Madhura Curry/Pineapple-Munthiri Pachadi-A sweet side dish for a sweet reason!

“…..hmm….cant remember the last time I attended a Hindu marriage and had Sadya!” , I heard this statement twice, from two different people, in the last three days! One ofcourse was CJJ and the second one was his friend from college, who has not been able to go home in the last 3 years due to some very valid reasons. Sadya, in its pure visual sense, is an artists palette and as I had written in some of my previous posts, is a traditional vegetarian feast of Keralites and is very close to each and every Malayalee’s heart ……….. a nostalgia for some like us , who left home and homeland, soon after marriage because of one’s job demands, making it almost impossible to travel back miles together to attend a close-one’s marriage or cousin’s house-warming function or your sibling’s kid’s naming ceremony or first birthday ….we miss such homely get-togethers, followed by this grand feast, served on a banana leaf with rice and a myriad of vegetable side dishes cooked in ground coconut mixture, both fresh and roasted, and some cooked in buttermilk and curd, in various flavours, mildly spiced up curries, plantain chips, spicy pickles, Payasam & Pradhaman and a fresh banana and Pappadam (Indian wafers). It hurts to say that after our marriage, we got to attend only one wedding and we have missed lots of our friends and cousin’s marriages and housewarming functions. Perhaps, folks staying back home might silently detest these functions, as it happens almost every two weeks, making it difficult for one to enjoy a cozy private weekend, and yes, it is quite understandable…but when we miss all of these continuously for one or two years or more, the yearning is naturally on the higher side…….. the longing to reach across to your family and friends, clad in pretty clothes, cracking a joke, sharing a gossip or two……the desire to be part of a feast where everyone sit in a row of those metal tables draped with white table cloth, and enjoying the Sadya from the banana leaves…….that feeling is something which is difficult to pen down!

I LOVE Sadya so much, I am embarrassed to write it down here, that there was an incident where everyone left the huge dining hall, next to the marriage–reception one, and the only two people left behind were yours truly and her friend and finally we were forced to stop feasting ourselves as we were asked to speed up because they had to set the table for the next batch of invitees!!! It used to be more fun when I used to attend marriages with my cousin, G chechi as both of us enjoyed and shared the embarrassment of asking for second servings of some of our favourite side dishes and one such dish was this Madhura Curry or Pineapple-Munthiri Pachadi which is curried pineapple and grapes, cooked in ground coconut paste, with a touch of curd and seasoned with coconut oil, curry leaves and mustard seeds. After having an ‘urula ’ of rice mixed with sambar (curried lentils and vegetables), a touch of this sweet fruity side dish was quite refreshing for me. Usually the preparations for the Sadya, start on the previous night of the wedding and cooking is done early in the morning to make sure that everything is ready by 10 in the morning. So by the time it is served for lunch, the fruity flavours of pineapple and grapes would have married the ground coconut, giving it a succulent texture and taste.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup ripe pineapple, diced into small bite size pieces
• 8-10 black grapes
• ¼ tsp turmeric p/w
• A pinch of red chilly powder
• 1-2 Indian green chillies, finely chopped
• Salt to taste
• Water to cook the fruits
• 1 ½ tbsp curd
• 1 tsp sugar, if required

For grinding:

• ½ - ¾ cup freshly grated coconut
• 2 Indian green chillies
• 1 small piece of ginger
• A pinch of mustard seeds
• ½ tsp turmeric

For seasoning:

• 2 tsp oil, preferably coconut oil
• ½ tsp mustard seeds
• 1-2 whole dry red chillies
• 5-6 curry leaves

Directions:

• Grind grated coconut, green chillies, ginger, mustard seeds and turmeric powder into a smooth paste, in the small jar of a mixer or blender, adding some water if required and keep aside.
• In a small saucepan, cook small pineapple chunks with green chillies, turmeric powder, chilly powder and salt to taste, in some water and when the fruit is half-cooked, add the whole grapes, close the lid and cook in low flame, till the juice from the grapes comes off and blends with pineapple. Just before the grape juice colour overwhelms the yellowish-ness of the cooked pineapple, add the ground coconut mixture and cook again, in low-medium heat, till it starts to boil. Add the curd and adjust the salt and mix everything well and if the sweetness is not enough, add a tsp of sugar, stir well and turn off the stove, not letting the curd to boil. At this stage, the curry should have a medium consistency, neither thick nor thin or dry.
  
• In another pan, heat oil and splutter mustard seeds, dry red chillies and turn off the stove and immediately add the torn curry leaves and pour the whole things to the dish; Close the lid and let it rest for a couple of hours , allowing all the fruit flavors to gel well with the ground coconut mixture and oil . (Note: This dish takes time to blend all the flavors; so give enough resting time before serving it.)

There is only one problem with this sweet side dish; either you fall in love with this or you break-up at the first date itself!!!.

UPDATE: For Sadya recipes check out SADYA VIBHAVANGAL - Learn to make the traditional Kerala Feast- An Artist’s Edible Palette !

Luv
Shn

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