Pickles that Tickle and Preserves to Reserve !

Instant Vegetable Pickles - absolutely Crunchy !

1- Stays for a week

Chop into small pieces:

Carrot - 1

Bittergourd - 1

Cauliflower - 1 small piece

Lemon - 1

Add to it:

4 lemons - juice

Salt - 2 ½ tsp

Chilli powder - 1 ½ tsp

Hing - ½ tsp

Temper with:

Gingelly oil - 4 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Mix well.

2 – Stays for a month

Chop fine:

Potatoes - 2

Cauliflower - 1 piece

Carrot - 2 medium

Ginger - 2 “

Add to the above:

Lemons - 8 – take juice

Salt - 3 tsp

Chilli powder - 3 tsp

Raw gingelly oil - 8 tsp

If you like the taste, add some vinegar.

A more elaborate recipe will be posted separately.

These two pickles go well with parathas, besides with rice.

 

South Indian Vegetable Pickle - Canning centre recipe.

Vegetables like Chenai ( elephant yam), Karamani (payathangai), Clusterbeans, potato, Carrot, Peas, Beans, Bittergourd, Raw banana, Brinjal, Drumstick, Ginger, Green chillies can be used.

Cut them ¼” thick & 1” long.

Washed & Cut vegetables - 1.5 kgs

Red chilli powder - 100 gms

Table salt - 100 gms

Haldi - 1 tbsp

Lemons - 12-15

Mustard seeds - 50 gms – splutter on a dr kadai & powder

Gingelly oil - 750 ml

Roast dry & powder:

Methi seeds - 2 tsp

Hing powder - 2 tsp

Put all vegetables in a big muslin cloth & tie.

Boil plenty of water in a big vessel, immerse this bundle when water boils vigorously, switch off the flame & cover the vessel.

After 3 mts, remove the bundle, drain & spread the vegetables on a big plate to cool.

Add salt, haldi & mix well.

Heat oil in a big kadai, add cooled vegetables & fry lightly for 5 mins.

Remove from flame& add all powders.

Cool & add lime juice.

Oil should float on top.

 

Orange Peel & ginger peel thokku

Finely chopped orange peel - 1 cup

Finely chopped ginger - ¾ cup

Finely chopped green chillies - ½ cup

Jaggery - ½ cup

Tamarind paste - 4 tbsp

Hing - 1 tsp

Salt, haldi

Rice flour - 2 tsp

To temper:

Oil - 100 gms

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Gram dhal - 2 tsp

Heat oil & temper as given.

Add orange peel, ginger & green chillies & fry for a few mts.

Then add tamarind paste & 3 cups of water.

Add salt, haldi & hing.

Boil on a medium fire.

Add powdered jaggery half way through.

If necessary, add rice flour mixed with a little water for thickenig – this is optional.

When oil starts separating, remove.

Cool & bottle.

 

Nellikkai Pickle - now is the amla season.

Nellikkai is Amla or Gooseberry.

Big sized fleshy nellikkai - ½ kg

Haldi - 1 tsp

Hing - 1 tsp

Lightly roasted methi powder - 1/2 tsp

Red chilli powder - 2-3 tbsp ( to taste)

Oil - ½ cup

Salt

Wash, drain & boil nellikkai in just enough water to immerse them.

Add part of the salt & ½ tsp haldi.

When soft, remove from flame & do not drain.

Cool, remove each piece, take the “petals” & discard the stone.

Heat oil in a kadai, splutter 1 tsp mustard, add hing, methi powder & ½ tsp haldi.

Add red chilli powder, rest of the salt & then add the vegetable “petals” with the boied water.

Allow everything to simmer together till raw smell of chilli powder is gone.

When oil starts floating, remove.

Cool & bottle.

 

Avakkai Pickles - with & without Garlic.

Select mangoes with thin skin & small seeds.

Mangoes like rasalu, rumani are well suited.

Their seeds are not thick & so cutting through them will be easy.

