Guava, also known as Peru or Amrood, is one of the most popular winter fruits eaten all over India in different forms and dishes. Guava is a very versatile fruit which is sweet and creamy when ripened. Guava can be turned into different kinds of drinks and ice creams, including mocktails and sherbet too.
There are different kinds of guava, such as Pink guava, Chittidar, Harijha, and Red-Fleshed, exported and home grown in India organically. The varieties of guava differ in the level of sweetness but the taste is very similar to each other.
Guava is traditionally eaten when it is ripe and soft, with a little bit of black pepper and chilli powder sprinkled on top. But certain dishes are very heavenly for you not to try. Guava may be a fruit but it is very flexible to cook.
There can be different kinds of dishes prepared at different stages of guava ripening. Less ripe ones can be turned into sabji, while over-ripe ones can be eaten as custard and jello, similar to amawat. If you are curious about what other dishes guava can be turned into, then make sure, you are reading below. Get hooked to find out more!
1. Guava Chutney: Guava chutney is a very popular tangy dish prepared with raw guava. It is similar to green chutney with lots of spices and flavours. Whole guava is added to a grinder with coriander leaves, curd, different spices of choice and a little bit of olive oil to prepare a great chutney. One can temper it with cumin seeds and curry leaves. To enhance the kick of the chutney, one can also add chilli flakes and garlic cloves into it.
2. Guava Kheer: Guava Kheer is a very uncommon dish that one can try. It adds to the creaminess of rice pudding with a hint of guava in the dish. With lots of raisins and walnuts, it can be a very elevated dish for one to try out. Over-ripe guava can be cut into thinly sliced pieces and can be served with a bowl of Kheer. To elevate the taste, one can garnish the guava with hot or chilli Honey before adding it to the cold kheer to make the dish more awesome.
3. Guava Custard: If you are making custard and want lots of fruit in it, then you can definitely add guava to your list because guava in custard will not only make it more creamy, but the little seeds of guava will give the custard a little crunch to balance it better. Custard is a sweet dish. Hence, it is not advised to add any sugar sprinkles or honey in guava for garnishing.
4. Guava Sorbet: Guava Sorbet is one of the most simple dishes to make which is elegant and refreshing. Firstly, the guava is to be made into a puree and with a little bit of added sugar and milk, then it is frozen until it has a creamy and hard consistency. You can add different kinds of dry fruits such as walnuts, raisins, cashews, pistachios or frozen berries to garnish it before serving. You can also add honey or chocolate syrup to the sorbet to make the dish feel like a cold, cosy winter breeze.
5. Amrood ki Sabji: You will be shocked to know that there are savoury dishes for guava, too. You can make a sabji with raw guava, which is hard in texture. Firstly, you need to boil the guavas to make it soft and then add regular vegetable spices to make it into a curry with a little bit of vegetable oil. The taste of Amrood ki sabji is very spicy and flavourful, with a kick of garlic-ginger duo and a hint of sweetness from the fruit.
6. Guava Ice-Cream: Similar to sorbet, ice cream can be made from guava puree, lots of milk, and vanilla essence before churning and freezing it. One can have it with lots of chocolate syrup, hot honey, and even different kinds of dry fruits to make the best combination. If someone finds guava ice cream very strong in flavour, they can mix it up with vanilla ice cream or chocolate ice cream for a nice creamy delight.
7. Guava Jello: Guava jello is a simple dish where the guava extracts or puree is made into a jelly with the help of gelatin powder. Guava Jelly can traditionally be made by the same process as mango Jelly, known as amawat. The jelly is very sweet and rubbery to taste. It can also be served as an alternative to Boba while cutting it into bite-size pieces and serving with refreshing drinks.
8. Amrood ka Achaar: Yes, you read that right. Guava can be pickled, too. Unripe guava, which falls from the tree early, can be marinated and fermented for long storage and pickling. The taste of guava pickle is very tangy and rusty with brittle seeds to bite into for crunchiness. The pickle is also very spicy, and it can be served with a hot bowl of fresh rice and dal for a perfect combination.