Nasuha Blog

With the summers comes the stone fruits and I get obsessed with cooking and baking with them. This obsession is not irrational as you just get a few days to enjoy these and then have to wait for an entire year for them to come back. So please bear with the upcoming recipes which will be featuring a lot of stone fruits :)
Made this not so common combination a few days back and it was loved by all in the family. The sweet and tangy plums gives a characteristic flavor to the gravy which goes very well with the spicy mutton. This recipe need both dried plums and fresh plums but if fresh plums are not available, you can add a few teaspoons of lemon juice.The thing that you should always keep in mind while cooking with plums is to add them at the end of cooking. If they are added in between, they make the gravy a bit bitter. Here is how I made this curry.

This recipe goes to the Kitchen Aid Contest organised by IFBM, the first f it's kind, food Blogger's meet that is happening in Bangalore.


All you need is

Oil - 3 tbsp and for frying onions
Ghee - 2 tbsp
Onion - 2 cups ( Finely chopped )
Cloves - 2-3
Black cardamom - 2
Cinnamon stick - 2 inch piece
Black peppercorns - 4-5
Mutton - 500 g
Yogurt - 1\4 cup
Ginger garlic paste - 2 tsp
Kashmiri red chili powder - 2 tsp
Coriander powder - 2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1\2 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1\2 tsp
Salt to taste
Dried plums - 100 g ( I used Del Monte's California prunes )
Fresh plum - 1 ( cut into thick wedges )
Fresh coriander for garnishing


Method of preparation

Coarsely puree the dried plums using a chopped.
Heat 3-4 cups of oil in a heavy bottom pan.
When the oil is hot, add the onion.
Fry the onion till they are golden brown.
Keep stirring in between for uniform browning of onions.
Drain the browned onion on a tissue lined plate.
Transfer the remaining oil in a vessel and keep for future use.
Add 3 tbsp oil and 2 tbsp ghee in a pressure pan.
Add cloves, black cardamom, cinnamon and peppercorn.
Fry for 20 seconds.
Add mutton and fry on high heat till slightly browned. ( approx 5 minutes )
Mix yogurt, ginger garlic paste, fried onions, kashmiri red chili powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, garam masala powder and salt in a bowl.
Add it in the pressure pan.
Add a cup of water and pressure cook till mutton is done.
Let the pressure pan cool completely.
Open the pan and add the fresh plum wedges and coarsely chopped dried plums.
Adjust the water and let it come to a boil.
Simmer for 2-3 minutes.
Switch off the heat.
Garnish with fresh coriander.
Serve hot with rice or Naan.

The only perks of India summers in my humble opinion is the availability of stone fruits. Pears, peaches, cherries, plums and to top them all Mangoes. Plump and juicy, this saffron beauty has made it's royal entry in the vegetable and fruits stores and piles after piles of different varieties tempt me even more to come back home with a few bags full of this king of fruits. Churned into a shake for breakfast, grilled on a grill and served with some whipped cream for dessert or cut into slices to snack on any time of the day and my summers are good. The newest addition to my mango mania is this Mango and Avocado salsa. All it takes is 5 minutes to chop the mangoes, avocado, onion and tomatoes and you have a brilliant snack ready.

There is a lot of entertaining happening at my place off late and this salsa has become my favorite snack option. It goes really well with nachos or any other crackers and is a breeze to make. Here is how to make this delicious salsa.


All you need is

Mango - 1 cup ( peeled and cubed into small pieces )
Avocado - 1 cup ( skin removed and cubed into small pieces )
Onion - 1\2 cup ( finely chopped )
Tomato - 1\2 cup ( Finely chopped )
Fresh coriander - 2 tbsp ( chopped )
Green chili - 1  ( finely chopped )
Salt to taste
Lemon juice - 2 tsp



Method of preparation

Mix all the ingredients gently in a bowl.
Serve immediately with nachos or any other crackers.

You can also make this salsa  1-2 hours prior to serving. In that case, do not add salt and lemon juice and keep the salsa in an airtight container in refrigerator. Add salt and lemon juice just before serving.