AAMBAADYA SAASAV (SWEET AND SOUR HOG PLUM CHUTNEY FROM THE NKGSB CUISINE OF KARWAR)

Aambaadya Saasav is a sweet and sour and slightly spicy hog plum chutney from the NKGSB cuisine of Karwar. It is also referred to as Aambaadya Gojju by other GSBs. This cuisine makes use of lots of coconuts, jaggery, dry red chillies and seasonal fruits and vegetables in it’s daily cooking. This makes it highly nutritious too!

Hog Plums are small green fruits which are available only in the monsoon. These plums are basically sour and are used to make curry, pickle and chutney in the NKGSB cuisine. When added to a dish, they impart their sourness to it, which necessitates the use of jaggery to balance the taste.

Aambaadya Saasav is one such side dish/chutney which goes very well with some traditional kadi rice or just some daal rice. In fact it can prove to be a great accompaniment to any simple traditional meal!

For some more information on this nutritional fruit, click on the link below, which I have accessed from the net!

https://livingfoodz.com/stories/have-you-met-the-indian-hog-plum-542

Check out the following links for some more Hog Plum recipes……

1. Ambade Kaarle Lonche
2. Ambaadae Udid Methi

For some more traditional dishes from the NKGSB cuisine of Karwar, do take a look at the following recipes too...

1. Kairi Udid Methi
2. Ghotaa Aambat
3. Aambya Saasav
4. Kaarlyaa Saglein
5. Taushe Saglein
6. Mugaa Aambat
7. Vataane Ananasaa Shaak
8. Patravade
9. Jeermeeryaa Kadi
10. Shiraalyaanchya Shiraanchi Taamboli
11. NKGSB Style Sweet And Sour Raw Mango Chutney
12. Sukki Lasni Chatni
13. NKGSB Style Lasni Chatni

Here’s the recipe for the absolutely delicious AAMBAADYA Saasav …..

Prep Time : 20 min

Cooking Time : N. A.

Serves : 5

Cup Used : 200 ml

INGREDIENTS :

• 10 Hog Plums (Aambaadey… Not too raw and not too ripe)
• 1 cup Fresh Grated Coconut
• 8 Bedgi Dry Red Chillies…. To be adjusted as per preferred spiciness
• 2 tsp Mustard Seeds
• 1/2 cup + 2 tbs Jaggery…. To be adjusted as per the sourness of the hog plums
• Salt To Taste

METHOD :

1. To make Aambya Saasav, first we need to cook the hog plums.
2. Rinse the hog plums under clean water and place them in a pan. Add some water just equal to the level of the plums.
3. Boil the hog plums for just a minute or two. As soon as their colour changes from bright green to pale green, switch off the heat and drain.
4. Reserve the drained liquid and set aside to cool slightly.
5. Heat a small kadhai and dry roast the mustard seeds on low heat till they splutter taking care to prevent them from burning.
6. Immediately transfer them to a bowl and set aside to cool.
7. Next, scrape the cooked flesh and peels of the hog plums with your fingers and reserve it’s core seed.
8. Grind together this scraped mixture alongwith the roasted mustard seeds, coconut, dry red chillies using the reserved cooked liquid as required, to get a thick smooth paste.
9. Once done, add to it, the jaggery and salt to taste and grind again.
10. Mix this paste with the core seeds and applying some pressure with your fingers, mash slightly the core seeds in the ground paste.
11. This step ensures that the flavours from the saasav enter into the seeds too and hence it is advisable to prepare this chutney a little before serving time.
12. Serve this absolutely delicious Aambadya Saasav with some steaming hot rice and Varan (Daal) or Jeermeerya Kadi for a hearty yet light dinner!

Pictures depicting the cooking process….