Sweet & Sour Pickles

Plum chutney

Ingredients

1kg fresh plums, cut into wedges
1 tsp cardamom, ground
2 tsp mustard seeds
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp ginger, freshly grated
75 gms butter
300 gms onion, sliced
400 gms apples, peeled and chopped
400 gms brown sugar
430 gms vinegar

Method

Heat butter in a saucepan and add ginger and garlic. Cook for about a minute and stir in cardamom powder and mustard seeds. Add onion slices and cook until they become soft. Add plum wedges, apple pieces and the rest of the ingredients.

Cook on high flame until the sugar is dissolved then lower the flame and let the mixture simmer till it thickens to a jam-like consistency. Cool and pour into sterilised containers with lid.

Red Chilli Pickle

Ingredients :

500 gm. big dry red chillies

2 kgs. Mustard oil heated and cooled

10 tbs. cumin seeds

1 tsp. cloves

4 big cardamoms

1 (3 cm) stick cinnamon

1 tsp. chironji

2 tbs. mustard seeds

125 gms. mango (Aamchoor) powder

Salt to taste

Method:-

Remove seeds from red chillies. Grind the seeds with all the other dry ingredients. Add a little oil to the mixture to make a paste. Fill the red chillies with the paste. Pour oil to cover the chillies. Put in the sun for 3-4 days. Store in a airtight jar.

Carrot Pickle

Ingredients:-
1 kg carrots
2 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp turmeric
125 g cloves of garlic (leave small cloves whole, slice large ones)
250 g large green chillies
125 ml red fruit vinegar
225 ml oil
salt to taste
extra salt

Method:-
Scrape and slice the carrots lengthwise.
Add salt and leave to marinate for half an hour. Wash and drain.
Slit the green chillies lengthwise and remove seeds.
Add to the carrots together with salt, turmeric, red chilli powder and garlic.
Mix well. Add the vinegar and unheated oil.
Marinate in refrigerator for 24 hours before serving.

Chef’s tip: Keeps well in refrigerator for 8-15 days. For a different flavour add 1 tsp mustard seeds.
Serves 50

Mixed Vegetable Pickle

Ingredients:-
20 gms red chilli powder
20 gms cumin seeds
20 gms mustard seeds
25 gms all spices
60 gms ginger/garlic paste
100 gms onion paste
200 gms sugar
200 ml vinegar
300 gms turnip, thinly sliced
300 gms carrots, thinly sliced
350 ml mustard oil
500 gms cauliflower florets
Salt to taste

Method:-

Dry the cauliflower, turnip and carrots in the sun for two days.
Dissolve sugar in vinegar and keep aside.
Heat oil in a wok, add onion and ginger/garlic paste and stir in the dry spices along with salt and vegetables.
Cover and cook for five minutes. Add vinegar and mix well.
Remove from heat and allow it to cool.
Transfer into a sterilised glass jar and cover with a cloth.
Keep in the sun for five days.

Lemon Pickle

Ingredients:-
Lemons (nimbu), washed, wiped, slit in
Quarters without separating the pieces 2 kg
Juice of lemons (nimbu) 1 kg
Sugar 1 cup / 150 gm
Black salt (kala namak) 250 gm
Black cardamoms (badi elaichi) 25 gm
Black peppercorns (sabut kali mirch) 15 gm
Dry red chillies (sookhi lal mirch) 25 gm
Cumin (jeera) seeds 2 tbsp / 12 gm
Black cumin (shah jeera) seeds 2 tbsp / 12 gm
Carom (ajwain) seeds 15 gm
Asafoetida (hing) a pinch
Ginger powder (sonth) 100 gm

Method:-

Grind the sugar, black salt, black cardamoms, black pepper, dry red chillies, cumin seeds, black cumin seeds, carom seeds, asafoetida, and ginger powder together to a fine powder. Mix ½ cup lemon juice with the powder and stuff the slit lemons with this powder mixture.
Arrange the stuffed lemons in a glass jar, with a layer of the powder mixture between them. Repeat till all the lemons and powder mixture are used up. Pour the remaining lemon juice. Cover with a thick cloth for the first 2 days and then put the jar out in the sun for 2 weeks, shaking occasionally. This pickle aids digestion and can stay for up to 25 years.
Time:Preparation time: 2 weeks

Kasundi - Sliced Mango Pickle

Ingredients:-
Mangoes, peeled, finely sliced,
Sun-dried for 4 days 2 kg
Tamarind (imli), lemon-sized balls,
soaked in 1 cup vinegar for 1 hour 2
jaggery (gur), soaked in 1 cup vinegar 2 cups / 400 gm, Grind to a paste with 4 tbsp vinegar
Dry red chillies (sookhi lal mirch) 10
Turmeric (haldi) powder 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds (rai) 100 gm
Ginger (adrak), sliced 2 tbsp / 24 gm
Garlic (lasan), sliced 1 tbsp / 12 gm
Cumin (jeera) seeds 100 gm
Fenugreek seeds (mithi dana) 100 gm
Gingelly or groundnut oil 2 cups / 400 ml
Garlic (lasan), chopped 1 tbsp / 12 gm
Ginger (adrak), chopped 2 tbsp / 48 gm
Vinegar (sirka) 1¾ cups / 350 ml

Method:-

Mash the tamarind, strain and keep the extract aside. Cook the jaggery-vinegar mixture till blended. Heat the oil in a wok (kadhai); fry the garlic and ginger for 3-4 minutes. Add the ground chilli paste and fry further for 3-4 minutes. Add the mango, jaggery mixture, tamarind extract, and vinegar; cook for 15 minutes till well blended. Add salt if required. Cool and preserve in sterilized jars.

Time:Preparation time: 4 days

Cooking time: 15 min.