The very satisfying feeling of picking fresh vegetables from the garden and cooking them is priceless. When I visited my aunt, she told me she has lots of gooseberries in the backyard that needs to be picked. She said, “if you don’t pick them, they will just go to waste.” So we picked some gooseberry. “Mmmm…what should I do with a bag full of American gooseberry,” I thought to myself. Then the idea came to my mind. I should make some chammanthi like the Indian gooseberry. That is how this American gooseberry chammanthi was created, and I’m proud of this recipe.
Unlike Indian gooseberry, this gooseberry is very small. Indian gooseberry grows on a tree like cherries, American gooseberries grow on a plant. It is also native to Europe, the Caucasus, northern Africa, and found in scattered locations in North America. This gooseberry is rich in vitamin C, dietary fiber, Potassium, vitamin A, and many other vitamins and minerals. Chammanthi is a quick and easy curry to make, and there is no cooking involved. Since the gooseberry is very sour, you don’t need a lot of berries to get the flavor. Gooseberry, combined with shallots, jalapeño pepper, coconut, and curry leaves all make the perfect chammanthi. Gooseberry chammanthi with some warm rice makes a healthy meal.
Cuisine: Kerala
Course: Side dish
Prep Time: 5-10 minutes
Cook time: 0 min
Servs: 4-6
Ingredients
1 cup gooseberry, stem and end hair removed
1 cup grated coconut
3-4 shallot, skinned
1 jalapeno pepper or big green chile
1 small piece ginger, peeled
1 sprig curry leaves, stem removed
1 teaspoon salt
Cooking Directions
1. Pinch out the stem and end hair from the gooseberries.
2. Wash all the ingredients well except coconut
3. Put all the ingredients into a food processor and grate it well. Gooseberry chammathi is ready to be served as a side dish for rice.
