From the orchards of New Zealand comes the Kiwi. Also known as the Chinese gooseberry, this exotic fruit has been a huge favourite with the Indian palate, especially in desserts. However, the fruit has more green power than one knows. A nutritional power house, the fruit is rich in antioxidants and potassium (helps in improve the heart function), folic acid, Vitamin E and carotenoids (which help reduce deterioration of eye sight) and trace minerals. In fact it has twice the Vitamin C content of oranges and five times more nutrients compared to apples.
Women also gain a few extra positives from the fruit; it increases the iron content in their body and helps develop the foetus. For blood pressure and cholesterol patients, Kiwi reduces the blood platelet aggregation and alleviates blood pressure.
As great as the Kiwi sounds, eating it as is may not particularly appeal to many given its sour taste. Instead, try out these recipes crafted by chef Harpal Singh Sokhi of Zespri, the exporter of the fruit from New Zealand.
Kiwi Phirini
Serves six
Ingredients:
* Kiwifruit 6 nos
* Sugar half cup
* Basmati rice 60 gms
* Milk 1 litre
* Green cardamom powder ¼ teaspoon
* Chopped Pistachio 3 Tablespoons
Method
* Make pulp of the fruit, leaving one for garnish
* Blanch two tablespoons of pistachios and grind to a fine paste
* Soak basmati rice for 15 minutes and grind to a coarse powder
* In a pan, pour sugar and add the kiwi pulp, cook together until very thick, this would take roughly about 15 minutes. Set aside to cool to room temperature
* In a sauce pan boil milk until reduced to almost half
* Now add the coarsely ground rice and cook until the mixture turns thick and the rice is cooked, this would roughly take about 10-12 minutes
* Add the pistachio paste and cook further for about two minutes
* Remove and cook to room temperature stirring all the time
* Now mix the kiwi pulp into the rice mixture and mix well
* Set in individual earthenware pots
* Garnish with chopped pistachio and kiwi slices
* Serve Chilled
Tandoori Kiwi Chicken Tikka
Serves four
Ingredients
* Boneless leg of chicken 4
* Juice of one lime
* Green chilli paste ½ teaspoon
* Ginger and garlic paste 1 Tablespoon
* Kiwi pulp 2
* Chopped fresh coriander 2 Tablespoon
* Chopped mint leaves 1 Tablespoon
* Green chilli 1
* Black pepper corns crushed ¼ teaspoon
* Yoghurt ¼ cup
* Gram flour 1 Tablespoon
* Roasted Jeera powder ¼ teaspoon
* Black salt ¼ teaspoon
* Salt to taste
* Garam masala powder 1 teaspoon
For Garnish
* Pickled beetroot
* Roasted Onions
* Kiwi Fruit
Method
* Cut one and half inch cubes of kiwi, clean, wash and pat dry
* Marinate the chicken cubes with lemon juice, green chilli paste, ginger and garlic paste and salt to taste. Set aside for twenty minutes.
* In a pan, pour two tablespoons of oil and add gram flour, sauté for about three minutes or until light browned.
* In a blender, grind together coriander, mint, green chilli and kiwi pulp to fine paste
* Now a in a bowl mix together, roasted gram flour, kiwi pulp, yoghurt, crushed black pepper, jeera powder, black salt, salt to taste, garam masala powder, add the marinated chicken and set aside for about 30 minutes
* Skewer the chicken and grill it either in a tandoor or in an oven at 180 deg C for about 12 mins, turning one in between and basting the chicken pieces at least once
* When done remove in a platter, garnish with pickled beetroot, roasted onions and kiwi fruit. The standard portion for Tandoori chicken tikka is 160 gms (raw weight)