INDIAN VEGETARIAN- Pineapple Curry- tangy and spicy

“Appearance are often deceiving”- Aesop’s quotes.

Some kind of curry with tamarind is a staple in a South Indian home. South Indians have a large repertoire for their vegetarian curries and this is just one variation of a tamarind curry. A spicy and tangy sauce atop some steamy plain white rice is comfort food for many.  It’s almost all the time accompanied by a mild dish.  You will never be able to find authentic dishes like this in any restaurant.  Some of the curry recipes are passed on from generations and if followed religiously, the taste is pretty spectacular.  In Karnataka, where I’m from and many of their dishes are  generally spiked with a touch of sugar or jaggery(brown sugar).  Their sambhar, tamarind rice, rasam,  tamarind kozhumbu( curry), their dishes are spicy yet a bit sweet and I love it.

My family was shocked when I revealed the secret ingredients that went into our meal today.  It’s an accomplishment when your little one devours food, then to find out he just had something he’s not fond of.
I haven’t made this pineapple curry in a long time, wondering why….this is one of those bookmarked recipes I wanted to post when my blog starts running, and today this dish makes an entrance. This curry looks very familiar to a south Indian but it’s got quite a unique taste to it and extremely simple to make too.  I made some cucumber chutney(I’ll post the recipe for that soon…it’s sooo good) to go along with it.  Might not have been the traditional combo….although I enjoyed it.

Please do send me a feedback if you try this one out.

PINEAPPLE KARA KOZHUMBU

Ingredients:

pineapple        –  1 cup
tamarind         – 1 tbsp
coconut          – 5 tspn
urad daal        – 1 tsp
channa daal    – 2 tsp
red chillies      –  8-9(accordingly)
cumin seeds    – 1 tsp(optional)
poppy seeds    – 1/2 tsp
jaggery            – 1 tsp
mustard seeds  -1 tsp
asafoetida       – 1/4 tsp
salt to taste
curry leaves

Method:

1.  Fry urad daal, channa daal, red chillies, cumin seeds and poppy seeds in 1/4 tsp oil on low heat. Grind it with coconut to a fine paste.
2.  Boil pineapple in 2 cups of water with tamarind for 10 minutes.  Mash it lightly.
3.  Mix the ground paste with the pineapple mixture, add salt, jaggery or brown sugar and boil for 15 minutes.
4.  In a small tempering vessel, add oil, add mustard seeds, asafoetida and curry leaves.  After it splutters add it to the pineapple gravy.
ENJOY!!