What's in your pickle?

Here are some simple lip-smacking creations

Avakkai mango pickle

Ingredients: Half a kilo of raw mango cut into pieces; 70 gm of salt; 70 gm of red chilli powder; 20 gm of raw mustard powder; 20 gm of garlic pods; 50 gm of mavinakayi shunti or mango ginger (peeled and cut into small pieces); 200 ml of til oil; ¼ tsp of methi seeds; ½ tsp of mustard seeds and ¼ tsp of hing.
Method: Heat oil in a kadai, add methi seeds, mustard seeds and hing and sauté well. Let the mixture cool. Now add salt, mustard powder and chilli powder. Mix well. Add garlic, mango and mango ginger and mix well. Store this mix in a clean bottle and place it in a clean, dry area. The pickle will be ready in a week’s time.

Mixed vegetable pickle

Ingredients: A kilo of mixed vegetables (peas, carrots, beetroot, cauliflower and knol khol); 100 gm of green chillies (slit); 100 gm of red chilli powder; 100 gm of fresh ginger; 20 garlic pods; 20 shallots; 150 ml of lime juice; ¼ kg of til oil; 2 tsp of turmeric powder; 2 tsp of methi powder and 100 gm of salt.
Method: Before cutting the vegetables wash them well and wipe them clean. Ensure that the vegetables are cut in a uniform size. Heat oil in a kadai, add garlic, ginger, shallots, slit green chillies. Cook till they turn soft. Add all the spice powders mix well. Cool the mix, add lime juice and the vegetables. Mix well and bottle the pickle in a clean container. The pickle will be ready in three days.

Lemon pickle

Ingredients: Half a kilo of lemons cut into quarters; 75 gm of salt; 75 gm of chilli powder; 1 tbsp of methi powder; 1 tbsp of mustard powder; 50 gm of makali beru or swallowroot (cut into small pieces); a cup of til oil; 100 gm of green chillies (slit) and 20 garlic pods.
Method: Heat oil in a kadai, add methi, mustard and red chilli powders. Next add the garlic pods, green chillies, makali beru and lemons, followed by salt. Sauté the pickle a little. Bottle this in a clean container. Let the pickle rest for at least 15 days.

Instant pickle

Ingredients: Half kg of gooseberries; ½ cup of any oil; 1½ tbsps of jeera powder; 1 tbsp of methi powder; 50 gm of red chilli powder; 50 gm of salt; hing and mustard seeds.
Method:Boil water in a vessel, add the gooseberries. Cook till 70% of water is evaporated. Heat oil in a pan, add the seasonings, cool for a while, add all the spice powders, followed by the gooseberries, mix well. The pickle is ready to be relished.