Traditional mango pickle or aam ka achaar is a sour tangy pickle.Most Indian homes make it during summers. Generally, due to the bumper produce of mango trees. We had many mango trees in the garden. Thus, loads of fruit all season. Some raw mangoes would fall on the ground. Hence, we would pickle raw mangoes or 'kachchi keri' and leave some to make aam panna. Pickling ensures nothing goes waste.I love all kinds of mango pickles. Be it sweet Gujarati chunda or sour Andhra thokku. Cut mango both sweet and sour too. Eat the sweet launji with parathas, while sour traditional cut one with curd rice. Each has its own magic. Be it mango garlic pickle or mango ginger. After all, pickle is the spice of life!
What else can you pickle?
You can pickle almost anything under the sun. Any vegetable like carrots, onions & cauliflower. Fruits like lemon, mango, tomatoes. Spices like ginger, green and red chilly, garlic, mustard seeds. People even pickle gherkins, cucumbers, turnips, olives and beetroots.
Hobby ideas for kids
Pickling can be a fun activity for kids too. It can help them understand flavors. Give them chopped mangoes. Let them have fun with spices.(Except if you use the red chilly powder).If you want them to make something less spicy, use paprika instead of red chilly powder. Paprika gets you the red color minus the heat. You can also add the chilly in the end instead of giving it to them. They can enjoy mixing other vegetables in the pickle, as these pickle recipes has no cooking involved. There is something magical about pickling. It brings out the best in veggies. Just like time does in all of us. You can also try picking chickpeas with mangoes or with jackfruit. It tastes amazing.
Step-by-step instructions for aam ka achar recipe
1.Cut the mango and pieces and let it dry
2.Prepare the spice mix
3.Add the spice mix to the mango pieces with some mustard oil
4.Move it to a jar,add more mustard oil,keep it outside under the sun.
Read the recipe of traditional mango pickle/aam ka achar
traditional mango pickle
Ingredients
- 4 cups ½ kg keri or raw mango cubed
- ¼ cup namak/salt
- 2 tbsp methi dana/fenugreek seeds coarsely ground
- 2 tbsp saunf/fennel seeds
- 1 tsp kalonji/nigella seeds
- ⅛ th cup lal mirch/red chilly powder
- 1 tsp haldi/turmeric powder
- 1 cup mustard oil
Instructions
- Keep the mango pieces in a plate to dry for few hours. This will help to remove any moisture from the mango pieces.
- Mix all the spices with the mangoes and transfer to a sterilized and jar.
- Pour the oil over the mangoes and keep it in the sun for a period of 1 month.
- Once every few days, stir the contents with a clean and dry spoon during while the pickle is kept in the Sun.
- The pickle is ready ,once the mango pieces have turned soft and can easily be cut with a spoon.
- Store this in a cool dry place.
Please share your inputs..