One recipe that make me DROOL....

Foody: Hi, here I am. What are you doing?

Chefie: I am grabbing all the ingredients to make mango pickle.

Foody: Why make it when they are available ready-made. Grab a pickle bottle and save your time.

Chefie: Yes, it is easy that way. But it’s summer time at Chennai and mangoes keep flooding, the home-made pickles are always better and they do not have artificial agents to preserve them.

Foody: What is it with Indians and pickle preparations?

Chefie: We need to travel back to know that. We, Indians, made sure to preserve and store our food for a longer duration even before refrigerators were possible. The food is cured using salt or sugar and preserved. It’s KT Achaya (Check here to know more), whose book talks about more than 50 varieties of pickle that evolved in AD 1954. And this traditional Indian technique of preserving food helped during food scarcity as well to preserve seasonal foods. However,  the western history claims that Roman's were the first to follow the preservation technique and they do have their own story. 

(Check this article for better understanding - Pickle making, an age old ritual in Indian household)

Foody: Interesting! Now tell me how many varieties of pickle are there?

Chefie: It is hard to list the different varieties of Indian pickle. As our pickle varieties differ as per the souring agent used at each region, such as mango, tamarind, vinegar and the list goes on. Though vegetables and fruits are most popular when it comes to pickling; there are few regions in India where they pickle meat or seafood.

Foody: Oh Oh! Stop it; I need some pickle to taste now. Enough of talking and let's start with the pickling!

Chefie: This pickle is a delight in summer time for any south-Indian, easy to prepare and delicious to taste. Let me start with the pickling process and you go grab your camera.

What all do you need to prepare them?

Raw Mango - 3 (2 Pulippu mango + 1 KiliMuku Mango)

Fenugreek powder – 1 Tbsp (Table Spoon)

Asafoetida Powder – ½ Tbsp

Mustard Seeds – 2 Tbsp

Gingelly oil – 5 Tbsp

Chilli Powder (Kashmiri preferably) – 4 Tbsp

Rock Salt or Table Salt – To taste

Here’s how to make it..

     1. Finely chop the raw mangoes. Add salt to the raw mangoes, as per your taste. I prefer rock salt even the table salt can be used. Mix them well and let it marinate for 24 hours so the mango absorbs all the salt.

      2. After a day's marination, add fenugreek and asafoetida powder. 

3. Heat the pan, add gingelly oil. Once the oil is hot enough add mustard seeds, let them crack. Turn off the stove, let the oil cool down for few seconds and add the chilli powder in the oil. Give them a quick mix and pour it on the mango immediately. Mix them all together.

4. Here’s the delicious spicy-tangy mango pickle, best side dish for curd rice.

Tips that are meant to be remember..

• It is not necessary to marinate mango and salt mix for a day. You can prepare the pickle immediately but marinating them will allow the pickle to last longer.
• Make sure the spoons and containers used are dry without even a tiny droplet of water. Water is the biggest enemy for a pickle and as you know fungus loves water.
• Store the pickle in an air tight container and refrigerate, which will allow the pickle to last longer. If not remember to sun-dry the pickle everyday for an hour. Without refrigeration the pickle may last for a week at the max.
• The chilli powder gets burnt when added in the hot oil. So remove the pan from stove and then add chilli powder.

The irresistible Foodies Verdict..

Wow, what a lip-smacking dish. I can feel the perfect blend of spiciness and sweet-n-sour mango drooling through my throat. It is hot and spicy, yet I neither stopped eating it nor stopped licking my finger in the middle. This is definitely a dish that makes you dribble. While, I love eating it alone, it goes well with almost all the south Indian recipes and a retreat with curd rice.

p.s. This post is a part of #BloggerDreamTeam - Food and Travel Carnival hosted by Blogmint

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