AFAM: Pear Koshimbir

Hardly one day away from the deadline and I still hadn't made up my mind about what to make for this event. Just happened to wonder in front of GM about this & he immediately suggested the Koshimbir! Now why doesn't he have these brainwaves when I ask him what to make for lunch/dinner? For me cooking is not a task, I enjoy it, but thinking of the menu everyday is somewhat tiresome. But yesterday my problem was solved in an instant! So the credit for this one goes to GM!

Pear, also called Nashpati back in India, is a nutritious juicy fruit full of fiber. They are available in a lot of varieties ranging from the hard or soft pulp to sweet or tangy tasting. I selected the hard ones with a tangy taste for this koshimbir. Since most of the fiber content lies in the skin I did not peel the pear and only chopped it finely.

Ingredients:
1 Pear (remove the seeds & chop finely)
Half a tomato (finely chopped)
1 green chili (finely chopped)
finely chopped coriander
1 tsp roasted peanut powder
1-2 tsp curd

1/2 tsp sugar
salt

For the seasoning:
1 tsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1-2 pinches hing (asafoetida)

Method:
Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. The peanut powder gives it a nutty taste and also helps to bind everything together since the pear will let out water once salt & sugar are added.

In a small pan heat the oil for seasoning & add the mustard seeds. Once they start spluttering add the hing & turn off the fire. Add this to the Koshimbir and mix properly.



I served this with Veg Biryani and the combination was awesome. The sweet/tangy koshimbir complimented the spicy Biryani very well.

The details of the Biryani will follow, but for now this Koshimbir is off to Raaga of The Singing Chef for the AFAM Pear event.