Pineapple Menaskai

I love to eat fresh pineapple. It is sweet, juicy, healthy and delicious. When Maheshwari of Beyond The Usual chose this tropical fruit for this month’s AFAM I was overjoyed. With it came the confusion as what to cook. I didn’t want to cook any sweet dish of pineapple as most of my blogger buddies have cooked almost all the recipes available. So here I am with my recipe of Pineapple Menaskai which is my all time favourite dish.
Menaskai is a sweet, tangy and spicy side dish which is usually served during any family functions and weddings in my native. The main 3 ingredients in menaskai are coconut, red dry chillies and jaggery and depending on seasonal availability, bitter gourd or mango or pineapple are used to make it.

Pineapple Menaskai

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Pineapple Menaskai
Prep Time: 5-10 mins
Cooking Time: 10-15 mins
Serves: 3-4

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Ingredients:
2 cups Pineapple
¾ cup Coconut
2 tbsp Sesame
4-5 Dry Red Chillies
1 marble sized Tamarind
1-2 tbsp Jaggery
1 tbsp Oil
Salt to taste
For Seasoning:
1 tbsp Oil
1 tsp Mustard
1 Dry Red Chillies
Few Curry Leaves

Pineapple Menaskai

Method:
Peel the outer skin of pineapple and dice them into 1 cm squares.
Cook them with 1½ cups of water, tamarind, jaggery and salt to taste.
Cook pineapple till it becomes soft in medium flame.
In a mean while, take a pan and dry roast sesame till it turns golden and keep it aside.
Take a tbsp of oil and sauté broken red chilli and grated coconut till it turns golden.
Grind this coconut, red chilli and sesame to smooth paste adding little water.
Add this ground paste to cooked pineapple and mix well.
Cook this in a medium flame till the gravy starts to boil.
Reduce the flame and cook for further 4-5 minutes till gravy starts thickening.
Season it with mustard, curry leaves and broken red chillies.
Serve hot with rice and enjoy.

Pineapple Menaskai

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Tips:
You can substitute pineapple with bitter gourd or medium ripe mangoes also.
If you are making bitter gourd menaskai, increase the amount of tamarind to lime sized balls to tamper its bitterness.
Adjust the sweetness and spiciness according to your taste.

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Pineapple Menaskai

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Did You Know?
First called “anana”, a Carribean word for “excellent fruit”, the name “pineapple” came from European explorers who thought the fruit looked like a pinecone with flesh like an apple.
The Spanish explorers thought pineapples looked like pinecones, so they called them "Pina." The English added "apple" to associate it with juicy delectable fruits.
Of all the New World discoveries of Columbus, pineapples were the fruits that caused the biggest stir back home.
In a Caribbean rite of manhood, barefoot youths ran through pineapple plantings and were expected to bear the resulting wounds without protest.
Caribbean Indians placed pineapples or pineapple crowns outside the entrances of their homes to symbolize friendship and hospitality.
(Source: www.dole5aday.com)

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Pineapple Menaskai

Ugadi Habbada Haardika Shubashayagalu

Wishing You and Your Family A Happy Ugadi

(Image Source: www.alochana.org)