Bimbli Mosaru Gujju Recipe | Simple and Easy Bimbli Recipe

Learn how to make sweet and sour Bimbli Mosaru Gojju ~ Bimbli in sweet and spicy yogurt sauce

Year 2014 came and went by in the blink of an eye. A lot of things happened in 2014; many exciting things, many stressful events, and a whole new beginning. 2014 was the year where many life changing events happened in our lives. We uprooted our lives from a place that had become our home and moved to a place which we hope to make a home that we all love. It’s not been an easy year to say the least, but we never settled for anything less adventurous.

Bimbli or Bilimbi or Bimpuli

Happy New Year dear readers who still patiently wait to read my rants! With my blog posts becoming so sporadic, I am not surprised to see dwindling readership to this almost abandoned blog. With my life getting maddeningly busy with things that are out of my control, the blog has to take a back seat. As much as I want to replenish my recipe repertoire and breath some life into this blog, the lack of motivation and writer’s block, which seems to have made a comfortable permanent home in my so-called creative side of the brain, are enough reasons to almost abandon this much loved part of my life! On top of that, the never ending personal task list and unrealistic deadline I have set for personal commitments in real life is keeping me away from virtual world.

In spite of everything, the sincere need to blog made me push myself and return to this space which has always brought joy into my otherwise routine life. So I rummaged through the photographs I had taken months ago and found few I wanted to share with you all. They are not some fancy recipes, but something that are close to my heart because of their simplicity and authenticity.

One such recipe is this simple sweet and sour Bimbli Mosaru Gojju, an heirloom recipe from my the treasure chest of my grandmother. Recipes like this Bimbli Mosaru Gojju have been passed down from generation to generation, a treasure that needs be saved for the posterity. Recipes like these make me come back here and blog. Recipes like these bring greatest joy to my life which I want to share with you all.

Bimbli (Averrhoa bilimbi) is multi-lobed, oblong fruit with a pale green waxy skin and crunchy but watery flesh, very similar to the star fruit, although the flesh is much more acidic. A pretty, usually small or medium sized tree growing to 15-30ft. The leaves are borne on leaflets often containing several dozen smaller leaf-pairs, which close together at night. Flowers bloom from the trunk, often in great number toward the bottom of the tree. Fruits follow, and a single tree often produces hundreds and hundreds of fruits.

Known as Bimbli, Bilimbi, bimbiri, Irumban Puli, Chemmeen Puli, Bimbul, Orkkaapuli, Bimblin or Pulinchi, it is one of the common fruit grown in almost every home in the coastal regions of Karnataka. With its sharp, tongue tickling taste, it is used in Konkan cuisine as a sour agent. I have literally grown eating tender Bimbli sprinkled with little salt and red chilli powder almost everyday. When short of tamarind or other souring agents, Amma simply would replace them with Bimbli as they are available throughout the year. Bimbli is used in making simple Tambli, sweet and sour Gojju, instant pickle and also as souring agent in simple Dal, Saaru/Rasam.

The recipe for Bimbli Mosaru Gojju is really simple and easy to make. Although just a handful of ingredients are used in making this gojju, it is definitely one of the most complex tasting dishes! Sourness from bimbli, sweetness from jaggery and a kick of spice from the green chillies, this Bimbli Mosaru Gojju redefines the the concept of less is more! So without much delay, let’s make some simple Bimbli Mosaru Gojju which is sure to tingle your taste buds.

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Bimbli Gojju (Tangy Bilimb or Bimpuli in sweet yogurt sauce)
Prep Time: 5 mins
Cooking Time: 10 mins
Recipe Level: Easy/Beginner
Spice Level: Low to Medium
Serves: 3-4 people
Shelf Life: Can be refrigerated for 2-3 days
Serving Suggestion: With rice or with chapatti

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Ingredients:
12-15 Bimbli
2-3 heaped tbsp Jaggery, grated (Adjust as per taste)
1 small Onion, finely chopped
1-2 Green Chillies, finely chopped or slit
2½-3 cups Yogurt
Salt to taste

For Tadka:
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
1 Dry Red Chilli, cut into 2-3 pieces
½ tsp Oil (Preferably coconut oil)

Method:

1. Take bimbli in a pan and add just enough water to cover their surface. Cook them covered on a medium flame until they become soft and mushy and change their colour as shown in the picture above.
2. Drain all the water and mash the bimbli into pulp and keep it aside to cool down to room temperature.
3. Add jaggery to the yogurt and whisk it until it is dissolved. Mix in finely chopped onion, green chillies, mashed bimbli and salt to taste. Add more jaggery if you find the gojju too sour for your taste.
4. Heat oil in a tadka pan and add mustard seeds and dry red chillies. Transfer the tadka to the Bimbli Mosaru Gojju when mustard seeds starts to pop and splutter.
5. Chill the Bimbli Mosaru Gojju in refrigerator before serving it with rice. Enjoy

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Sia’s Notes:
Use the raw bimbli for making this gojju.
Adjust the amount of jaggery as per your taste.