RUSTIC GUACAMOLE

On one of my visits to United States of America I had the opportunity to taste the most outstandingly, amazingly delicious, freshly made Guacamole. Lovely chunky gorgeous looking Guacamole.
At this noisy restaurant, where bringing along children seemed to be a crime, I saw this handsome young man come to my table and create the most awesome guacamole ever made. Always ready to learn, I found it very tough to keep my eyes on the guacamole.

But my penchant for learning finally held on and here's what I learnt:
Handsome men can make fabulous guacamole.
They have handsome men cooking food at open-kitchen restaurants so that you gape at them and not at the food they are cooking, so you never learn their tricks.
But I beat them to it and learnt how to make it, all the while asking unrelated questions thus keeping him at my table for as long as I could.



rustic guacamole



Avocados are rich in vitamin K, E and B vitamins, has about 485mg (10%of our daily requirement) of potassium which is 35% more than bananas. They have high levels of insoluble fiber, which is about 75% of the total fiber content.

A high energy giver, it contains about 14.66g of fat, 9.8g of which is monounsaturated. It is known to decrease the LDL and triglyceride levels and increase HDL levels.

It seems to be an ideal food for athletes as a diet low in potassium can cause cramping of the muscles.

Potassium and sodium go hand in hand. More potassium in the diet increases the amount of sodium excreted from the body which is what is required to reduce hypertension.

Vice-versa is true too. More sodium in the diet will increase the excretion of potassium from the body. So beware.

Sodium is added to processed foods and Potassium is not hence it is wise to reduce their intake.

Potassium is easy to get from natural food sources such as milk, yogurt, apricots, cantaloupe, dates, honeydew melon, nectarines, prunes, raisins and of course potato, banana and avocado.

Choosing the right avocado for guacamole can be tricky for people who don't get this fruit readily. It is a fruit native to Mexico and is cultivated in tropical and Mediterranean climates though now is readily available in grocery stores in most parts of the world.

.Look for a dark green fruit that is not shiny. Bright green and shiny fruit is not ripe. The fruit should

 not have dark patches or spots.

.When pressed with fingers it should give in just a little. A hard fruit is not ripe enough and the one

 that gives in a little too much i.e. a soft and squishy fruit is too ripe or may be damaged.

.Finally, if possible get a tree-ripened fruit for best results. This is possible only if they are locally
 grown.


RUSTIC GUACAMOLE

Ingredients:
gives 2 1/2 cups

.Avocado....................................................3, gives about 2 cups of pulp
.Ripe Tomato..............................................1/2 cup, finely chopped
.Red onion...................................................1/2 cup, finely chopped
.Green chili(Serrano or bird's eye)..............2
.Lime juice...................................................1 1/2 Tbsp.
.Garlic.........................................................1 large clove (gives about 1tsp. of crushed garlic)
.Salt.............................................................to taste, approximately 3/4 tsp. or a little more
.Roasted cumin seed powder.......................1/2 tsp.
.Black pepper powder (freshly crushed).....1 tsp.
.Tabasco sauce.............................................8 drops
.Coriander leaves........................................1/4th cup, finely chopped



exotic rustic guacamole

 Method:
.Chop the tomato, onion and coriander leaves.
.In a mortar and pestle crush the garlic and salt into a fine paste.
.Add to it the green chili, onion, tomatoes and half the coriander leaves and crush lightly (just smash) to
 release the juices but take care not to make a paste.
.Cut a ripe avocado lengthwise into half. Twist and pull apart.
.Dig in the pointed edge of a knife into the round hard seed and pull to remove it.
.Using a spoon scoop out the pulp and add to the onion, tomato mixture and lightly mash into a chunky
 mash.
.Add the lime juice, black pepper powder, roasted cumin seed powder and the remaining coriander
 leaves and mix well.
.Cover with a plastic wrap till you serve.
.Serve in the mortar for a rustic look or in the avocado shell.

 Note:
.Always make the guacamole just before serving as avocado when exposed to air turns brown.
.Addition of lime juice is therefore very essential as it prevents the browning.
.I like to use the bird's eye chili for this preparation as it is easily available in the part of the world that
 I live in, though you can use any sharp chili depending on availability and your choice. Bird's eye chili
 is a tiny power-packed chili that can knock you off if you add just 1 tsp. of it chopped finely.
.The onion and tomato are just crushed to release their flavour. Just whack them once so they don't lose
  shape.
.While making a paste of garlic, onion tomatoes, coriander or any such thing using a mortar and
  pestle add a little salt as it gives the required friction and hastens the process of pasting.