5 unique Indian pickles you may not know about
What's the story
Pickles are pretty much a part of our everyday meals. We may be associated with a few common pickles or achaar as we call them in most Indian languages. You may have a bunch of pickle jars sitting on the kitchen counter made of mango, mixed vegetables, lemon, etc. which are commonly available. But do you know about the following pickles?
#1
Brinjal pickle (Goa)
Marinade diced brinjal with salt. After five hours squeeze out all water and keep it aside. Make a paste of ginger, garlic, and vinegar. Saute brinjals and keep them aside. Saute ginger-garlic paste, add turmeric powder, cumin powder, powdered black mustard, and powdered fenugreek. Mix in vinegar, tamarind pulp, curry leaves, and sugar. Add brinjal and cook for a few minutes. Cool and store.
#2
Mesu pickle (northeast India)
Store clean and chopped bamboo shoots in water in an airtight jar for about six months in a cool place. If using fresh shoots, boil with salt and turmeric, and drain out excess water. Heat mustard oil, add chilies, bamboo shoots, chili powder, turmeric powder, and cook. Add pickle mix powder, salt, ginger, and garlic. Let the water evaporate and turn off the heat.
#3
Orange Tholi Achar (Kerala)
Heat oil in a pan and temper mustard seeds. Then add dry red chilies and curry leaves and cook for a minute. Add orange peel and sauté. Add turmeric powder, red chili powder, asafoetida, fenugreek powder, salt, and jaggery and mix. Strain this and add tamarind pulp. Mix and cook until the water evaporates. Cool, transfer in a glass jar, and refrigerate.
#4
Kolhapuri Thecha (Maharashtra)
Use Kolhapuri red chilies for this recipe. Grind the chilies, peeled peanuts, garlic, and salt with a little water till smooth. Heat oil and temper mustard seeds and asafoetida. Transfer the chili mixture to a bowl and add lemon juice and the tempering in it, mix well. Let it cool, then transfer it to a glass jar and shove it into the fridge.
#5
Mutton pickle (Hyderabad)
In hot oil add mustard seeds, curry leaves, cloves, and ginger. Add de-seeded dried red chillies and mix. Turn off the heat and add turmeric powder. Deep fry boneless pressure cooked mutton. Mix cumin powder, mustard powder, red chili powder, and salt to it. Add mutton and lemon juice to the pan mix. Cool it, then add vinegar and store in a glass jar.