Super 'Guacamole' bowl for the 2012 Giants game

Well, the biggest game of the season came to a nail biting finale yesterday and it was a good game between the Giants and the Patriots. I am not a sport fanatic, never played any serious sport during school years. Coming from India, cricket was a way of life especially sandwiched between two brothers that held transistor radio to the ears during the matches. I married into a family where I can very easily call everyone as hard core cricket fans, amma cooks a single pot dish and puts it on the table when India is playing those crucial matches so no-one needs to miss a moment of excitement. BH having played in the varsity games during college and my FIL being the consultant he is have a ton of opinion to give to the entire Indian cricket team every time they play, not that anybody is listening or there is any dearth of opinion :-). I have stayed on the border where I can relish a quick one day or 20-20 but have no patience for the test matches. The cricket fever has reduced over the years as life took over but we like to watch a good game on a diaspora of sports.

Super bowl takes you over if you live in a place with a strong local team which is what happened to us when we were in the Midwest, last few years have seen Indianapolis Colts becoming Champions in 2007 and playing strongly though they lost in 2010. It was a let down to watch the dismal season of Colts this year as they came nowhere close to the big game, however Indianapolis got itself ready for hosting the Superbowl 2012. Honestly, yesterday's game was exciting and worth watching even without the Colts, we decided to support the Giants because of Eli Manning :-).

As Sunday morning turned out busy running errands and also since we had a heavy lunch, I made the super easy, super delicious, super healthy Guacamole with the avocados :-).  

Avocado is a fruit native to Central Mexico and is a super healthy food because of its high mono saturated fat content. It is hailed as nature's butter and has more potassium than bananas and is rich in Vitamins B, E & K. Avocados finds its way into many dishes in my kitchen. This guacamole recipe is my way of recreating our favorite 'Chipotle' at home, this is a crowd pleaser and 'no-guilt' dip that can be made at home in a jiffy. I make this quite often and for no reason. 

What do you need to make Guacamole?

2 ripe avocados - pitted and the flesh scooped

1 small firm, ripe tomato - chopped fine

1/4 red onion - chopped fine to make about 1.5 Tblsp

handful of fresh cilantro - chopped fine

1/2 jalapeno pepper/any other green chili - chopped fine

Juice of 1 lemon/lime

1Tsp salt (adjust to taste)

1/2 Tsp sugar

1/2 Tsp fresh ground black pepper

How do you make Guacamole? 

Scoop out the flesh of avocado and mash it with a fork/spoon. Mix in the remaining ingredients till well blended. Cover with a wrap and set it aside for 30 mins for the flavors to work together. Serve it with your choice of crackers, chips, tortillas and the like.

Tips: 

• Choose the avocados right - they should be soft to touch with no bruises on the body
• Make an incision around the avocado (vertically or horizontally) and turn the fruit around this incision to get the 2 halves, removing the pit becomes easy and you can scoop the fruit out with a spoon.
• Once you have mixed the ingredients, if you cover it with a thin plastic wrap (cling wraps), it will retain the gorgeous green color for hours. The lemon/lime juice helps prevent the oxidization and you can definitely make this much before your party starts.