This is the ultimate Indian sweet and sour dish and I like the idea of fruit being used as if they were vegetables. This quick and easy recipe would be fab served with other Indian dishes, like tandoori chicken or any meat dish or just with basmati rice and a salad. I converted it to vegan, by replacing the curd in the traditional recipe with creamy coconut milk and I think it tastes just as good. About to get my friends Louise and Nicola to test try it for dinner tonight and will get back to you with their verdict.
They loved it and couldn’t get enough of it. I served it with plain boiled basmati rice, poppadums, garlicky raita, homemade onion bhajis (recipe coming soon) and salad.

Recipe

Serves 1 as a main dish, serves 2 as a side dish but you can double or triple the quantities accordingly.

Ingredients:
1 cup of chopped fresh pineapple
1/4 cup of coconut milk (the thick cream bit only)
1 teaspoon of maple syrup
1/4-1/2  teaspoon of chilli powder (depending on how hot you like it, you can add more if you want)
1/4 teaspoon of turmeric powder

For grinding
1/4 cup of desiccated coconut
1 teaspoon of mustard seeds
1 teaspoon of cumin seeds

The finale (optional)
2 teaspoons of coconut oil
1-2 red chillies
1/2 teaspoon of mustard seeds
A few curry leaves

How:
Firstly, peel and core the pineapple, making sure you remove the little eyes too. Cut into cubes. Set aside.
Grind the desiccated coconut, cumin seeds and mustard seeds to a fine powder. I use my coffee grinder but you can use a mortar and pestle or a nutri bullet. Set aside.
In a small pan, gently cook the pineapple with two tablespoons of water for a few minutes. The pineapple will release a lot of its own water. Add a pinch of salt, the maple syrup, turmeric and chilli powder. Continue cooking until the pineapple becomes soft, next add the ground coconut and spice powder and stir through until the sauce thickens.
Add the coconut milk and again stir through for a minute or two then remove from heat. The sauce should be thick and creamy. Spoon onto a plate or bowl.
In a small pan heat the coconut oil and add the mustard seeds, chilli and curry leaves. Fry till the seeds are popping, then tip over the pachardi. I like to serve it with wedges of lime (optional)

I shop at:
Waitrose
Sainsbury’s
Tesco
Lidl