Ambade God Nonche (Hog Plum Sweet Pickle)

Ambade God Nonche is a recent try in my kitchen. The hog plums are cooked in water and then a spicy freshly ground masala is added.  To balance the sourness of hog plums and spiciness of masala, jaggery is added. Finally to enhance the taste and flavor, tempering is added. This dish is generally served with rice.

Few months back, a good friend of mine R, gave me this recipe. This is the first time I am trying this recipe and it did turn out good. My mother makes a similar sweet pickle using bitter gourd. You can get that recipe here. Do try making this and I hope you enjoy it. Leave me a comment down below if you did!

Ingredients:

• Hog Plums (Ambado), medium sized- 8-10
• Jaggery - 2-3 Tbsp (adjust accordingly)
• Salt- To taste

For roasting:

• Dry Red chilli (byadgi variety)- 5-6
• Mustard seeds- 2 tsp
• Fenugreek seeds/ Methi- 1/4 tsp
• Asafoetida (hing)- 1/4 tsp
• Turmeric powder- 1/8 tsp

For Seasoning:

• Oil- 1-2 tsp
• Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp
• Curry leaves - Few

Procedure:

Wash the hog plums. 

Pat them dry with a towel and then slice them (Hog plums have seed in the middle. So remove the edible part as much as you can. Luckily my hog plums didn't have any seed. You can add the seeds to the pickle or just discard it. Seed cannot be eaten but you can suck the yummy juice)

Making Masala:

Roast the dry red chillies with few drops of oil until it changes its color slightly. Then transfer them to a plate. Now in the same pan start roasting the mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds in few drops of oil, until a nice aroma is got. Then turn off the heat and add asafoetida and turmeric powder immediately. Mix well and fry for few seconds. Then transfer it onto a plate/ bowl and allow it to cool. Once cooled, transfer it into a blender.

Now grind the roasted spices to get a fine powder. Then add few tablespoons of water, so as to get a fine paste. Masala is ready. Set it aside until required.

Now start heating water in a small pot, just enough to cook the  hog plum slices. When it comes to a boil, add in the sliced hog plum and allow it to cook for 4-5 minutes, on a medium flame (the color of the skin turns from green to slight yellow, once cooked).

Once the hog plums look cooked (not mushy), add the ground masala, jaggery and salt. Mix well. Adjust the consistency of the pickle by adding water (I kept it medium thick). At this point taste it and check if salt/jaggery is required. Allow it to boil for 3-4 minutes. Turn off the heat and then add the seasoning.

For Seasoning: Heat oil. Then add mustard seeds. Once it starts spluttering, add curry leaves and turn off the heat. Add this to the prepared pickle and mix well.

Ambade God Nonche is ready!!

Serve it hot or warm, as a side dish to rice. Above measurement serves 3-4 people.

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Cardamom Flavored Meringue Cookies

Meringue Cookies are one of the simplest cookies. They just require three basic ingredients - egg whites, sugar and a flavoring agent. I always wanted to make these cookies from a long time, after getting inspired from few youtube videos. I also came across this recipe last year. I love cardamom in my desserts. Hence decided to give this recipe a try. After the first bite, I totally fell for it. The cookie was just melt in the mouth with a little crunch from the cashew pieces. Do try making this and I hope you will like it as much as I did!

Ingredients:

• Egg Whites - From 2 large eggs
• Sugar - 1/2 cup
• Vanilla extract - 1/4 tsp
• Cardamom Pod - 1
• Cashew nut, unsalted - 1/4 cup

Note: #Separating the egg whites from yolk is easier when the egg is cold. Once separated, place the egg whites in a clean bowl and allow it to come to room temperature.

#The bowl which you are using to whip, should be free from any oil residue. 

#There should be absolutely no trace of yolk in egg whites.

Procedure:

Separate the egg whites from the yolks and let the egg whites come to room temperature.

Meanwhile peel the cardamom pod and grind the seed along with sugar to get a powder. Set it aside until required.

Then chop the cashew nut.

Now start beating the egg whites using an electric mixer or stand mixer (you can also beat it with a whisk but it takes lot of effort and time). I also added 2-3 drops of lime juice (or a pinch of cream of tartar) to the egg whites. This stabilizes the egg white. After few minutes you see the foam.

At this stage, start adding the powdered sugar little at a time, beating the egg whites all the time. When the sugar gets over, continue beating the egg whites on high until stiff peaks form. They look glossy and when the bowl turned upside down, the mixture shouldn't fall.

At this stage gently fold in the chopped cashews and vanilla. Care should be taken not to over mix it.
At this point preheat the oven to 275F or 140C. Then Take a baking sheet and line it with a parchment paper or silicone mat.
Then with the help of two spoons drop small (or desired) amount of the meringue with little space in between each cookies. I got little fancy and added the mixture in a piping bag fitted with a star tip. Then piped them as shown below. You can make desired shape and size.

Then finally place in the preheated oven for 25 - 30 minutes or until it dries out completely and peels off from the parchment paper (bigger cookies might taker slightly longer time). Then turn off the heat and leave the cookies in the oven (with oven door slightly open) for additional half an hour.

Then peel off the cookies from the parchment paper and allow it to cool completely. 
Cardamom Flavored Meringue Cookies are ready!

Store them in an air tight container.

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