Hog plum Raita/ Amtekai mosaru gojju

Ambate/ amatekai or hog plum is an edible tropical fruit. It is known for its tangy flavour and mainly used in pickles/ gojju or in cooking as taste enhancer. It works as alternative to tamarind. It can be used in either ripe or raw form.

Common varieties of hog plum are one with large seed & less pulp and another with small fibre like seed with more flesh. The grafted plant starts flowering in 1.5-2 years after planting. We harvested few of them from a 2 years old plant in our backyard.

I prepared gojju, stew earlier, but mosaru gojju or raita is new to me. My mother in law, a good cook introduced it to me recently when she stayed with us couple of days. The method is same as raw mango/ brined mango mosaru gojju or potato mosaru gojju. It is a very tasty and appetizing side dish with rice. Thanks atte for the recipe.

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Serves: 3

Ingredients:

Raw hog plums/ amtekai – 2, matured or tender

Onions – 1

Green chilli – 1 or 2, adjust to taste

Salt – to taste

Curds/ fresh buttermilk – 1 cup

Asafoeida – ¼ tsp (powder) or 2 pinches

Boiled potatoes – 1-2 (optional)

Oil – 1 tsp

Mustard – ½ tsp

Curry leaves – 1 sprig

Dry red chilli – 1

Method:

Wash hog plum, chop roughly and boil with ¼ cup water until cooked. Set aside to cool down.

Peel off onion, wash and chop finely.

Slit or chop green chillis.

Once cooked hog plum gets cooled, mash it with finger or puree it using a blender.

Mix pureed hog plum, chopped onion, green chillis, salt and curds. Add cooked & mashed potatoes (optional).

Prepare a seasoning of mustard, red chilli, asafoetida & curry leaves in oil and add to the gojju.

Serve with rice and sambhar.

Tips:

When you have lot of amtekai/ hog plum, you can cook them with salt water and preserve them soaking in salt water after cooling down. Store them in air tight glass jar. These preserved fruits can be used in making gojju.