Guacamole (gwaka – mo – lee) is part of Mexican cuisine that originated with the Aztecs. It essentially means a sauce (mole) made with ahucatyl (avocado). Its popularity spiked with American football games and now it’s a household dip of choice in America! India is just warming up to the idea of guacamole as Mexican cuisine gains popularity. When I was a little kid, my dad used to mash up avocados with sugar and we used to enjoy them chilled. We called it Butter Fruit Ice Cream 🙂 So I am already a big fan!
I love guacamole but it is really difficult to make. The difficulty arises not in the process but in the sourcing of ripe avocados. There have been more than a dozen times that I have come home happy with avocados and then been a grouch when I cut into them and realized they are unripe or a brown slimy mess! And seriously there are no failsafe options to figure this out. Every time I cut into an unripe avocado, I have rushed back to the computer and trawled Google for an answer. Wrap it in a brown paper bag to ripen it…store it with ripe bananas to get it soft…place it on a hot oven to ripen it…let the outer skin turn brown…let it rest in a cool dark place…so on and so forth! But none of these things have helped and I continue to be sorely disappointed every time I have to throw a fruit away (and they don’t come cheap!).
This time the story as usual repeated itself. I looked at one fruit – it looked suitably ripe (slightly yielding in some places). I cut it open – voila, perfect avocado. My guacamole was going to be made! Then with the spiked confidence, I cut into the other one and as soon as I slipped my knife in – I knew it was a lost cause. Hard, unyielding fruit! (You get a tummy ache if you eat unripe avocados) You win some you lose some right? Sigh…
P.S. Found this tip later on the net. Check for ripeness by gently pressing on the outside of the avocado. If there is no give, the avocado is not ripe and will not taste good. If there is a little give, the avocado is ripe. If there is a lot of give, the avocado may be past its prime and not good. In this case, taste test before using.
Guacamole
Prep time: 10 mins
Makes: 1 bowl
What you need:
1 Avocado, ripe
½ Onion, chopped
1-2 cloves crushed Garlic
1 large Tomato, chopped
1 Lime, juice freshly squeezed
1/4 cup chopped Cilantro
1 Green Chilli, chopped
Salt to taste
What to do:
Slice the avocado vertically around the pit. Remove the seed and the pulp from the shell using a spoon. Mash the pulp roughly with a fork. (I like some chunky bits). Squeeze lemon juice in and season with salt. Now add the chopped onion, chilli, garlic and cilantro. Mix well and cover with cling wrap directly on the surface to prevent oxidation. Refrigerate before serving. I like to mix in the tomatoes just before serving else they bleed water and thin out the consistency of the guacamole. Serve with some chips or use as a sandwich filling along with some grilled chicken.
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