"Spicy Karmbala Nonche / Starfruit (Carambola) Pickle" ... I had managed to get some raw karmbala a few days back to prepare some pickle in our very own Konkani Saraswat Style ... Goes well with anything but best with peja (rice porridge) or curd rice, mitte marnu jevucheka laika jatta (in konkani) meaning great to tickle taste buds during lunch or dinner time, Agreeeeee ????
** Been sometime since I prepared some pickle of amchi style, my year long stock of limbiya nonche / lemon pickle was over almost 3 months back, but somehow last December I was not in a mood to prepare the same as my year round stock. I always keep it in stock as it lasts all year through and comes handy during emergencies. I thought for a change would prepare little bit of different types of seasonal pickles year round this year, but to my dismay began missing the pickle even though the amla chilly pickle was lying in the fridge. Pickle without addition of oil, the traditional way that we Konkani Saraswat’s prepare is something missed if not available in the kitchen I guess, we are so used to having this one that how much ever we relish the other type of pickle, at times we are bound to miss this one for sure. Lemons are still available, but I have yet to go to the main market to purchase them. I had found Karmbala / Carambola / Starfruit in Mall, a few days back and purchased the same, so decided to prepare pickle out of it temporarily as this one does not remain good over 2 weeks period.
** I have included many types of Nonche / Pickle before in the Blog to which I will share a common link at the bottom of this recipe. Again I will not run into details of our Konkani style of pickle as I written a lot about it in my other posts and there is absolutely no point in repeating myself over and over again. Today I am adding in Karmbala / Carambola / Starfruit Pickle to the list of my pickles. Karmbala is a medium sized green colored fruit about 4 inches in length and 2 inches in width similar in properties to Bimbul / Bimbli / Tree Sorrel fruit. It is fortunately available in Mumbai at time either with fruit vendors or in malls. I purchase it from Mall, as somehow I never could get the raw ie green colored ones with the fruit vendor. The ones available with him were half ripe which I used bring and prepare godi randai similar to ambe upkari, which I have posted before. I was very happy when I found these raw ones and bought them to prepare pickle. The taste is similar to bimbul and Konkani people will relate to this in better way than others regarding its taste.
** I have prepared this one similar to our normal konkani nonche (pickle) masala, without inclusion of oil, like most of the pickles we do. Please do refer to my other Pickle posts for more knowledge if needed on pickles. The pickle we GSB’s prepare is oil free ie most of the pickles are without the addition of oil. However, the pickle can be stored outside only for a few days and has to be consumed within the short period. But it has longer shelf life if stored in fridge, and that is what I always do. If stored properly in the fridge, immediately on preparing this particular pickle will last for about a month, after that there are chances that it may run sour. Care should be taken to see that always a clean and dry spoon is used when removing the bottled pickle or else the pickle may get spoilt. It would be advisable to prepare this particular pickle in small batches and avoid making them in bulk as it really will not store well. The best way is to just prepare the pickle with a few star fruit and enjoy them fresh for a few days by storing them in the fridge
* Here is to making of the "Karmbala Nonche / Starfruit (Carambola) Pickle" … My Style …
** Wash and wipe dry the "Karmbala / Starfruit / Carambola well with a clean cloth. Slice off the top and bottom edge portion as thinly and possible and discard it. Now cut them into small cubes or if they are are smaller in size you can also cut them into star shape by slicing them whole width wise into 1/8 th inch slices. I have used about 4 large sized karambals in all.
** Fill a stainless steel vessel with 2 cups of water and bring to a full boil, lower the heat and add in about 3-4 tablespoons of salt and mix well till it dissolves. (I always use crystal sea salt for making of pickle, you may use any). Bring the water back to a boil. When the salt has dissolved / mixed well and remove from fire and let cool completely.
** Once the salt water has cooled down strain it through a muslin/cotton cloth to remove impurities if any. Sometimes there are dust particles in crystal salt, so it needs to be sieved. If you are using table salt there is no need of following this step and you can proceed straight away to the next step.
** Add the cleaned karmbal / starfruit pieces in a sterilized glass bottle and then pour the boiled and cooled salt water after straining into it upto the brim level. The karmbala / starfruit should be completely immersed, but it will float to the top, so don’t worry.
