Pineapple Gojju / Vetha Kozhambu

MMmmmmm. Just saying the word Gojju / Vetha Kozhambu makes my mouth water. This dish is a nice blend of sweet, sour and spice along with the flavor of the vegetable or in this case the fruit in it.

Typically the main ingredient in gojju is tamarind for that sour taste but I have skipped tamarind in this recipe because pineapple already has the sour taste to it. Hence the cooking time is also reduced as you don't have to boil the tamarind water to remove the raw flavor.

The first time I tasted this dish was in a temple in India fell in love with it instantly but forgot all about it until recently had a taste of it again in a temple in New Jersey. Well after a lot of trails and errors I finally hit the Jackpot and discovered this amazing recipe. Now I am proud to post this on my blog by popular demand from friends and family. Enjoy!!!!

Ingredients

Dole Crushed Pineapple - 1 tin

Coriander seeds - 1 tsp

Methi seeds - 1/2 tsp

Urad dal - 1/2 tsp

Sesame seeds - 6 tsps

Coconut dry - 3 tsps

Red Chillies - 4 (adjust as per taste)

Curry Leaves, salt, hing, mustard seeds, oil

Method

Dry roast coriander seeds, Methi seeds, Urad dal, Sesame Seeds and Red Chillies seperately. Let it cool. Add coconut to this and grind to a fine paste. Now take oil in a pan, add mustard seeds, when it splutters add hing and curry leaves. Add the paste try not to add water as the gravy need to be a little thick, add salt and turmeric powder and mix well. To this add the crushed pineapple and mix . Bring it to a boil and switch off the gas it need not cook for long. Serve hot with plain rice and a dollap of ghee on top.

Variation:

You can also make this recipe using Raw Mangoes instead of Pineapple. The only difference is peel and cut the mango in 1 inch cubes and cook it seperately in water with Jaggery, salt and turmeric added to it till it is soft and then follow the above recipe. This recipe was given to me by co-sister Roopa who is also a great cook and never tires experimenting with new dishes.