Wash well, wipe thoroughly & then cut the mangoes.

Cut mangoes - 4 cups

Powdered salt - ¾ cup

Chilli powder - 1 cup

Mixture of
Mustard powder - ½ cup
& methi powder - ¼ cup

Garlic pieces - 20 ( optional)

Gingelly oil - 1 cup

Mix all the powders & salt.

Heat the oil first & then cool.

Mix part of the oil with powders.

In a glass or porcelain jar, alternate layers of mango & the mixture.

Pour the rest of the oil & mix.

If you want less gravy use the proportion 6 to 1.

If you like brown channa to be added, soak it well, dry completely on a cloth & add.

Mix thoroughly every day for 10 days.

Oil should float on top.

If you are using garlic, add it raw with other ingredients.

 

Sundrying not necessary.

Dear Jana,
Every ingredient being perfectly dry, there is no need to sundry. My personal prejudice is there may be " veyyil vasanai" ! Ofcourse, for some pickles, this is a must.
Love,
Chithra.

 

Garlic Thokku - Any pickle with garlic is a favourite !

Garlic ( hill variety) - 250 gms ( big single flakes)

Green chillies - 100 gms

Tamarind - 200 gms

Oil - ½ cup

Hing - 2 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Urad dhal - 2 tsp

Methi seeds - ½ tsp

Peel & mince garlic.

Wash green chillies.

Cut into 1 cm pieces.

Mix tamarind with 2 cups of warm water & take the extract.

Heat oil, temper mustard seeds, urad dhal & methi seeds.

When done, add chopped green chillies & fry well.

Add minced garlic, salt & tamarind water.

When it starts boiling, simmer till sauce consistency is reached.

Remove, cool & bottle.

 

Vadumangai (mavadu) - the most favourite pickle in South India

Small size tender mangoes are called vadumangai or mavadu in South India.

This is not a very hot pickle.

Select medium sour variety preferably with little stem , if you plan to preserve the pickles.

Vadumangai - 8 cups

Salt - 1 cup ( powder rock salt)

Haldi - 2 tsp

Castor oil - 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1/8 cup ( powder fine)

Red chilli powder - 1/8 – ¼ cup

If the stems are long, trim them to 1”

Wash in plenty of water, rinse well & drain completely.

Wipe well with a cloth..

Mix ground salt, mustard powder, haldi & red chilli powder well.

Smear the castor oil completely in the mixture.

In a earthen ware or glass jar, spread alternate layers of vadumangai & the mixture.

The first & last layers must be mixture.

Keep it closed for 2 full days.

On 3 rd day, it will start “ leaving “ water.

Everyday mix it well from top to bottom completely.

After the vadumangai shrinks well, start using it.

For daily use, keep in small “ service” jars.

The main pickle should always be covered with a clean cloth dipped in oil & “ squeezed” well – over that close airtight the jar.

If the mango is very sour use the same proportion for 7 or 6 cups of mangoes.

Variation:

For the first 2 days add only haldi & salt.

On the 3<SUP>rd</SUP> day, when it starts leaving the water, take a little water, grind with red chilli powder & mustard.

Mix castor oil to this & proceed as above.

 

Bittergourd Pickle - bitter, hot but very tasty !

Big bittergourd - 1 kg

Red chillies - 150 gms

Mustard - 50 gms

Methi seeds - 2 tsp

Gingelly oil - 250 ml

Hing - 25 gms

Salt - as per requirement

Garlic - 10 flakes ( more is optional)

Lime - 1

Grind mustard & red chillies in the mixi well.

Wash & slice bittergourd into round slices.

Remove seeds.

Immerse in water to which lime juice & some salt is added.

After one hour, drain well.

Dry in a cloth under the sun to make the slices dry.

Now in a earthenware jar mix all other ingredients with the slices.

Tightly close the jar & daily mix thoroughly.

It is ready for use after 10 days.

Oil should float on the top.

Stays well for about 2 months.