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If there
is a Chilli town
somewhere; I would like to be the Mayor please!
Love them... but then like with every love affair; I treat
Chillies with caution and much deserved respect :)
Just recently I went on a hunt: my mission to find some real
robust chilli pickle. And I did find a jar...well it looked like it had chilli
pieces (real ones I mean), the stuff looked fresh (as fresh as it can look
inside a canned jar)... Going by it's look I assumed it was to be the same or
at least almost the same stuff my granny or mum used to prepare. Sadly, it
didn't. Yes, the chillies were for real... but something about its aroma didn't
seem right. It's hard to explain this olfactory sensation about home-made
pickles or achaars as we call it; and no matter what;
shop bought jars just can't do it for me. I am sure it is true for most of us
who loves the mum or the granny made variety. It's a pity I never had a chance
to learn my granny's recipe and now that she is no more with us; its gone for
ever. But then, not all is lost. I still rem'er her doing things on summery
mornings with these fresh chillies... She always had something up her sleeves.
Drying them, bottling them with spice fillings, canning them with mustard oil.
I rem'er eating a variety of preserved vegetables and yet, I never really
bothered to ask How?
But then: just like necessity is the mother of invention...
craving for certain kind of food also leads to experiments in the kitchen and why
not? Living far away from home, I do occasionally miss what I can't
have here. Herein starts my respect for simple things in life which I must
confess, took for granted.
In a bid to recreate my gran's chilli pickle recipe; I raked my
grey matter so as to get at least a vague idea of what she must have used to do
that amazingly spiced yet simple achaar. So, here's what I have with me; a
really nice home-made chilli pickle recipe for all of you who loves the warmth
of these little gems and miss ghar ka
achaar :)
100 gms Bird's eye chillies
4 medium Garlic pods
2 tsp Ginger powder
1 tsp Cumin powder
2 tsp Coriander powder
¼ tsp Turmeric powder
¼ tsp Asafetida (Hing)
¼ tsp Fennel seeds
¼ tsp Onion seeds (Kalonji)
¼ tsp Fenugreek seeds (Meethi)
4 tbsp Lemon juice
4 tbsp English whole grain
mustard (pre-made paste)
1 tbsp Salt
Oil
§
Before we can start with the pickling process; a few things needs
to be done. First up is the pickling jar. Go for a tight lid canning jar or
bottle. Traditionally bharanis or ceramic
jars were used. However, keeping with my ‘make use of what is available’ scheme
of things; I am using a glass jar. I am told they are equally good. I wash them
and sterilize by immersing them in a pot full of water and boiling them for at least
15 minutes. They are then laid out to dry completely.
§
Next up… wash the green chilies in water. Pat-dry them and spread
them on kitchen towels to dry them completely. Spread them out over night or
under the sun if you like…
§
Take out a pair of kitchen scissors and chop the chilies to any
size you like. I like to have a crunch in my chili; so I leave them about ½ inch or so.
Before I forget to mention, the stems goes to the bin.
§
In a glass mixing bowl; tip in the chili pieces. Grate the garlic
pods and then add the lemon juice. Mix well and leave it to be absorbed for at
least an hour.
§
In the meantime, lightly toss around the fennel seeds, fenugreek
seeds and the onion seeds in a heated pan. This is just to release a little
aroma. This process is not necessary; however, doing this will release the
essential oils from these ingredients more readily into our pickle.
§
Add this mix to the chillies. Tip in the turmeric powder, cumin and
coriander powder together with the half the salt. Give it a nice mix.
§
Spoon in the mustard paste and mix again. Leave it to marinate for
another hour. By the way, I am using pre-made English mustard (a good one, with
some whole grains). The reason for doing this is quite simple… I have tried it
with whole black as well as yellow mustard seeds earlier; but somehow, the
pickle tastes better with the mustard paste. The one that I am using contains: white
vinegar, black mustard seeds, mustard flour, salt, sugar, cinnamon powder,
pimento powder and turmeric powder. They are easily available in super markets
and comes in a variety of texture and taste like the French Dijon mustard,
super fine mustard etc. For this recipe though I would suggest the coarser
variety.
§
While the mix is marinating; heat enough oil in a pan. It should
reaching smoking point. Turn off the heat and let the oil cool a little. It
should still be hot and not warm.
§
Start spooning the chilli mix into the jar. Now very carefully pour
the hot oil into the jar. As I pour in the oil, I ensure that the chilies are
completely emerged in it and tip an extra tablespoon. Now, the thing is, once
the pickling is done the flavoured oil is like gold dust. You can refill the
bottle with more chilli pieces, in the same oil as and when you consume the
original pickle.
§
Let the oil cool before tightly wrapping the
mouth of the jar with kitchen wrap and then putting on the lid. This now needs
to rest for at least 3 weeks. I leave it to rest by my kitchen window, where
there is plenty of sunlight (as sunny as it can get here where I live) or leave
it in some warm place like on the top of your refrigerator.
I do hope
you try this one out. If you like it; leave me a comment or if you have any
request let me know. I will try my best J For the
time being though, my achaar is in
its 2 week of the pickling process. I will keep you all posted and perhaps
write up a recipe to go with the achaar
the day I break the seal. Till then enjoy and have fun.
..................................................................................................Maverick Cook :)
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