Sweet Mango Pickle

Ingredients:

 11/2 lb. Green Aam (Mangoes)
11/4lb Sugar
2tsp salt
1tbsp white cumin seeds
2tsp brown cardamom seeds
1tbsp poppy seeds
1tsp red chili powder

Method:

Wash, peel and grate the aam (mangoes). There should be about 450gms / 1lb of flesh. Add sugar and salt and mix well in a large bowl. Roast cumin seeds, cardamom seeds and poppy seeds, stir in chili powder and mix with the sweetened mango. Turn the mango pickle into a sterilized jar, cover with a clean cloth and leave out in the sun or in warm, light place for about a week. Shake the jar at least once a day.

Mixed Vegetable Pickle

Ingredients:

1/2 kg Turnips
1/2 kg Carrots
1/2 kg Cauliflower
1 cup Oil
2 teaspoons Turmeric  
2 teaspoons Red chili pepper
6 tsps ground Mustard seeds 
Salt  to taste

Method:
Clean and cut vegetables into big pieces and boil for 5 minutes. Put in a basket to drain well and then dry with a clean cloth. Mix ground mustard seeds, turmeric, Red chili pepper , salt and oil together into the boiled vegetables. Put in a clean jar and keep it in the sun for 4 days, shaking the pickle once or twice daily. Serve after 6 days. This pickle can be kept for 15 days.

Pyaaz Ka Achaar ( onion) pickle

Ingredients:

1 cup Mustard oil
4 tbsp Black mustard seeds
2 tsp red chili powder
1 tsp ground turmeric
3 tbsp vinegar
2 1/2 tbs. sugar
1/2 tbs. salt
3 tbsp dry mango powder
15-18 green chilies
30 cloves of garlic (peeled)
11/2 tbs. Ginger (crushed)
1 Kg Onions (sliced)

Method:
Heat oil to smoking point, then set aside to cool. Grind or blend the mustard seeds, chili powder, turmeric, vinegar, sugar, salt and dry mango powder together to make a paste. Add this paste to the oil, then all the other ingredients. Stir to mix well and store in sterilized jars covered with a film of oil. Keep for 3-4 weeks refrigerated.

Stuffed Red Chillie Pickle

Ingredients:

250 grams big red chilies for stuffing
4 teaspoons fenugreek seeds, roasted and powdered
3 teaspoons Red chili pepper
8 teaspoons aniseed powder
8 teaspoons Salt  
4 teaspoons mustard powder
4 teaspoons cumin powder
juice of 2 Lemons 
1 cup Oil heated and cooled
4 teaspoons amchoor

 Method:
Remove the stems of the chillies and then the seeds from the stem side carefully.. Wet all the ingredients with lemon juice and a little oil. Fill the masala tightly in the chillies and pack them in a jar. Pour the oil over them. Keep for one month. Shake the jar carefully every 2 or 3 days.

COOKING TIPS

Tips On Cutting & Peeling :

• Wash vegetables before peeling or cutting to preserve the water soluble vitamins.
• Peel vegetables as thinly as possible to preserve the minerals and vitamins.
• Soak potatoes and eggplant after cutting, to avoid discoloration.
• If you boil vegetables in water, do not throw the water, keep it to make gravies.
• To avoid browning of apples after cutting, apply a little lemon juice on the cut surface. The apples will stay and look fresh for a longer time.
• Keep coriander leaves in a muslin (cheese) cloth bag in the refrigerator. They will remain fresh for a longer time.
• Remove the stems of green chilies while storing them .This will help them to stay fresh for long.
• After peeling onions cut in half and soak in water for about 10 minutes before cutting to avoid crying.
• Soak almonds in a cup of boiling water for 10 minutes .The skin will peel off easily.
• Chopping vegetables can be done in different ways using a sharp knife and a wooden chopping board. Cutting on a marble slab will blunt your knives.
• Remove the outer leaves and husks from the corn (bhutta). Holding the corn upright with the flat end firmly in a board, take a sharp knife and run it down between the kernels and the cob to strip them away.
• Wrap the fruits and vegetables in newspaper before refrigerating to keep them fresh for long.
• Chopping dry fruits - Freeze them first for one hour & then dip the knife into hot water before cutting them.

|