On a recent trip to Sakleshpur with my Book Club (BYOB) friends, one of the side benefits of an awesome weekend was a bag full of the best avocado I have ever tasted. Anand G had got the avocado during an early morning trek and was kind enough to share some with me (as my fear of leeches which were all over the place in the rain, kept me from the trek). Back home at Bangalore, with the avocado (butterfruit as it is called here) just ripe and ready, I quickly set to work to make this delicious fresh homemade guacamole.

A white bowl with fresh homemade guacamole garnished with cilantro leaves. A checked grey and brown napkin to the left and part of an avocado seen on the top left corner — Fresh Homemade Guacamole

Most recipes for guacamole include tomatoes. Though very tasty, to me it seems to make it more into a salsa, while the guacamole without tomatoes tastes so much fresher and authentic. And when you get these gorgeous avocado like the ones we got at Sakleshpur, I want its true flavours to come through. So this recipe is for a tomato-free fresh homemade guacamole.

Add Lemon juice to keep the avocado from browning — Lemon juice to keep the avocado from browning

How to Make the Best Guacamole? How to Select the Avocado?

Choosing the avocado - the first step and very important. The avocado should give in slightly when you press down on it with your fingers. Hard raw avocado would be bitter, and not not have the nutty pleasant taste of a ripe one. Not too ripe too either. Avocado spoils rather fast, so you need to watch out and make sure you use it when it is just right. Once you have cut open the avocado, taste a little to make sure it tastes right.
Keep the sliced avocado from browning. As you would know, once you cut the avocado it is exposed to the air and begins to brown. You want that perfect pea green guacamole, not one with patches of brown. Keep lemon juice ready and sprinkle generously all over the avocado as soon as you slice it.
Keep it fresh. Make guacamole only on the day you wish to use it. If you are not serving it immediately after making it, cover the surface of the bowl of guacamole with cling wrap, pressing the wrap gently to the surface of the dip and making sure it covers it all around so that no air can reach it. Refrigerate till you ready to serve the guacamole. I have occasionally made guacamole in larger quantities than required, because my avocado were going to get spoilt otherwise. At such times I have packed the guacamole closely with cling wrap in a glass jar or box with tightly fitting lid, and kept it in the freezer to use within a week or so.
Use freshly squeezed lemon juice and freshly ground black pepper in the recipe.
Mash the avocado rather than processing the ingredients in the food processor, to get the right texture with a few chunks of avocado and the bite of the onion, instead of a gooey dip.

You might like to try some of the other recipes on this blog:

Lemon Basil Mint Hummus

Easy Homemade Cherry Compote

"Recipe"

Fresh Homemade Tomato-free Guacamole

Sujata Shukla

Make fresh Homemade Guacamole without tomatoes, for that authentic taste. Quick, easy recipe with Kitchen hints on how to keep the avocado from browning.

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Prep Time 10

Total Time 10

Course condiments, Dips

Cuisine Mexican

Servings cups

Ingredients

2 tablespoons Fresh lemon juice
2 avocado about 1.5 cups
1 cup Onions
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper or to taste
¼ teaspoon salt or to taste
1 pinch cumin powder /jeera powder
¼ cup cilantro (minced)
1 jalapeño (optional) thinly sliced

Instructions

Do read my Kitchen Hints in the post above before you start to make the Guacamole. Squeeze lemon juice. The avocado can brown quickly, so I always keep the lemon juice ready to apply as soon as I scoop out the avocado.
Slice onion into small pieces and mince the jalapeño (if using). Mince the coriander leaves just before you need to serve the guacamole.
Cut the avocado at the centre so that you get two halves with the pit in one half. Scoop out the flesh of the avocado with spoon, scraping as near the peel as you can. Discard the pit. Using a fork or a pestle, mash the avocado pulp gently. Keep it chunky instead of mashing the avocado into a paste. Add half the lemon juice and add salt. Mix well.
Add the sliced onion and jalapeño, the ground black pepper and cumin powder. Stir it all in gently without mashing the avocado further. Check for taste and add more lemon juice or salt if required. I used 2 tablespoons of lemon juice for 1.5 cups of avocado.
If serving immediately, add the minced coriander leaves. If not, use cling film to cover the bowl of guacamole as in the Kitchen Hints above, to keep it from browning. Chill in the fridge. Just before serving, remove the cling film and add the coriander leaves.