FAn excellent presentation 👍🏻👍🏻 My compliments. With my background in chemistry, the classic Indian pickles have embodied what we know from modern food chemistry.
1. They are heavily salted and oiled. For shelf stability and for that umami taste. For year long stay till the fresh pickling season next summer. Of course, the branded things have changed that thinking. But the metabolic chemistry stays, though the compositions were designed for hard, outside working in our generally hot climates. Replenishing body salts lost in sweating. For most poor, the oil in the pickle gave the macronutrient, fat, in some measure.
2. They were largely based on sour fruits. Raw mango, lime and lemons, other citrus fruits, wide range of berries. The fruit acids - citric, tartaric, malic etc - provided the pH buffer for the body.
3. The major spices - mustard powder from ancient times, red chilli powder in recent centuries ( after India adopted it as its own), fenugreek seeds and powder and others provided not only the taste and flavour, but their own share of phytonutrients.
Thus the Indian pickle design was centuries ahead of modern food chemistry. They are still valid today and can serve all the metabolic values listed above.
The basic composition could also accommodate a wide variety of non sour vegetables and fruits, but also meat like fish for pickling. Fresh red and green chillies are standing examples of this accommodation. So much so, chilli pickles must rate among the top favourites in the country.
While the stuffed red chilli pickle looks gorgeous, here is a simpler, equally tastier version that can be preserved for long in the fridge. Cut a lot of fresh long red chillies into small pieces, seeds ok, stem removed. Now sauté them in a wok slowly in a few spoons of oil - unrefined mustard, unrefined sesame or any other refined oil. While sautéing, add salt ( liberally), mustard powder and fenugreek seed powder. Also a spoon of tamarind concentrate paste. When the chillies have rendered well, cool completely and swirl them in a coffee grinder a bit, close to being a paste. Adjust the seasonings now directly, after a couple of hours and according to your taste. Tamarind paste is readily available, particularly in Indian stores. I am not sure if you can use yellow mustard paste in the place of powder, but to be tried out. If the two powders are not available, dry roast two spoons of black mustard seeds and one spoon of fenugreek seeds, until the latter turns slightly brown. Cool and powder them together coarsely in a pestle mortar and use it. After bottling, for longer storage ( in the fridge door) heat a couple of spoons of oil and top it.
Omg, this is serendipity. I had this pickle just now for dinner with aloo parathas & dahi. Though mine was store-bought. Thank you so much for this recipe, I plan to try it.
My mother's pickles were famous. Seasonal fruits were turned into various "achaar" both sweet and sour, bottled, parcels sent off, the house would be redolent with the smell of spices, mustard oil, vinegar, tamarind, etc. She makes a delicious lime/lemon pickle as well. She's too unwell now so my aunt and I do our best to follow her instructions.
Thanks for reading Naheed, Hope your mum feels better. Its fantastic how every home have a little story if their own pickle traditions. I am truly glad ,you could resonate with the writing.
This was so interesting. Well written, beautifully researched. The mastery and layering in Indian cuisine is often magic. It is always fascinating to learn more.
Thanks Sheryl! It always is…how ingredients that travelled through migration became a inseparable part of a culture . I am glad you enjoyed reading it.
I really enjoyed reading this Harshita! I learn so much about the layers of Indian food from your posts and others. My husband would absolutely love this!
It’s remarkable how ingredients we come to know have traveled across oceans and cultures transformed into a vital ways of cooking. Such inspiring writing. Thank you for sharing, Harshita!!
Thanks Aki! You are very generous . It absolutely is the most surprising part of it all, an Ingredient that is so central to the cooking style have travelled such distances before it was adapted as its own.
FAn excellent presentation 👍🏻👍🏻 My compliments. With my background in chemistry, the classic Indian pickles have embodied what we know from modern food chemistry.
1. They are heavily salted and oiled. For shelf stability and for that umami taste. For year long stay till the fresh pickling season next summer. Of course, the branded things have changed that thinking. But the metabolic chemistry stays, though the compositions were designed for hard, outside working in our generally hot climates. Replenishing body salts lost in sweating. For most poor, the oil in the pickle gave the macronutrient, fat, in some measure.
