Pickles that Tickle and Preserves to Reserve !

Food Processor Sweet Amla Pickle - can be mixed without it also!

Amla - 500 gms

Jaggery or sugar - 250 gms

Mustard powder - 50 gms

Red chilli powder - 2 tbsp

Methi powder - 2 tsp

Haldi, Salt

Oil - 50 gms

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Select big amlas which can be desseded raw, easily. Dessed & chop into pieces.

Mince in the FP with the steel blade.

Add all other ingredients except oil & mustard seeds & run FP again for perfect blending & temper.

Or

Grate amlas on a steel grater

Mix in all ingredients except oil & mustard seeds.

Heat oil & temper mustard seeds.

Remove, cool & add.

 

Iyengar Pulikachal & Puliyodarai - Always in demand!

First dry roast:

Varali manjal (long slim variety turmeric) - 2 “

Seasame seeds (black or white) - 3 tsp

Methi seeds - 1 tsp

Powder methi-turmeric together & seasame seeds separately

In 1 tsp oil, roast


Dhaniya - 2 tsp

Red chillies - 4-5

Hing - 1 tsp, keep separately

And powder.


Soak for 2 hrs,

Gram dhal - ½-3/4 cup

Drain & roast crisp in little oil.

Heat in a kadai:

Oil - ¾ cup

Temper in the following order:

Red chillies - 12-15, chopped into small pieces

When it sizzles, add

Mustard seeds - 4 tsp

Urad dhal - ½ cup

Curry leaves - few

Now add:

Tamarind paste - 4-5 tbsp + 1 cup of water

Salt, haldi

When it has boiled well, add first hing powder.

Simmer for some time & add dhaniya-red chilli powder.

Remove when sauce consistency is reached add all other powders & fried gram dhal.


When mixing for puliyodarai, fry some peanuts in oil and add.

 

Ginger Preserve (Inji Morabba) - Don't we all love it??

Select tender firm ginger, free from fibres. This is very important.

Peel & cut horizontally into ¼ “ (or less) pieces.

Chopped ginger - 1 cup

Sugar - 2 cups

Water - 4 cups

Lime juice - 1 tsp

Take the ginger in a cloth and tie the cloth.

In a pressure cooker take 2 cups of water & immerse this inside.

Pressurise for 10 mts after the first whistle comes.

Cool, open & take out the cooked pieces.

Heat water & sugar till it boils.

Add 1 tbsp mik & boil for a few mtes.

Dirt will collect & float on the top.

Strain & use the clear syrup.

When it boils, add ginger pieces & lime juice.

Continue boiling till one-string is reached.

Switch off.

Cool & preserve in a bottle with syrup just enough to soak it.

Keep the ginger pieces immersed in syrup for 3 days to soak well.

Drain well & dry in shade the ginger pieces.

After a few hours, roll them in sugar.

 

Green Tomato Thokku - very tangy!


Firm, medium sized green tomatoes - 10


Red chilli powder - 4-5 tbsp red chilli powder(or to taste)


Hing - 1 tsp


Methi seeds - 1 tbsp


Haldi - 1 tsp


Mustard seeds - 1 tsp


Gingelly oil - 1 cup


Salt


Wash & slice tomatoes.


Roast methi & powder with hing.


Heat ¼ cup oil in a kadai.


Add mustard seeds, followed by tomatoes, salt & haldi.


Cook on a slow fire, add ing remaining oil gradually.


After the tomatoes are cooked, add chilli powder & powdered masala.


Cook for 2-3 mts & remove.

 

Lime Exotica - katta-meeta , a digestive as well !

This is extremely delicious, but less hot. One small piece is said to counteract indigestion. This can be stored for up to one year.

Lemons (or limes) - 500 gms (10-11 no:s)

Salt - 100 gms

Haldi - 1 tsp

Sugar - 500 gms

Grated jaggery (clean quality) - 250 gms

Chilli powder - 1 tbsp

Wash the lemons & wipe dry.

Squeeze out the juice of 5-6 no:s to get approximately ½ cup of juice.

Cut the remaining into quarters & dessed.

Place the squeezed lemons & cut pieces in a glass bowl.

Mix together salt, lemon juice , haldi & pour over the lemon pieces.

Press the lemon pieces in the jar tightly so that the juice covers the pieces.

Cover the jar with a ld & place under the sun for 10 days until the lemons are soft & give away under the pressure of your thumb.

Toss the contents occasionally.

Add sugar, jaggery & mix well.

Leave aside for 8-10 days or until the sugar has dissolved, stirring the contents occasionally.

Add chilli powder & mix well.

Keep in a cool dry place – it lasts for one year.

 

Sweet Tomato Chutney - very good with stuffed parathas.

Red ripe tomatoes - 500 gms

Sugar - 500 gms

Red chillies - 12-15

Garlic - 10 pieces

Ginger - 3 “

Vinegar - 175 ml

Salt

Grind red chillies, garlic and ginger with vinegar.

Blanch tomatoes & remove skins.

Cut into slices, add remaining vinegar & boil till fruit is soft.

Add sugar, ground paste, salt & boil the whole mass gently till chutney consistency is reached.

Because of the high sugar content, it tends to burn quickly & also sets very fast.

Be careful to remove when jam consistency is reached.

 

Minced Bittergourd Thokku - you will fall in love with it!!

If fried with little more oil, this can be preserved for a week to 10 days.

Bittergourd - 3 medium (grated or minced in FP)

Tomatoes - 3 ( blanched) & chopped

Tamarind paste - 1-2 tsp (to taste)

Red chilli powder - 2-3 tsp

Salt, haldi, hing, a little jaggery to taste

Liquidise blanched tomatoes with tamarind paste.

Heat 2-3 tbsp oil & sauté bittergourd on a low fire till it shrinks.


Add all other ingredients & cook on a low fire, stirring, till it becomes a mass.


If fried with little more oil, this can be preserved for a week to 10 days.

 

Kalyana Lime Picke - teases your taste buds!

This pickle has very short shelf-life, but can be used with 2 days of preparation. The spice level varies wth the size of the lemons & so has to be suitably adjusted.

Medium sized, thin skinned lemons - 6

Salt - ½ cup

Red chilli powder - 2-3 tbsp

Hing - 1 tsp

Methi powder - ½ tsp

Oil - to cover the pickle.

Boil 2 cups of water drop the lemons & cook for 3-4 mtes.

Switch off, keep covered & cool thoroughly.

Chop into 8 pieces, removing seeds.

Mix all spices & salt.

Heat oil & add after it cools a little.

Keep stirring it twice or thrice a day till it becomes soft. It will take 2-3 days.

Keep refrigerated for upto 2 weeks.

 

Khatta Meeta Mango - delicious!!

A professional cook gave me a Sweet Avakkai recipe.

I “tweaked” it & tried the following.

His recipe is:

Mangoes, cut with skin & seed as for avakkai - 1 kg – very sour variety

Red chilli powder, powdered rock salt, mustard powder - 1kg, each

Good quality jaggery - 2 kg

Enough oil to float on top.

Mix everything thoroughly. Allow to stand.

I tried thus:

Grated medium sour mango - 1 cup

Red chilli powder - ½ cup ( I added Bedekar pickle masala)

Powdered mustard - 2 tbsp

Extra salt, since pickle masala was added - 1 ½ tsp (If you add red chilli powder, add the same amount of salt)

Powdered jaggery - 2 cups

Oil - ½ cup

I mixed all the above & stirred on low fire over stove top till jaggery dissolved. Remove, cool & store.

The proportion may slightly be changed depending on the sourness of mango & how sweet you prefer it. If you want to store for long add more oil.