Lemon-Date Pickle

Didn't I put u guys in a pickle? Sorry, I have all these silly puns rolling around so couldn't resist. Wonderful guesses as usual.. only Sig got it right.. wonder how..she always does get it right!!Mandira followed suit but Happy cook's "Cake" and Srivalli's "whatever" were the best of the lot!!

Well this is the story of a pickle..I don't make pickles..I get them made by my family. Else, there is an entire aisle in the Indian store dedicated to all kinds of pickles.. Mother's , Grandma's, Uncles....even Double Horses, though they are not related to anyone.

Mishmash started it..with her munthiri pickle post. Last week we had a Biryani meal and sorely missed that essential thing called Karakka (Date) Pickle. Now those who are used to Biryani with that tangy sweet and spicy pickle will know how incomplete it feels without it and those who haven't tried it with biryani or pulav.. well, what to say..you are missing something.

Usually there is always a batch of the date pickle with carrots or with limes left over from my mom's last visit but now we were out. So I went to the Indian store to get Double Horse Lemon-Date Pickle (which is really good) and kept staring at the bottle I picked up..For some reason, it was all dusty and the contents looked cloudy and weird.. it was a revelation...I got transported back to Calicut..during the elementary school we visited a science show in the Medical college and saw some real horrors encapsulated in bottles!! Not to gross anyone with any further description, but suffices to say I was ready to make pickles at home.:)

RP has a collection of pickles for those to inclined to make them, so I decided to make her lemon-date pickle. So another day goes by and I raided my fridge and found 3 lemons.. not too old so will do..fresh is of course better. Very simple recipe and started out frying it with my last bit of Idhayam Nallenna (sesame oil) and salting them and I left them in the sun for 2 days...by then my Biryani was over!!:(

Anyway not to be stopped, I carried on..all this is in between my latest bout of studying..and when I had to do the second round of seasoning, I had no ginger.. so drove to the store and got ginger. So at each break I took, I would get back to the pickle. Got ginger so after cutting them, I started searching for the garlic. When I looked in the fridge now, my garlic had suddenly finished!! Argh!!! so borrowed garlic from my friend who I see more than the Indian store guy anyway and got back. Got everything now and then remembered that my nallenna had finished! I really should start making lists before going out. It seemed all the forces were against me.
Still didn't give up... everything went in along with olive oil.. I used light olive oil and it tasted just fine.. even nice, I would say...and then it sat on my window sill basking in the sun.. It looked a little less oily , so I topped it with a little olive oil to prevent air influx. Even though I had only 3 lemons, I added 12 dates and half Kashmiri chili powder, half hot red chili powder.


RP said one week so I waited, and I waited..shaking it, turning it, and finally after one week , it got opened.. and this is the result. It's really good even if I say so. The pickle is sweet, spicy and sour..maybe next time, I will put in more dates. So if you like more sweetness, add more dates and less lemon. Now pickles are not good for anyone, with their salt and spice and oil and all these bad in it..but a little bit of this home made one and you might start finding excuses to pass it as health food.
The recipe is exactly as RP wrote so I am just directing you there.

Wanna take a guess?

I have the next post lined up..in my head..but my little one refuses to co-operate so a game to stimulate ur imagination instead..Guess what my next post is on...

Shrimp or Prawns Curry...Goan Style

No, I haven't changed the profile of my blog.. Just hopping over to Goa for a visit thru my cooking...I haven't been blog hopping and visiting all my blogger friends and trying out new recipes as I used to.... "simbly" because there is hardly any time now amidst all the responsibilities.

Meanwhile, the bathroom work I had mentioned earlier is over and after 3-4 weeks of disruption, we finally have two brand new baths and the contractors and workers out of our house. Everything is spanking new and sparkling...when there is a new addition to the family, you feel unsure and possessive...with the new bathroom, I feel protective yet awkward.

