Ambate menaskai/ Hog plum gojju/ June plum curry

Hello there, I am back after a break! It’s been more than a month since I posted my last blog post. I am here now, after multiple episodes of health issues at home. Now we are coming back to normal after flu & dengue infections.

 

Coming to this post, I am very happy to share here we had bumper harvest of hog plum this year from a tree which we planted about 6 years ago. I wish to share this curry made with these tangy fruits which is such an appetizing dish. It goes great with rice and ghee, you can also serve it with Dosa/ Chapathi too. This menaskai is a favorite of havyaka households. It will be part of any festival meal too. This is usually prepared using bittergourds, raw mango, pineapple… Here you find the recipe:

Preparation time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Serves: 4-6

 Ingredients:

Hog plum - 6-8

Fresh grated coconut - ½ cup

Sesame seeds/ Til/ Ellu – 2 tsp

Dry red chilli – 2-3

Urad dal – 2 tsp

Gram dal / Channa dal – 2 tsp (optional)

Salt - To taste

Jaggery – medium orange sized, adjust to your liking (Tastes good if little sweetish)

Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp

Chilli powder – ½ tsp

Coconut oil – 3 tsp

Mustard seeds – ½ tsp

Curry leaves – 1-2 sprigs

 

Method:

• Wash hog plums. Finely chop them if they are tender. I used matured ones here but unripe & the variety I have is a bit fibrous and chopping isn’t good idea. In such case peel off them using a peeler, discard the thin skin. Prick the whole hog plum using a knife deep, which helps them to cook properly.
• In a thick vessel, take these prepared hog plums, add 2-3 glasses of water.
• Bring it to boil, add salt, jaggery, turmeric powder and chilli powder. Cook covered until they are softly cooked. Softer the better.
• Meanwhile, take grated coconut in a mixer jar.
• Heat tadka pan. Add sesame, allow spluttering. Once done add to the coconut in mixer jar.
• Add a tsp of oil in the same pan, add urad dal, channa dal (if using), red chillis. Fry them in low flame, until dal is brown & chillies are fried. Take care, not to burn any of these.
• Add the fried ingredients to the coconut too. Grind them together to form a very fine paste adding water as required.
• Once the hog plum is cooked, add the ground mix. Adjust the consistency by adding water as required. Boil everything well. Switch off.
• Now, prepare a seasoning/ tadka of mustard and curry leaves in coconut oil and add to the curry.
• Serve delicious menaskai or gojju with rice.