Category: Pickles

Citron fruit, also known as Citrus medica, offers a range of health benefits due to its rich content of vitamin C, antioxidants, and fiber. These include boosting the immune system, aiding digestion, potentially lowering blood pressure, and having anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. It is slightly bitter in taste which can be offset by adding some lemon juice to it.

Ingredients:

One medium sized Citron

Salt

Turmeric

Chilly powder

Oil

Mustard seeds

Methi seeds

Asafoetida

Juice of lemon.

All the above mentioned ingredients are as per individual preference. There is no set measurement as this pickle is more of a digestive than an accompaniment.

Method:

Wash and wipe dry the Citron. Cut it into bite sized pieces. Add salt and turmeric powder . Mix well. Bottle it and keep shaking the bottle twice a day for about 5 days. On the sixth day add some chilly powder. Heat oil in a pan. Add the mustard seeds and after they splutter add the asafoetida and methi seeds. Toss. Pour the seasoning into the pickle. Add lemon juice as per requirement. Mix well. Refrigerate. Use after a couple of days.

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Jalapeno can be used on everything – quick sandwiches, salads, as toppings on pizza or even on Bruschetta.. You can add them to anything you are making that could use a sweet, tangy pop of spice. Do experiment and let me know the results.

Ingredients:

250 gms Jalapenos washed, dried and sliced into roundels.

200 ml vinegar

250 ml water

4 garlic cloves crushed

2 tbsps sugar

Salt.

Method:

Slice the Jalapenos and tip them into  two glass jars. Then, add a couple of crushed garlic cloves to each jar.
Next, make the brine by simmering vinegar, water, sugar, and salt over low heat until the sugar dissolves.
Pour the brine over the Jalapenos, let them cool to room temperature, and store them in the fridge for up to two weeks!

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Pickled ginger is called gari or amazu shoga in Japanese. It is served with Sushi – veg or non veg and helps enhance the flavours. It also helps to clear the taste buds.

Though the Japanese use rice vinegar to preserve it, the regular one too works equally well .

Ingredients:

250 gms tender ginger

2 tsps salt

100 gms sugar

1 cup vinegar.

Method:

Peel the ginger and wash thoroughly. Pat dry and cut it into two inch chunks. Tip it into a glass bowl and sprinkle with salt. Allow to stand for half an hour and then transfer into a clean  glass jar.

Tip the sugar and vinegar in a pan and heat it till the sugar dissolves. Bring it to a boil and pour it over the ginger pieces. Allow the mixture to cool thoroughly before securing the lid. Store it in the refrigerator for atleast ten days before slicing it. . alternatively  you could slice it  thinly just before serving.

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Apple Ber/ Bor is the large variety of Indian jujube which owes its name to the size and taste that it has to an Indian variety of apple. Instant pickles and chutney are made from it which are served with parathas or rice.

Ingredients:

4 Apple Ber

2 tbsps red chilly powder

1 tbsp mustard

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

A kidney bean sized piece of asafoetida

1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds

Salt

1/4 cup oil of choice

Method:

Slice the Apple Ber.  Dry roast the fenugreek seeds to a rich brown Drop in the asafoetida and toss. . Tip in the roasted fenugreek seeds, asafoetida , red chilly powder, turmeric,and the mustard seeds into a blender and powder them fine. Drop this powder along with salt into the apple Ber. Add the oil and mix thoroughly. Keep aside for a couple of hours for the flavours to infuse, before serving.

Note: The oil used is not heated. It is used raw. Avoid using oils which have a strong flavour. Peanut and sunflower oil are best suited.

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Hog plum/ Amtekayi/ Ambado is used as a souring agent in preparations in South India. Firm ones are used to make pickles. I have already posted one which is prepared along with Bamboo shoots. The pickle posted today makes use of roasted chillies.

Ingredients:

500 gms Hog plum

150 gms Guntur chillies

150 gms Byadgi chillies

100 gms mustard seeds

A marble sized piece of asafoetida

1 tbsp Methi seeds

150 gms salt

2 tsps oil.

Method:

Wash and pat dry the Hogplums. Tip them into a glass bottle and add the salt. Keep shaking them around two to three times daily for two days till the Hogplums release water. Roast the chillies with two tsps of oil. Dry roast the methi seeds, mustard seeds and asafoetida separately one after the other. Allow everything to cool down well. Powder the dry roasted ingredients along with the roasted chillies. Drop this powder into the Hogplums. Mix thoroughly. Seal the bottle well and allow the pickle to mature. It takes about two months for the pickle to be ready for consumption.

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The easiest and most delicious pickle that can be made in no time is this Guava pickle. Refrigerated it lasts for about ten days.