** Now tightly add on the cap of the bottle and keep it aside for a 8-12 hours or overnight. I usually prepare this late in the evening and leave it overnight and add in the masala to it the next day. Keep shaking the bottle once or twice if possible by tilting it so that all the karmbala / starfruit pieces are sufficiently salted evenly.
** The karmbal / starfruit will all turn into light yellowish green colour after 8-12 hours which they have got soaked in completely by the salt water. Now it is ready to be added on masala and pickled. Drain the salt water completely into a vessel and let the karmbal / starfruit remain in the glass bottle.
** We will be using the same salt water ie which was used for soaking the karmbal / starfruit pieces for grinding the pickle and adding to the masala later if necessary to bring it in to the required consistency. Remember to use clean spoons and vessel while preparing pickle to avoid the pickle being contaminated.
** For the Pickle Masala Paste : Grind about 4-6 Kumte mirsanga (Chilly) or red kashmiri chilly with the required amount of salt water coarsely. Do not add more salt water or add it in one go. Keep adding little by little as you grind, mixing in between to avoid addition of excess water to the pickle.
** Add in a small marble sized piece of gummy hing / asafoetida, which is fried in a half a teaspoon of oil until it melts or add 1 tsp of hing / asafetida powder fried in a tsp of oil and add to the masala while grinding.
** Once the chillies have been ground add in ½ teaspoon of mustard seeds (rai/sasam) towards the end of grinding process and just grind in for another minute or two till the masala is well blended. Do not grind for too long as the mustard seeds will then impart bitterness to the masala also we do not want a fine paste.
** Now add the masala to the karmbal / starfruit pieces in the glass bottle and mix well. Add in more salt water and mix to bring to the desired pickle consistency. Mix well with a clean spoon. There should be enough masala to bind all the pieces well as well as it should come about say an inch above the karmbal pieces on settling.
** You must check the level of salt in the water by tasting a little bit before addition of the same in grinding to avoid making the pickle too salty. If the salt water you prepared is too salty as some salts are more saltish, add in boiled and cooled water to bring it to balance the required amount.
** Remember too much salt is neither good for health not does the taste turn out appealing if too much salt is added on. You can always even balance salt content after adding the masala by adding in little bit of normal boiled and cooled water. So keep the pickle consistency thicker in texture.
** Now the pickle is done and ready. You can keep the pickle on room temperature for a few hours after which remember to store it in the refrigerator to avoid the pickle turning rancid. This pickle needs to be put in fridge in which case it will remain good for about 10 -15 days after which it is not recommended.
**"Karmbala Nonche / Star Fruit (Carambola) Pickle" is done and ready to be served. Amshe ~ Tikshe ~ Midshe Nonche Jevana vottuchi laika jatta (in Konkani), meaning A little bit of this Tangy ~ Spicy ~ Salty Pickle served along side during lunch/dinner goes a long way in tickling the taste buds and makes the lunch more delicious and appetizing.
** We Konkani Saraswats are fond of having Peja / Rice Porridge / Kanji / Ganji Oota for dinner and nonche / pickle plays as important role with it. You can serve a little bit to tickle taste buds with the same and it tastes simply awesome, specially during winter or monsoon season. You can also serve this with idly, dosa and roti.
** You can use the search option for "Pickle" where you will get many more pickle varieties prepared and posted. Do try out various types of pickles to relish with dosa / Idly / roti etc. or with dal-chawal too. Enjoy these oil free pickles with your family and friends and do give me a feedback if possible. You can also click on the link below for checking the same.
** An Earnest Request : There are many more recipes of different types in the blog. For all my Recipes, use the search option or the label section in the Blog. If you are still not able to find it or have a query, please leave a message in comment section or mail me the same. I will try my best to get back to you as soon as possible. Do try out various types of dishes included in the Blog and Enjoy them with your family and friends and do give me a feedback if possible.
** I am happy to inform you that I have also started a food group for by the name "KONKANI DELICACIES" which is over and year old, with about 19K strong members. It is a pleasure to inform that you will find in the group many more recipes posted by our expert members and you too can share some of your own. The link to the group is posted on the left side of the blog page. Do join us in our culinary journey. I strongly believe in Sharing and always endorse that "Sharing Is Caring" … Thank You ….
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks.