Fruit Pachadi

I’m going to keep this post sort and sweet. My wrist is recovering from a rather painful sprain and though much better, I’m unable to type for very long. So straight to the point of the post. Fruit Pachadi is a traditional yogurt based mildly sweet and spicy savoury side dish from Kerala.  Though it is called Fruit Pachadi, the only fruit used in it are pineapple and dark/ purple grapes. This is usually cooked and served for Sadya (festive lunch), especially wedding feasts, when pineapple and grapes are in season.

A Pachadi is a traditional dish somewhat similar to a chutney but not quite one, from my native Palakkad cuisine. It is a blend of tangy, spicy, savoury and sweet flavours. The tang in Pachadi  can be from either yogurt or tamarind.  The yogurt based Pachadi tends to be milder in spice compared to the tamarind based kind. A tamarind based Pachadi is generally called a Puli Pachadi (Puli is the word for tamarind or sour). That which is yogurt based is known as Thayir Pachadi (Thayir is the word for yogurt). In some parts of Kerala, a Thayir Pachadi is referred to as “Kichadi”. The tang in  or sourness in a Pachadi can come from either the use of tamarind or from yogurt.

Traditional cuisine/ recipes tend to generally use indigenously grown vegetables. These days many of those can be and are substituted with other less traditional but commonly available vegetables. This Fruit Pachadi is pretty much like that, a new twist on the old. Kerala cuisine does not use fruit much with exception of mangoes, plantains and jackfruit when in season. This Pachadi is perhaps the exception. Pineapple farming is a recent trend in Kerala and grapes don’t grow here but come down from other states. Grapes used to be very expensive which is probably why this dish used to be served only at special occasions  usually wedding, feasts. It was rarely made at home. These days though, it is cooked sometimes for Onam or Vishu Sadya.

There are many variations  of this recipe. Some use only tamarind and no yogurt, others use a little yogurt but no tamarind. My version is generous with the yogurt, and has a light golden colour because I add turmeric while cooking the pineapple. So there’s a slight tang from the yogurt and some from the fresh pineapple. The spice/ fire comes from green chillies. The sweet comes from the pineapple, and grapes. Jaggery in the recipe doesn’t add sweetness pre se but is more to balance out excess tang.

Fruit Pachadi is served as a side dish along with rice, Sambhar (a vegetable and lentil gravy dish) and a dry vegetable dish. It can also be served with Chappathi or Parathas instead of Raita.