Unlike in India, where the building supplies are tucked away in wholesale areas, not very accessible to everyone, here everything is available to the common man at the one stop Home Depot. Materials are relatively cheap here but the labor costs are too high.... the direct opposite of Asian construction. So when I was describing custom changes to my desi contractor, he was all heads shaking in agreement(in the desi style of side to side..like a pendulum)"yeah yeah no problem...." since there was not much additional material cost. Then at the end, when we were settling accounts, all the small changes turned into expensive man hours!! No wonder most people here try their hand at doing everything themselves from plumbing to electrical work to painting! You would see a handyman to a contractor to a homeowner here at the shop at the same time buying the same stuff.

You have to get involved in every small decision here if you want the bathroom customized which was a fun learning experience for both of us, but was also very time consuming. It did take some urgent paint color changes, last minute runs to Home Depot to change non-compatible faucets and tiles and a hazaar other small things to look into but we are finally there...

Now everything has been cleaned but still there is the dust that's slowly settling down that is still being cleaned from every nook and corner of the house.
Anyway, it was in one of these cleaning sessions that I found a Goan Cookbook tucked away in my bookshelf bought eons ago but never used. It was a sign to try cooking in a different way from the standard Yellow curry /pacha aracha and Red Curry/ molaku chaar for fish and in the span of 2 weeks, I have already tried out 3 recipes from it successfully.. all fish.. Just like the coastal state of Kerala, Goa hugs the coastline of the Arabian Sea, and has similar weather and vegetation and Goan Cuisine is very easy on the palate and immensely enjoyable if you like fish, chicken and coconut.

I could go on and on about Goa, a place that I have very fond memories of starting with a college tour, a case study tour for thesis, a family tour but I have to get back to my work so a quick note on this quick shrimp recipe which has a long list of ingredients but is really just blending it all together and cooking at one go.

You Will Need:
Prawns/Shrimp -1cup
Potatoes-1 cut into cubes
Coconut Milk- 2-3 cup(1 cup thick and 1 1/2 cup thin milk)
Vegetable/coconut oil-2 tbsp
Green chilies-3 slit vertically
Onion- 1 small one chopped fine
Curry leaves 5
Tamarind- a walnut sized ball soaked in 1/4 cup water and extracted.(or 1 tsp extract)
Rice flour- 1 tsp
Sugar- 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste

For the Spice Paste:
Dried Kashmiri Chilies-8 (They are less spicy and add lots of flavor and color)
Coriander Seeds-1 1/2 tsp (or roasted coriander powder 1 1/2tsp)
Cumin seeds-1 tsp
Rice powder- 1 tsp
Turmeric- 1/4 to 1/2 tsp
Garlic-6 cloves

Preparation:
Soak the red chilies in warm water for 5-10 minutes and then grind all the ingredients for the spice paste with 2 tbsp of water. You could substitute the red chilies with Kashmiri chili powder and regular chili powder but blend it with the other spices to let the spices soak. I use slightly roasted coriander seeds or powder as I don't like the raw taste. Also I use half Kashmiri chilies and half spicy South Indian dried chilies for added kick. If you can, do grind the spices with as little water as possible for a better flavor.
Place the potatoes in a microwave safe bowl with 1/2 cup water and microwave it for 4-5 minutes or until cooked. Drain the excess water and keep aside.

Heat the oil in a clay pot, (chatti) or heavy pan, and saute the onions for 4 minutes. Just until it starts turning brown at the edges and then add the spice paste. Saute this mix very well for 2-3 minutes on medium heat taking care not to burn it. It's done when the fragrance of garlic and chilies spreads everywhere and you have to turn on the exhaust. Add more oil if you feel its sticking to the pan.

Then add the thin coconut milk, green chilies, boiled potatoes and curry leaves. Cover and cook for 6 minutes and then add the tamarind pulp. When the mix comes to a boil, add the salt and sugar, and then add prawns. Cook for 5 minutes and then add the rice flour mixed with 3-4 tbsp of water. Let it boil for a minute, and then lower the heat and add the thick coconut milk. Do not let it boil too much after adding the thick milk. The rice flour thickens the gravy without needing too much coconut milk and is optional.
Do try this with Ann's Chitiaps(Rice Pancakes). I had served it with Jeera Rice and fish fry.