Slow Cooker Watermelon Rind Relish (Puli Pachadi)

Watermelon rinds being watery and edible and mild, it is used in quite a few Indian dishes. With its texture and taste bland enough like Ash gourd or Opo Squash or Chayote squash, it lends itself well to spicy dishes.

Puli Pachadi is a thick south Indian concoction made with tamarind, jaggery, ginger, and chilies; with or without the addition of grated coconut. One such concoction is Puli Inji (Tamarind Ginger) which is one of my favorites, the way my mom makes it.

Borrowing the idea of Puli Inji, I added watermelon rinds - just the white portions that kids discard usually. Most of the work is done by the slow cooker. The labor-intensive part is to salvage the rinds and cut even chunks out of them for this recipe.

Add the water melon rinds to the slow cooker along with enough of tamarind paste, grape molasses, apple cider vinegar, white vinegar, Thai red chilies, whole black pepper, and salt to taste. Slow cook on low for about 5 hours till the liquids congeal and thicken to ooze concentrated flavor.

Three Ways to Enjoy Ground Cherries aka Husk Cherries aka Cape Gooseberries

The jaded adult that I've become, I have a general idea of what will arrive in my CSA basket each week, depending on the month; and just nod approvingly when my expectations are met.

However, every once in a while, I forget that there are some special gems that come in the CSA basket. Like, these "Ground Cherries" or "Husk Cherries", which are not cherries at all, of course.

Orange pearls inside an Oyster-Lantern!

Generously sweet with a hint of tropical fruit blend, these sprightly cousins of  the more common tomatillos are a treat to be relished.

Known by alluring names like "Cape Gooseberries" and "Poha Berries" these Ground Cherries seemed like the perfect thing to try out some fun recipes while gearing up for Fall and bidding farewell to Summer.

Ground Cherries Relish

When something comes so naturally sweet, it lends itself well for quick-cooking relishes and chutneys. This Ground Cherries Relish recipe balances sweet, sour, and spicy, just the way I prefer it.

Some Lemon Drop chilies were ripe in the garden. They start out the usual green and  then turn into this gorgeous bright yellow. Plus some ripe red Thai super chilies were handy. A couple of mini orange bell peppers came into the mix. All in all, a rainbow of colors (minus the ever-challenging blue, of course) thanks to the purple onions.

Top a slice of crusty artisan bread with a generous spoonful of this ground cherries relish for a satisfying fall snack. Or, add a dollop to a warm bowl of kedgeree or porridge. Even simply dip favorite wheat crackers in the relish and enjoy.

Ground Cherries Relish

¼ cup apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon lime juice
¼ cup water
1 Tbsp brown sugar
minced red onions
1 mini red bell pepper chopped
1 mini orange bell pepper chopped
1 or 2 minced lemon drop chilies
1 or 2 minced thai red chilies
1 cup Ground/Husk cherries, husked & washed
salt to taste

Saute the onions, bell peppers, and chilies; then add the cider vinegar, lime juice, and water, allow to simmer gently; toss in the cherries and cook till the relish thickens to a spreadable or scoop-able consistency. Allow to cool and store in fridge for up to a week.

Ground Cherries and Bitter Melon Sambar

Very much like my usual Bittermelon Sambar, to which I added some Ground Cherries to give it a boost.

As these are delicate fruits, they disintegrate in the sambar if simmered for too long, so, I toss some in towards the end and cook it long enough to meld the flavors while the ground cherries still retain their shape.

Ground Cherries and Asian Pears Salsa Fresca

The Asian pear tree in the backyard was weighed down with low-hanging fruits this year. Since they sort of skip a year and can be temperamental depending on the degree of neglect I subject them to, I was thankful for the fruits we got this year.

Being sweetish, with a crisp crunch, Asian pears are perfect to snack on. I make pear sauce out of it and can it for later. Birds and wasps and hornets get to these juicy fruits before we do usually, but, since the branches typically get weighed down with fruits, it seems all of us creatures get our share.

For this Ground Cherry and Asian Pear Salsa Fresca, I went with what's readily available in the garden:
Asian pears
Lemon drop chilies
Onions, and onion shoots
Cherry tomatoes
Tomatillos
Red bell peppers
Plus, Ground Cherries, of course

A sprinkling of salt,  a generous dash of McCormick's Original Taco Seasoning, a few drops of lime juice, a splash of Apple cider vinegar, and a driblet of Olive oil is all it takes to get this bowlful of Salsa Fresca.

Serve it along with Pan-seared Yelloweye or Herb-Almond-encrusted Halibut Fingers. Or, simply wrap it in crisp lettuce leaf and enjoy a quick and satisfying snack. Stir it in with Angel Hair pasta along with some feta for that virtually-Greek al fresco kind of dining experience. Add it to pancake batter and make some savory pancakes oozing with flavor. I enjoyed it with Dosai and even Verum Arisi Adai recently.

