Manga Achaar aka Spicy Mango Pickle

This post is part of SADYA VIBHAVANGAL – Learn to make the traditional Kerala Feast- An Artist’s Edible Palette !

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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