MS #11: Plum Salsa with homemade Pineapple vinegar

Mexican Series #11: Plum salsa mexicana with home made Pineapple Vinegar

Back home, I once took a summer of salsa(the dance) lessons with my friend S. as a lark. It turned out to be the most fun thing we did in Bangalore. Only through reruns of Seinfeld( remember the double dip?:)) did I stumble upon the fierce chip and dip American culture. After we started hitting the gym this summer, we had to bid a teary farewell to all our deep fried friends and welcome low fat low calorie salsa into our bowls and over our enchiladas :)

The most common salsa is salsa mexicana. Jugalbandi's perfect Tomato Salsa s really a perfect version and their Papaya Green Apple salsa is a colorful fruity version.

While I was going through Diana Kennedy's From my Mexican Kitchen, I came upon an interesting and totally simple recipe for Pineapple Vinegar( All it involves is keeping some pineapple(I used one whole peeled pineapple) and brown sugar in water in a closed bottle in a warm dry place for about a month). Mexican cooking uses mild fruit based vinegars for salsa and pickles of all sorts- the other favorite being Banana Vinegar. When you look at a picture of the pineapple vinegar in progress it looks fairly gross,

DONT WORRY!! This thick glutinous layer is called the 'mother' and it indicates that the vinegar is now ready for use.

I will sign off with the

Plum Salsa Mexicana Recipe :
3 Ripe Plums
1 Peach / Nectarine
1 Small Red Onion
1 Jalapeno( or according to taste)
2 tbsp pineapple vinegar or 1/2 tbsp white vinegar
cilantro leaves
salt to taste

Chop in to fairly small pieces, mix all ingredients an hour before use - to let the flavors blend. Serve with tortilla chips or heavily spiced mexican dishes like enchiladas.

Enjoy!