cups of edible pieces. 

** Now add in both the cashew nuts along with the water in which it is soaked and the cut pineapple pieces into pressure cooker pan. Now add in pinch of turmeric, pinch of salt and mix well. Cover and pressure cook to 2 whistles and remove from fire. Let the pressure fall on its own, when able to open the lid do so and keep it ready aside. 

** Add in all the ingredients to be ground in a mixer grinder and grind to a very smooth paste using the cooked pineapple-cashew nut water. The paste should be ground smooth. Remove and add it into a thick bottomed kadai along with the grated jaggery and bring to a boil on medium flame after checking the consistency. 

** Keep stirring and mixing to avoid the curry getting stuck to the bottom or sides as jaggery has the tendency in being so. You can add in all the remaining if any cooked water to this while boiling. If still the mixture is too thick add in little bit of water, only if necessary. 

** Once the jaggery has melted and mixed well, lower the heat and add in cooked pineapple and cashew nuts along with salt to taste and mix well. Be careful while adding on salt, as we have already added a pinch while pressure cooking. Mix well and bring to a boiling consistency on medium flame. 

** For Tempering/ Pannaka : While the curry is being cooked itself alongside prepare the tempering, heat oil, when hot add in the mustard seeds, when they splutter add in the jeera followed by pinch of hing and curry leaves. Add this to the curry and mix well. 

** After tempering lower the heat and simmer for 3-4 minutes, remove and keep it covered aside for 20-30 minutes. The curry actually thickens on resting, so do check the same before serving and you can add some water to bring to desired consistency. This curry tastes best slightly warm or at room temperature, so do not go to serve it hot. 

** “Cashew Nuts~ Pineapple Masala / Curry” is done and ready to be served. You can serve this with chapati/ roti/ poori/ parathas or panpolo (neer dosa) too. It tastes awesome with it, however you can serve the same as a side dish too along with other ingredients during meal time. Enjoy this dish for a change with your family and friends if you are a pineapple curry lover like me. I always love pineapple in curry form and enjoy relishing it at times as it is.

** Note : Coconut Oil tastes the best for tempering/ seasoning of this dish imparting a lovely aroma of its own that we South Indians love a lot. However, if you do not like or do not want to use coconut oil for any reason, you can use any edible oil of your choice too. 

** I am sharing a common link below of “Pineapple” Dishes, please check through the list if you are a pineapple lover like me and do try out those dishes in your homes and enjoy with your family and friends. 

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