2. They were largely based on sour fruits. Raw mango, lime and lemons, other citrus fruits, wide range of berries. The fruit acids - citric, tartaric, malic etc - provided the pH buffer for the body.
3. The major spices - mustard powder from ancient times, red chilli powder in recent centuries ( after India adopted it as its own), fenugreek seeds and powder and others provided not only the taste and flavour, but their own share of phytonutrients.
Thus the Indian pickle design was centuries ahead of modern food chemistry. They are still valid today and can serve all the metabolic values listed above.
The basic composition could also accommodate a wide variety of non sour vegetables and fruits, but also meat like fish for pickling. Fresh red and green chillies are standing examples of this accommodation. So much so, chilli pickles must rate among the top favourites in the country.
While the stuffed red chilli pickle looks gorgeous, here is a simpler, equally tastier version that can be preserved for long in the fridge. Cut a lot of fresh long red chillies into small pieces, seeds ok, stem removed. Now sauté them in a wok slowly in a few spoons of oil - unrefined mustard, unrefined sesame or any other refined oil. While sautéing, add salt ( liberally), mustard powder and fenugreek seed powder. Also a spoon of tamarind concentrate paste. When the chillies have rendered well, cool completely and swirl them in a coffee grinder a bit, close to being a paste. Adjust the seasonings now directly, after a couple of hours and according to your taste. Tamarind paste is readily available, particularly in Indian stores. I am not sure if you can use yellow mustard paste in the place of powder, but to be tried out. If the two powders are not available, dry roast two spoons of black mustard seeds and one spoon of fenugreek seeds, until the latter turns slightly brown. Cool and powder them together coarsely in a pestle mortar and use it. After bottling, for longer storage ( in the fridge door) heat a couple of spoons of oil and top it.
Thanks Moro! Thank you for your insights too.
Omg, this is serendipity. I had this pickle just now for dinner with aloo parathas & dahi. Though mine was store-bought. Thank you so much for this recipe, I plan to try it.
Best way to have aloo parathas!
Thanks for sharing this , Annada. Do try this, You'll be surprised how easy it is.
My mother's pickles were famous. Seasonal fruits were turned into various "achaar" both sweet and sour, bottled, parcels sent off, the house would be redolent with the smell of spices, mustard oil, vinegar, tamarind, etc. She makes a delicious lime/lemon pickle as well. She's too unwell now so my aunt and I do our best to follow her instructions.
Beautiful read. Thank you for the recipes.
P.S. recently we turned a whole batch of mangoes into achaars of various kinds. Such a delight.
Thanks for reading Naheed, Hope your mum feels better. Its fantastic how every home have a little story if their own pickle traditions. I am truly glad ,you could resonate with the writing.
This was so interesting. Well written, beautifully researched. The mastery and layering in Indian cuisine is often magic. It is always fascinating to learn more.
Thanks Sheryl! It always is…how ingredients that travelled through migration became a inseparable part of a culture . I am glad you enjoyed reading it.
So fascinating, Harshita! I remember trying the Indian lemon pickle for the first time. I got hooked and added it to everything I could think of.
I hope you will consider writing a book about all the spices and their combinations that constitute umami .
Thank you Amela. Oh my god! You read my mind, I was actually thinking of researching more on this and eventually writing a book.
Do it!
Hi Harshita, I forgot to add to my comment that I have the SAME lemon pickle prepared by my MIL. It’s more than 50 yrs old :)
Wow, Thats so fascinating. The dark lemon achaar is a language of its own.
I really enjoyed reading this Harshita! I learn so much about the layers of Indian food from your posts and others. My husband would absolutely love this!
Thanks , Wendy. That's so sweet,I am so glad you find this helpful.
It’s remarkable how ingredients we come to know have traveled across oceans and cultures transformed into a vital ways of cooking. Such inspiring writing. Thank you for sharing, Harshita!!
Thanks Aki! You are very generous . It absolutely is the most surprising part of it all, an Ingredient that is so central to the cooking style have travelled such distances before it was adapted as its own.