Saturday, April 12, 2008

Manga Achaar aka Spicy Mango Pickle



Achaar is a spicy condiment served on the extreme left of “thooshan ela”, the narrow and curved part of plantain/banana leaf, to be eaten in small quantities, with the touch of index or middle finger…..perhaps the only spicy item on ‘the organic plate’. It is usually pickled vegetables or fruits, cooked and preserved in gingelly/sesame oil and vinegar, spiced up with loads of chilly powder and flavored with asafoetida, fenugreek, curry leaves and salt. Sadya varieties include manga /mango achaar, and lemon/lime varieties like naaranga achaar, vaduka-puliyan achaar etc. This can be made in advance and stored in an airtight container. Manga Achaar or spicy mango pickle is one of the easiest and less messy ones to make and this is my mother’s recipe:

Ingredients: (Approx.)
  • 1 medium size raw-green mango
  • 4-6 medium garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 1 tbsp ginger, thinly sliced
  • 1 sprig of curry leaves
  • 3 tbsp red chilly powder
  • 2 pinches of asafoetida
  • ¼ - ½ tsp fenugreek/Uluva powder
  • 2 ½ tsp vinegar
  • 1/3 cup gingelly oil/Nallenna
  • Salt to taste
Directions:
  • Sterilize an airtight glass jar to store the pickle.
  • Peel off the skins and chop the mango into small pieces
  • Heat oil in a pan, and fry the garlic slices, in low heat and remove when they turn golden brown; fry the ginger slices and remove and keep aside when it reaches golden brown; add the chopped mango pieces, salt and curry leaves, warm them up in hot oil and when it is fully coated in oil, remove and keep aside. (Note: DO NOT cook mangoes in the oil for more than few seconds. Now either turn off the stove or take the pan from the stove and add chilly powder; the purpose is not to burn the chilly powder while adding them. Also add asafoetida and fenugreek powder and stir well; bring the pan back to the stove and add the mangoes along with roasted garlic and ginger. As a final step, add the vinegar and salt and stir well and turn off the stove.
  • When it cools down, transfer it to the sterilized and airtight glass jar; can store it in refrigerator or leave it on the counter top.
Luv
Shn
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10 comments:

  1. Happy to see you back. This year after a long gap I decided to make make sadya for my two north Indian friends. I was so ambitious I made Manga & Naranga Pickle which i havenot done before. but mine was a simpler version our nadan pickle no ginger garlic. Just fenugreek powder, asatefodia and chilly. I didnt have fresh mangoes so I used frozen as it was a trial. It was great . Today i see the recipes in ur post . i should have waited

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  2. Hi I have a question. When should I add the salt?

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  3. what a great recipe - will be trying soon.
    I'm not familiar with Gingelly Oil - is there a substitute I can find in American markets? Just regular canola or veg oil?

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  4. Steamy kitchen, Gingelly oil is also known as Sesame oil and til oil.....sesame oil is something u can find in american markets and asian stores.....this pickle taste great and stays for a longer time if cooked in this oil...else you can use vegetable oil too but taste will be slightly different.....let me know if you liked the pickle.....change the spice level according to your tolerance level....all the best :)

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  5. Njan undakki nokeettoo.. very easy..* tasty.:-}}}
    Thanks...

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  6. the recipe is really tasty...i made it and was lip smacking good

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  7. Hello..made ur mango pickle...came out very well :)

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  8. Hey... I tried this... and we all absolutely LOVED it!! one of the best achaars i've tried.

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  9. Hi,
    What type of mangoes you buy in US for making pickles.

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  10. can u post lemon pickle

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