Catappa Pickle

   Pickle!! The name itself generates a feeling of spices, sweet and sour taste in our tongue and of course the strong smell of mustard oil... isn't it?  It's an inevitable part of Indian cuisine. We Indians have a weakness towards pickle. And that is quite obvious, as we are born in a country of spices! I am sure every Indian house has got at least a jar of pickle stored in a corner of their kitchen. My mom too cannot resist herself from preparing pickles out of all those vegetables or fruits available during the seasons. As every Indian woman habit, she loves to share a portion of the pickle with the relatives. It's like a great achievement when the pickle is being praised by people! She uses all the common spices available in her kitchen to prepare a spicy catappa pickle. And this pickle turns out a very interesting time pass when we all gather at home or meet childhood buddies. Just grab your catappa pickle jar and enjoy your best time with it! And instead of wasting the catappa stock she uses it to make delicious jelly.

     Ingredients:                                                                                                                            

• Terminalia catappa 250 gm
• Mustard oil 150 ml
• Garlic 20 cloves
• Turmeric powder 1tbsp
• Carrom seed 1tbsp
• Cumin seed 1tbsp
• Black cumin(kalonji) 1tsp 
• Cinnamon 1inch
• Cardamom crushed 3 to 4 no.
• Salt to taste

    

      Method:

•          Clean the catappa fruit and cut them in between
•         Boil them in a cooker and drain the water.
•         Heat oil in a pan and put all the spices one by one and saute
•        Now pour the boiled catappa into the pan
•        Mix it well, add salt and cook occasionally till the spices stick to the fruits
•        Turn off the flame once the fruits start releasing oil
•         Let it cool down and then store in an airtight container

                                     

Catappa Jelly!!

      While enjoying a walk on a bright and cheerful morning, a small maroon fruit on a tree caught my

attention. I became very curious to know about it. I picked one from the ground and brought it home. It was a new thing for us so thought to search about it on the internet. Finally, my sister helped me out that the tree is known as Terminalia catappa also known as Indian Almond. This variety of tree has a vast natural distribution in near coastal areas of the Indian Ocean. The fruit of T. catappa is considered to be a vital foodstuff and every part of this plant is filled with some medicinal values. It was truly amazing to find out something so valuable in and around me! The fruit has a pleasant aroma. It is best to eat raw when is young and sour. The fibrous shell of the fruit surrounds an

edible nut. People mostly enjoy it here as a good snack freshly plucked from the trees grown

everywhere.

     

       My mom got some handful of Indian almond fruit with her from the park and thought to prepare

something innovative out of it. The colour of the ripened fruits is so beautiful that she decided to

prepare jelly. Seriously, the jelly turned out an amazingly beautiful and delicious one. Here, I am

sharing this unique recipe...

Ingredients:

• Terminalia catappa - 500 gm
• Water - 1 litre
• Sugar - equivalent to the juice extracted from the boiled T. catappa
• Lemon juice - 2 tbsp

Method:

• Boil the T. Catappa in water till it reduces to half of it.
• Now, drain the water to another vessel separate from the fruit.
• Let the juice boil then add an equivalent portion of sugar into it.
• Stir occasionally.
• Add lemon juice to it and boil.
• Check the two strings formation on your fingertip with a drop of the juice. T. catappa jelly is ready to be served then.

    Enjoy the yummy jelly as a topping on pudding, cupcakes or with bread.