Purple Pleasures: Purple Carrots, Purple Beets, Purple Cabbage, Purple Onion Relish

Summer is the only time we visit the farm often, naturally. During each of these farm visits that are primarily focused on berry-picking, I exercise my right to loiter in the market attached to the farm, mentally salivating and resisting the urge to grab a bunch of each and every single produce there. That is, until the other adult gently but insistently escorts me to the checkout.

While the escort maneuvre was in progress last weekend, I held up a bunch of purple carrots grinning from ear to ear. But you have a pound of carrots at home already, he reasoned. Ah, but they are not purple, I clarified. You are going to be eating a lot of carrots this week, the wise septuagenarian co-shopper explained to him genially, all the while beaming at me. I could have hugged her right then.

The bright purples were irresistible at the farm market and so they came home with me, with no particular agenda except to use them as wisely as possible: purple carrots, purple cabbage, purple beets, purple onions. Well, sometimes the cabbage and beets fall under the "red foods" category, but, they seemed quite the purple to me this time so purple they shall be.

Ingredients

¼ cup finely chopped garlic

2 Tablespoon freshly grated ginger

1 medium purple/red onion grated

1 cup grated purple cabbage

2 cups grated purple beets

2 cups grated purple carrots

Flavoring:

1 cup white vinegar

½ cup cider vinegar

¼ cup balsamic

1 teaspoon dried caraway seeds or 1 teaspoon dried dill weed

1 Tablespoon red hot chili powder or ground black pepper (adjust to taste)

4 Tbsp brown sugar

salt to taste

¼ cup oil

Preparation

1. Heat the oil in a pan, add garlic, ginger and onions, saute till aromatic
2. Add the grated beets, carrots, cabbage, some salt, and stir in the rest of the flavoring ingredients
3. Allow to simmer till liquid evaporates and the relish comes together to a coarse spreadable consistency
4. Taste and adjust seasoning
5. To preserve it, canning is done in a boiling water bath, just standard procedure

Ways to savor the Purple Carrot Beet Relish:

1. Mix with goat cheese and cream cheese and use it as a sandwich spread
2. Stir some in with thick Greek yogurt and use it as a Wrap sauce
3. Add a dollop of it to crackers and enjoy with cheese
4. Toss some cooked pasta with the beet relish, top with feta or other favorite cheese and enjoy a quick tasty meal minus the tomato sauce
5. Spread it on a pita or naan, top with avocado, watercress, snow peas and spring onions, fold in half or roll it up

Ajvar Hot Eggplant & Red Pepper Relish

We've been having some of our staples lately - idlee, dosai, roti, rasam, pizza and such... so, no exciting new recipes to try out and share here.

This ajvar relish is one of our staples as well, as a dip, as a side, as a base for other dishes...

Ajvar is a Balkhan roasted eggplant and sweet red pepper relish, sometimes referred to as vegetarian caviar. ZerGut Ajvar is a popular East European product found in ethnic food stores here. However the store-bought ones somehow seem to be a little too sweet and have this aged smell that feels a bit unappetizing for me sometimes. Trader Joe's™ brand so far is my favorite for ready-made ajvar. However, since it is easy enough to make at home and I can adjust it a bit to my taste, I make a batch on and off and store it in the fridge, and use it to flavor other dishes.

Ingredients
1-2 eggplant
3-4 sweet red peppers
4-6 dry red chilies
1-2 garlic cloves
¼ cup lemon juice
2-3 Tbsp olive oil
salt to taste

Preparation

1. Roast the sliced eggplant and red peppers over open flame (I use my gas stove for this step), or in a 475°F oven (broil a bit to char the skin, if preferred); put in a paper bag, cover and allow to sweat a bit; remove charred skin if desired - I like to leave it on for the smoky flavor
2. When cool enough to handle, coarsely chop up, combine with the garlic and dry red chilies, blend to a chunky relish (or smooth if using it as a spread)
3. Add lemon juice and olive oil to taste; adjust salt
4. Allow to cool completely and store in an air tight jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks
5. If canning it, cook over medium-low heat and can when hot

Enjoy Ajvar in many ways:

• mix with some cream cheese to make a delicious sandwich spread
• mix it with some yogurt and sumac to make a mouth-watering sauce for wraps or pita pockets
• add enough olive oil and a bit of lemon juice or red wine vinegar for acidity to make a wonderful salad dressing
• use it as-is on toasted olive-ciabatta bread or rosemary-potato bread or any favorite baguette slices
• use it to flavor curries and stews as in the Chickpea stew below

Chickpea Stew flavored with Ajvar

Ingredients
1 cup cooked chickpeas
1 cup cooked black beans
1 cup cooked diced beets (optional)
1 cup diced onion
1 cup diced tomatoes
1 cup ajvar (or more to taste)
1 Tbsp agave nectar or brown sugar (optional)
garnish: cilantro, spring onions
salt to taste

Preparation

1. sauté the onion and combine the rest of the ingredients and simmer together with enough water or broth to preferred stew consistency
2. garnish and serve warm