Cherry Umman
Delicious hot and sour acerola cherry dipping curry, prepared the Konkani way.
Servings
15servings
Cook Time
15minutes
Servings
15servings
Cook Time
15minutes
Ingredients
  • 500gm acerola cherries(ripe)
  • 35gm medium hot green chilies
  • 1sprig curry leaves
  • 15ml coconut oil
  • 2gm mustard seeds
  • 1gm fenugreek seeds
  • 15gm Kashmiri chili powder
  • 1gm turmeric powder
  • 1gm asafoetida powder
  • 20gm salt
  • 500ml water
Instructions
  1. Put the cherries in a curry vessel or sauce pan.
  2. Slit the green chilies lengthwise on one side and tip them in.
  3. Add the chili powder, the turmeric powder and the salt.
  4. Pour in the water and set on high heat.
  5. As soon as the curry comes to a boil, lower the heat and cover partially with a lid.
  6. Stir occasionally and let the cherries cook for 5 minutes. Now switch off the heat.
  7. Set a skillet on low heat. Pour in the coconut oil and throw in the mustard seeds.
  8. As soon as the mustard seeds are about to finish crackling, throw in the fenugreek seeds.
  9. As the fenugreek seeds start bursting, pull the curry leaves off their sprigs and put them in.
  10. Tip in the asafoetida powder and switch off the heat.
  11. Stir once and empty the contents of the skillet into the curry. Stir and cover with a lid to trap the flavors.
  12. Your ultra-delicious, hot and tangy cherry umman is ready to serve. Enjoy with hot boiled cassava (see note), with baked potatoes or with dosas, or just as a side dish to rice.
Recipe Notes

To boil 2 kilos of cassava (chendan kappa in Malayalam), wash, peel, wash again, drain and chop roughly into chunks of around 5  cm (2-inches) size. Put them in a pressure cooker. Pour in enough water to completely immerse the chunks. Tip in 15 gm. of salt, put on the lid and set on high heat. As soon as you hear the first whistle, lower the heat and continue to cook for 5 minutes. Switch off the heat and let the steam cool and subside naturally. Open the cooker and drain off the broth. Serve the hot cassava with delicious cherry umman and enjoy!