Guacamole

The first time I heard about Guacamole was when I was seeing my brother's party pics held in the US. In that he had boldly displayed the names of all the various dishes on display such as CHAKLI, BESAN LADOO, GUACAMOLE etc.

My passion towards international cuisine and interest to learn more & more recipes helped me to know more about this exciting dip. That is also when I realised that butterfruit is also known as "AVOCADO".

After this during my Master's in Food & Nutrition, we went to attend a conference on 'New trends in food packaging", where I felt very proud to introduce my fellow batch mates to this exotic looking fruit, Avocado.

The first ever chance I got to actually prepare it was after we returned from our Goa trip from where I bought them along. But to my horror, I didn't know how to check the ripeness of the fruit & there i cut it into two halves only to realise , I couldn't scoop it as I had observed Nigella Lawson doing it. But I thought of running it in the mixie with the rest of the ingredients only to have ruined the whole fruit and the Accessories..

This time in Kodaikanal, I was hell bent on buying a fully ripe one & was happy to my heart's content to find out - YESSSSSSSSSSSS, I can scoop it...

So here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

 Avocado chunks - 200gms ( scooped and mashed )

Garlic cloves       -  2-3 ( minced or pressed )

Jalapenos            -  3 -4 ( drained and rinsed )

Tomato               -  1 ( chopped )

Hot & sour sauce - 1 tsp 

Lime juice            - 2 tsp

Salt                     - as per taste

Method:

1. Mash the scooped avocado nicely  and check there are no big chunks left.

2. Mix in the salt, garlic, lime juice, jalapenos, tomato and the sauce into the mashed avocado and mix well.

3. Serve with nachos, breadsticks or veggie fingers.

Chinese Noodles

Ingredients:

Bean threads - 100 gms
Mushrooms - 1/4 cup
Pokchoy - 1/4 cup
Capsicum - 1/4 cup
Bamboo shoots - 2-3 slices
Baby corn - 3 no.
Carrots - 1 small
Ginger julienne 1 tsp
Garlic - 1 tsp
Onions - 2 tbsp
Soy sauce- 1 tsp
Vinegar - 1 tsp
Chinese cooking wine - 1 tbsp
Chilli sauce - 1tsp
Sesame oil - 3 tsp
Corn starch - 2 tsp
Salt & pepper to taste

Method:

1. Cook bean threads as per instruction with salt and oil. Keep aside.
2. Heat sesame oil and when hot add garlic, onions ginger and sautetill transparent. Now add carrots, baby corn, capsicum and cook till tender but still firm.
3. Add mushrooms, pokchoy and saute for 2 -3 minutes.
4. Add chinese cooking wine, soy sauce, chilli sauce,vinegar and 1 cup water and cook for 2 minutes.
5. Add 1 tsp cornstarch to thicken the sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste.
6. Take a serving bowl, put the cooked bean threads in it and pour the sauce over it and serve hot.