Ingredients:

2 large guavas chopped into tiny pieces

1 tbsp Kashmiri chilly powder

1 tbsp Chilly powder

1/4 tsp turmeric

Salt

3 tbsps powdered jaggery

Juice of 3 lemons

100 gms oil

25 garlic cloves peeled and crushed

1 tsp mustard

3 sprigs curry leaves

1 tsp asafoetida.

Method:

Drop the pieces of guava, both the chilly powders, turmeric powder, salt and jaggery into a bowl. Add in the juice of the lemons and mix everything thoroughly. Keep aside for ten minutes. Heat oil in a pan. Drop in the mustard, and after it crackles add the crushed garlic and curry leaves. Roast till the garlic changes to a golden brown. Drop in the asafoetida. Toss. Pour the seasoning over the guava pieces and mix well. It can be consumed immediately. Store the remaining in a glass bottle and refrigerate.

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A delicious cabbage pickle which goes well with dal, rice, roti or even bread.  Ready in no time and is over in no time as well.

Ingredients:

2 cups Cabbage chopped fine

1 tsp roasted fenugreek powder

1 tsp roasted mustard powder

2 tsps Kashmiri Lal chilly powder

10 cloves of garlic minced

Juice of one lemon

10 tsps oil

1 tsp mustard

1 tsp Cumin seeds

Salt.

Method:

Tip the cabbage, roasted Fenugreek powder, mustard  powder,  lemon juice, chilly powder and salt into a bowl. Mix thoroughly. Heat oil in a pan. Add the mustard seeds. After they crackle add the cumin seeds. Tip the seasoning into the cabbage and mix thoroughly. Allow to stand for a couple of hours before serving, though this is one pickle that can be served immediately.

Note: I generally dry  roast both Fenugreek and mustard seeds and bottle them to use in instant pickles. Saves time and is easier to grind.

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Sirka pyaz or onions in vinegar are common at any hotel in North India. The trend has caught up in the other states of India as well.

Though this cannot be termed as a pickle per se, no meal is complete without onions and green chillies in North India.

The onions are steeped in vinegar to soften the sharpness. The vinegar too lends its sourness to them. Absolutely delicious!

Ingredients:

½ cup water

1/4 of a beetroot cubed

1 tsp sugar

2-3 cloves

1 inch piece of cinnamon stick

1 cup peeled pearl onions/ shallots

1 cup white/ synthetic vinegar

2 teaspoons salt.

Method:

Pour the water into a pan. Add the beetroot, sugar, cloves and cinnamon to it.
Bring the mixture to a boil.
Reduce heat to low and simmer the mixture for about 2-3 minutes. Allow to cool thoroughly.
Tip the pearl onions into a glass jar. Pour the white vinegar, salt and the cooled water mixture over the onions and stir gently.
Tightly cap the jar and refrigerate it. Use the onions after a day for up to ten days.

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One can make a number of water based pickles with choice of vegetables. They take about a week to mature and can then be eaten over the next few weeks. Do refrigerate them to avoid deterioration.

Ingredients:

1 cup juliennes of tender baby white radish

1 cup slices of turnip

20 pepper corns crushed

2 inch piece of cinnamon

200 gms sugar

1 heaped tbsp salt

1 cup vinegar

Method:

Tip the vinegar, sugar, crushed pepper corns, cinnamon, salt and 150 ml water into a pan. Bring to a boil, stirring the mixture till the sugar dissolves. Allow the solution to cool completely.
Pour it into a clean sterilized bottle and add the pieces of radish and turnip. Mix well. Allow the pickle to mature for a couple of days. It can be stored at room temperature for four weeks.
Enjoy it with Parathas, roti or even as a filling inside bread.

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Pickles are usually made with raw, unripe mangoes. The semi ripe ones go into making of murabba and the sweet and tangy variety of pickles. This Mango Pickle or Aam Ka Achar as it is called in North India is a recipe which is sour and makes for the tastiest accompaniment with any Indian meal because of the choicest of spices that are used to make it.

Ingredients:

250 gms raw mango

1/2 cup mustard oil or oil of choice

6 tsps salt

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

2 tbsps red chilli powder

1 tsp asafoetida/ Hing

1 tsp fennel seeds/saunf

1 tsp onion seeds/ kalonji

1 tbsp mustard seeds

1 tsp fenugreek seeds/ methi.

Method:

Wash and dry the raw mangoes thoroughly. Cut them into bite sized pieces. Heat the oil to smoking point and allow it to cool completely. Roast the fennel, onion seeds, mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds lightly to facilitate pounding in a mortar. Pound them coarsely. Mix together salt, red chilli powder and asafoetida along with the coarse spice powders. Gently mix this spice mix with the raw mango pieces. Immediately transfer into a glass or ceramic jar.

Cover with a muslin cloth and sun daily for about 3-4 days. The pickle can be used after four days.

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Copyright © 2023 by Vinaya Prabhu. All rights reserved.