127) BIMBLA NONCHE

BIMBLA NONCHÉ

A KONKANI CUCUMBER TREE FRUIT PICKLE

  

Ingredients:

     1)    Very tender cucumber tree fruit – 700 gm.

     2)    Hot red chili powder – 100 gm.

     3)    Mustard seeds – 150 gm.

     4)    Asafoetida powder – ¼ teaspoon

     5)    Powdered salt – 2½ tablespoons (100 gm.)

To Make:

          Put the mustard seeds into a clean and dry food processor and grind to fine powder. Set aside. The cucumber tree fruit (Bimbul in Konkani, Bilimbi, Chilimbi puli or Irimban puli in Malayalam) should be very young and approximately an inch in length. Cut off the tip with the stem. In case some of the cucumber tree fruit are a little bigger than an inch in size, split those into halves. The smaller ones can be pickled as such.

          Wash them in a solution of 2 litres of clean water with 30 ml. of vinegar. This will get rid of the stickiness in the skin of the fruit and the fruit will be ultra clean. Drain and put the cucumber tree fruit in an airtight glass jar. Tip in the chili powder, the powdered salt, the mustard powder and the asafoetida powder.

          Close the lid and shake the jar well to mix the powder with the fruit. Pour in enough drinking water to just submerge the fruit. Close the lid and shake again. Let rest for 2 days for the salt and the spices to penetrate the fruit and also for the fruit juice to leech into the pickle.

          Enjoy with rice, roasted idlis, unndis, shevai (rice noodles), bakris or pathiris.

Mouthwatering bimbla nonché with roasted Idlis