Pineapple and Strawberry Pachadi

Pachadi is a typical Kerala side dish where a fruit or vegetable is cooked and is then added to yoghurt once the cooked mixture is fully cooled.  Almost like a Raita you can say!
Fruits like Apple, Pineapple, ripe Palntain etc or Veggies like Bittergourd , Pumpkin , Ladys finger etc can be used to prepare Pachadi and depending on the main ingredient the taste is amazingly different.

The recipe I'm about to share was a total experiment and I'm glad it turned out wonderfully well. We had bought a whole Pineapple a few days back and had been using it little by little to make Pinappale pachadi , Pineapple pulishery and also enjoying it as a fruit. But few more slices were left behind which was not enough to make a full fledged curry and no one was in the mood to eat it plain.
Finally I thought might as well make a small pachadi and finish it off when I thought why not add some Strawberries too.....that would add some volume to the dish and also might taste different.

The sweetness from the Pineapple , the slight tarty sweetness from the Strawberries, the tangy creamy Yoghurt and the mild hint of spice from the dry red chillies added during tempering made this an exceptional side dish for lunch, I could almost eat it like a dessert :-)
Hoping your tastebuds are flowing by now, lets check out the recipe now, shall we !!

Pineapple and Strawberry Pachadi Recipe
You'll need
Ripe Pineapple - 2-3 round 1" slices, cubed
Strawberries - 2-3 cubed
Small red onion or Pearl onion - 1 (thinly sliced)
Mustard seeds - 1 tblsp
Grated coconut - 2 tblsp
Yoghurt - 1 cup
Salt - to taste
For tempering:
Oil - 1 tblsp ( Canola / Veg oil)
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Dry Red Chillies - 1-2 (broken in half)
Curry leaves - 2-3 leaves

Directions:
1. Chop the pineapple and strawberries into small bite sized cubes and keep aside separately.
2. Using a mortar and pestle gently crush the grated coconut and mustard seeds until the seeds split in half and keep aside. (If you do not have a mortar and pestle just gently pulse once in a mixer grinder)
3. In a kadai or non-stick pan heat the oil on medium heat and crack the mustard seeds , dry red chillies and add the curry leaves.
4. Saute the small red onion (pearl onion) for a minute and add the Pineapple first.
5. Gently saute for 2 minutes or until the juices from the pineapple start coming out. (You may add little water if the pineapple is not ripe enough)
6. Keep the heat on low and add the crushed mustard seeds and crushed grated coconut and add required amount of salt and saute until the mixture is just warm.
7. Finally add the strawberries and turn off the heat. (The strawberries need not be cooked. The heat from the mixture will automatically cook the strawberries slightly)

8. Once the mixture is fully cooled add the yoghurt and mix well and check the seasoning.

Serve this with rice and some spicy curry or fish fry...yummm! My mouth is definitley watering and I totally enjoyed sharing it with you all too....
For those who like the dish more sweeter you can add some sugar or jaggery. You should be able to bite the pineapple and strawberries , what I mean is don't overcook it. The veggie version are usually made by roasting the veggies and then adding to yoghurt.
Do try this dish and let me know if you enjoyed it as much as I did....

And don't be scared to experiemnt with your dishes, you might just end up creating something Exceptional !!
Stay tuned for more and Have an awesome day!


Sending this post to:
1.  Christmas Delicacy event hosted by Julie.

- Manju