Pineapple pulissery, a traditional kerala sadya dish. Soft cooked pineapple topped with coconut green chili paste and sour yogurt. Pineapple pulissery pairs well with steaming hot rice and papadam.
When i decided to make an Onam sadya dish, i was presented with so many varieties. Most of the recipes, resembled to omaka pachadi. The same masala, the tadka included shallots and some used shallots in grinding the masala. That put me in a great confusion.

Finally i came across Kothiyavanu, she mentions that pulissery is made with seasonal fruits. Like nenthram pazham, pineapple, mambazham/mangoes and Moru curry is made using vegetables.
I called some my malayali friends in the apartment to confirm what i read. Finally after hearing and reading, i settled to make pineapple pulissery. I m happy that i tried this recipe.
Initially though i was little skeptical to use a sweet fruit into yogurt based gravy. Now after trying breadfruit chutney and jackfruit dosa, i shouldn’t be thinking here, what say?
Sweet pineapple cooked with turmeric and then with coconut-green chili paste. With a tempering of coconut oil and fried shallots, that’s a simple description of this wonderful dish. It makes a yumm combo with hot rice.
Now i m able to understand the pride attached with Sadya Menu, truly rich and royal, feast fit for the kings!!
Some Onam Sadya Dishes

The Ingredients
- Pineapple, the star ingredient of the recipe. It is better to use fresh pineapple, tinned/canned ones soaked in syrup will not work well.
- Coconut, i have used freshly grated and frozen coconut for this recipe
- Curd/Buttermilk, use sour curd for the recipe. The sour curd pairs well with slightly sweet and tangy pineapples.
- Spices, green chilies, ginger and cumin seeds are the spices used to flavor the curry.
- Tempering, the most important part of the dish. A combination of mustard, fenugreek with chilies and shallots are tempered in coconut oil and poured over the curry.
How to make pineapple pulissery
Chop the pineapple into chunks. Cook them in water with turmeric and salt. While the pineapple is cooking, grind coconut, green chilies, cumin seeds into a paste. Add this paste to sour curd and mix well.
When the pineapples are soft, add this coconut masala curd to it and mix well. Let it sit on the stove for 5 more minutes, then remove. Do not allow it to boil, the curry will curdle.
Heat a tadka pan with oil. Splutter mustad seeds, add red chillies, fenugreek and curry leaves and finely chopped shallots. When the shallots turn golden brown, add this sizzling tadka over the curry. Enjoy the sweet and sour curry with steaming hot rice.

Pineapple Pulissery | Kerala Onam Sadya Recipe
Equipment
- Blender/mixie to grind the masala
Ingredients
- 1 cup chopped pineapple chunks 5 rings of pineapple
- ¼ tsp turmeric powder
- 1 cup sour curd
To grind
- ½ cup freshly grated coconut
- 2 nos green chilies
- 1 inch ginger
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- enough water to grind the ingredients
Tempering
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- ¼ tsp mustard seeds
- 2 nos shallots thinly sliced
- ⅛ tsp hing/asafoetida
- ¼ tsp fenugreek seeds
- 2-3 nos red chilies
- a sprig of curry leaf
Instructions
- I have used 5 rings of pineapple. Chop them into chunks. Take chopped pineapple chunks in a sauce pan, add 1/4 cup of water, turmeric and salt and cook the pineapple chunks.
- It will take around 10-12 minutes for the chunks to cook. While it is cooking, take the ingredients under 'to grind' and make it a fine paste. Mix the ground paste with buttermilk/sour curd.
- Now once the pineapple is soft, pour the buttermilk/curd mixed spice paste. Mix well and let it be on stove for just 5 minutes. Remove the pulissery from the stove. Do not allow to boil, the curry will split/curdle.
- Heat oil in a small tadka pan, splutter mustard seeds, crackle cumin, add hing, fenugreek seeds, red chilies and curry leaves and chopped shallots, fry for a minute or until the onions turn golden brown, pour this tadka over the pulissery.
- Serve it along with rice and enjoy a sweet melody of all flavors.
Serve this sweet and sour curry with steaming hot rice for a blissful experience.

If you have tried this recipe and like it, give it a star rating or let me know in the comments below. You could also share it with me on Instagram using #icampinmmykitchen and tagging me @priyasrinivasan.
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Note : An old post, published in April 2016, updated with new content and pictures.
Priya, after seeing all the yummy dosa varieties you have posted, I will take this curry to be equally yummy.
You are being adventurous this month and looking at the dishes, I should say that all your dishes look perfect. This pulissery with pineapple looks so inviting..
I think I would love the flavors of this dish.Sounds yummy.
loved the cute tulsi plant in the background !! my sister likes this a lot. will pass on ur link to her….
Yes I was about to say the tulsi on the backdrop looks lovely…and pulissery is a real yum dish…I have had mambazha pulissery and enjoyed it much..
Love the setup and especially the tulsi plant. 🙂
Never tasted pineapple in a curry, the dish looks delicious and as everyone already said Tulsi in the background is lovely.
Love the pineapple in our cooking. The tulsi plant looks divine in the background.
I want to make this pulissery rite now, am yet to make this popular pineapple pulissery at home.
Another interesting Kerala recipe Priya. Never would have thought of using pineapple and yogurt together. But like you said I learnt never say never after this BM.
Such an interesting recipe from Kerela. I loved the plant in the background too!! 🙂
I love pineapple pulissery and your pictures are so awesome. Is that your tulsi plant in the back?
Pineapple pulissery looks comforting the set up and the clicks.
this kind of sweet and savory dish is right up my alley – definitely one to try