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Gluten Free Sauces & Condiments Vegetarian

How To Make Apple Kuchela.

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I did it again.. Apple Kuchela, that iconic spicy condiment enjoyed with curry dishes, traditionally made with green mangoes in the Caribbean. While almost identical to the original recipe I shared about 10 years ago, you will find more tips and explanations in the video below than when I first posted the recipe.

You’ll Need…

8-10 Apples (see note below)
1 teaspoon salt
Hot Peppers (crushed)
10-15 cloves garlic (crushed)
4-5 tablespoon Anchar Masala
1 cup veg oil (adjust)

Notes! I used Granny Smith (green) apples (explained in the video below), however any tart/firm apple will work. Kuchela is basically a SPICY condiment (side) you enjoy predominantly with curry dishes, so I used 8-12 Wiri Wiri peppers (I didn’t have Scotch Bonnets on hand). Feel free to use any spicy peppers you like or can access. Finally, remember to wear gloves when handling hot peppers and wash your hands with soap and water immediately after.

May I recommend that you wash the apples you use really well as many in the grocery stores may have a protective wax on them. Or you can buy organic apples which are not normally dipped in that wax (still wash well). Then all you have to do is grate then into shreds.

Yes, it will go discolored (explained in the video below) so don’t fret. It’s time to now squeeze most (if not all) the juice from grated apples (use a cheese cloth to assist if you want) and place it on a baking sheet. That sheet is then placed in direct sun to further dry. The goal is to have grated apples which will soak-up the flavor ingredients we’ll add later. I placed the sheet on the hood of my car in the direct sun, as the radiant heat sped-up the drying process.

It will take between 2-3 hours. If it’s not sunny outside, place the tray in a low oven for a few hours.

You may use a food processor or blender for the next step, but I opted for my mortar and pestle. Add the salt, (it will act as an abrasive) garlic and peppers and crush. You can go until smooth or chunky as in my case.

In a (cold) wide pan, add the vegetable oil and the crushed mixture. Turn the heat to low and gently bring up to a simmer. Cook on that gentle simmer for 3-4 minutes (basically to flavor the oil and to cook out some of the rawness). Turn off the stove now.

Add the dried grated apples to the pot, followed by the anchar masala (check online or your fav Caribbean grocers) and stir well.

It’s now time to get your clean glass containers ready to fill up with this wicked Apple Kuchela. I store mine in the kitchen cupboard and it keeps for months.

Remember to adjust the salt and add more oil should you find that it’s overly dry. Use an oil that’s low in flavor as it will affect the flavor of the finished Kuchela. Feel free to use a dehydrator if you have access to one to dry the grated apples.

Sauces & Condiments Vegetarian

Picante Mango Kuchela.

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My first memory of mango kuchela goes way back to my childhood, when I first had kuchela flavored with mustard oil, along with dhal, rice and fry dry (small herrings or sardines fried very dry until crispy). The memory of that mustard oil clearing my sinus still haunts me and to this day.. I’m still to try anything with mustard oil after that experience. This is the reason why in this mango kuchela there’s no use of mustard oil as in some traditional recipes.

This mango kuchela is one of those spicy condiments you’d get served on popular street food, such as doubles and aloo pies (deep fried dough stuffed with seasoned mashed potato) and versatile enough to accompany many curry dishes at dinner.

 

You’ll Need…

3 green mangoes
1 teaspoon salt
4 cloves garlic
3 tablespoon amchar massala
3/4 cup veg oil
2 scotch bonnet peppers

Notes: Try to get really green mango (skin and flesh), which will be very sour or tart. I stared with 3/4 cup of oil, but you may need about 1/2 cup more as it’s important that the entire jar (when storing) of the kuchela is covered with the oil. The oil can be used to drizzle onto food as well, as it will be well flavored. The 2 scotch bonnet peppers are used as a starting point, so feel free to add more as you’d like. The same can be said about the amchar massala…so add more if you want your finished mango kuchela to be darker and packed with more flavor.

The first thing we need to do is peel and wash the mangoes. Use a potato peeler or sharp paring knife and remove the outer skin off the mangoes. Don’t go too deep or you’ll be wasting the mango! When shopping for the green mangoes, be sure to get ones that’s firm (hard), no blemishes and if you were to knock them against something, they should give a solid sound (like a rock).

Next up, get your box grater and with some care, grate the mangoes. Remember there’s a seed in the middle of the mango, so be prepared when you get close to it. Discard this seed.

The grated mango will have a lot of moisture in it, so we’ll have to get rid of as much as we can. That moisture (what I was told) is what causes the mango kuchela to go bad fast, so we have to remove as much as we can. Using one of Caron’s new kitchen towels, I placed a heap of the grated mango in the center.. then used some elbow grease to squeeze out as much liquid as I could (see video below).

I recall as a kid my mom and grandma always having a galvanize (metal sheet) when mango was in season, covered with grated mango in the sun drying. It had that sort of musty scent, you’d also get when they were making mango amchar. Now it’s time to spread the grated mango onto a cookie sheet and allow to air dry for a few hours. If you’re blessed with Caribbean sunshine, make use of it and place it out in the sun. WARNING! Don’t place in the oven on low heat as I thought would be clever. The end result is parched mango, which will not work for this.

The next step (as the mango air-dries) is to puree the pepper and garlic. I used the entire pepper.. including the dreaded seeds, as I wanted the raw heat in this mango kuchela. I used  my magic bullet, but you’re cool using a blender or a mortar and pestle. I know it may be hard, but try not to use any liquid in the blending process (puree). I ended up shaking my magic bullet a few times during the process to move the contents around. BTW, I gave the garlic and scotch bonnet peppers (feel free to use any hot pepper you have or like) a rough chop to make it easier to puree.

After about 3 hrs (overnight may be best) of air drying the grated mango should be ready now. So the next step is to place a sauce pan on medium/low heat, add the vegetable oil (don’t allow it to heat yet) and add the pureed pepper and garlic mix to it.  If you add the puree to hot oil, it will splatter and give of a very strong (peppery) scent. Now allow the oil/pepper mixture to heat up and on medium/low heat, allow to cook for about 5 minutes.

Empty the dried grated mango into a bowl, then add the salt and amchar massala and give it a good stir. With the peppered oil mixture cooled, add that as well. Make sure to mix the entire batch of mango kuchela well.

Place in a dry bottle or container and it will keep for a few weeks. Additionally you can store this in the fridge for a couple months at least. When stored in the fridge be prepared for it to loose some of it’s heat. If storing on your kitchen cupboard, ensure that the mango is covered with oil. To add more oil.. heat (on high) vegetable oil, then allow to cool completely.. then add to the jar to cover the mango kuchela.

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