AFAM & Fresh Produce of the Month :Grapes all the way!

This month’s Fruit is the juicy Grapes…fresh or dried its hard to resist grabbing a handful. I love grapes and always have some at home when its in season.

Green Goddess

Nah I’m not talking about any goddess, that's the name of my drink..don't ask me why :)

You will need

1 ½ cups Green grapes (seedless)
½ cup Milk
1 ½ tbsp sugar
½ tsp Cardamom powder

Place all of the above in a blender and give a good whizz. The grapes should be blended well and you should be left with a semi-thick mixture. Pour into glasses, chill and serve.

When my granny first made this she had us guessing what was in it. We’ve all tasted Black grapes juice, which is very common, but this was the first with green grapes. It tastes just as delicious and a great treat on a hot day!

Grape Chaat

Not all grapes are sweet and the sour ones just make me pucker. I really am not for tart stuff so when I come across sour grapes, I have a good way to eat them.

You will need:

1 cup Grapes (Black and Green)
1/4 tsp Red chilli powder
1/4 tsp Chaat Masala powder
1/4 tsp Salt

Half the grapes, toss them with a salt ,red chilli powder and Chaat Masala you have some great tasting Grape chaat, and the sourness…all gone!

The salt actually helps cut the sourness and you won’t have to fret on not having sweet grapes. This salad can be made with sweet grapes too, the grapes just get better!

Raisins (Onadrakshi) Gojju

In one of my previous posts I had mentioned Pineapple Gojju. Following the same recipe you can substitute Pineapples with soaked boiled Dry grapes (Raisins) and you have Raisins Gojju, a popular dish served at almost every wedding in South Karnataka..

I’m posting the recipe here again.

You will need

1 cup raisins
8-10 Byadagi dry red chillies
2 tbsps Corriander seeds
½ tsp Fenugreek seeds
1 tsp Mustard seeds
¼ tsp Hing
1 tbsp Urad dhal
1 tbsp Chana dhal (kadlebele)
4 tbsps dry coconut gratings
Salt to taste
Oil and ghee
100 gms Jaggery
100 gms Tamarind (soak in water and extract the juice)

Soak the raisins and boil them in hot water.Keep aside. Roast the red chillies, coriander seeds, fenugreek seeds, urad and chana dhal, and coconut gratings each separately in little ghee till fragrant. Grind the roasted ingredients with water, tamarind juice and jaggery to form a rough paste. Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and hing. Now add the boiled pineapple chunks. Add the ground paste, salt, tamarind juice and jaggery, bring to a boil. Add water if required to make a gravy like consistency. Serve with hot steamed white rice and ghee.

These are my entries to "Fresh Produce of the Month:Grapes" at Martha's and A Fruit A Month (AFAM) hosted by Swapna of Swad