Dates Achaar

Dates Achar

What you need to get started?

Chopped Dates -  1 and 1/2 cup
Ginger (julienne style) - 1 and 1/2 tbl spoon
Garlic ( sliced thin) - 1 and 1/2 tbl spoon
Curry leaves -  Generous 2 sprigs
Sesame Oil -  1 cup
Mustard Seeds -  1 tbl spoon
Chilli powder -  3 tbl spoon
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Fenugreek Powder - 1/4 tsp and a little more
Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp
Vinegar 1/2 cup approx - adjust to suit your taste
Jaggery - 1/4 cup approx - adjust to suit your taste
Salt - to taste


Method:

1. Heat Oil
2. Add mustard seeds and let it splutter
3. Add curry leaves.
4. Add ginger, garlic and saute.
5. Add chilli powder, tumeric powder. asafoetida and fenugreek powder and saute.
6. Add chopped dates and saute, let it cook well for 5-7 minutes on medium flame.
7. Add salt.
8. Add the vinegar and once it starts boiling, add the jaggery. ( add to adjust according to your taste)

Fish Pickle

This was a life saver while we were in hostel. Even after marriage, my darling amma she used to bring me truckloads of it, when she came to visit me. I was going through some old pics in the computer and came across this one, I was missing my amma so much when I saw all these bottles of pickles she got me during one of her visits.

I was trying hard to look at the bottles and see what the pickles were, I know there was definitely fish pickle, beef pickle, ambazhanga pickle, kanni maanga pickle, kadugu maanga pickle, unnakkiya maanga achar, fresh home made ghee, samanthi podi, hmmm..... I love my amma... 

Okay, so here is the fish pickle I made last week. I love to have some made and kept in the fridge so incase, you get lazy, tired or sick to cook, there is some life saver in the fridge ....

I couldn't decide which one to post here, so I have posted them all...

How to make it. Its very simple. All you need is some patience with the ginger and garlic.

Take Loads of ginger and garlic. Depends on how much you want. Take equal portions of both and grind half it and chop the other half. Have lots of curry leaves handy.

Use only sesame oil.

Cut the fish into small pieces. Marinate it with chili powder, salt, turmeric, pepper powder and fenugreek powder.

Fry the fish and keep aside.

Heat sesame oil , add mustard seeds, let it splutter, add the chopped ginger and garlic, curry leaves and sauté well.

Add the ginger garlic paste and sauté till oil clears.

Add Chilli powder and salt and sauté.

Add Vinegar, according to your taste.

Add the fried fish, check salt and switch off. If you think the pickle needs more vinegar , heat some in a pan , let it cool and then add to the pickle. Add oil well to let it last longer without getting spoiled.

Enjoy this pickle with rice, rotis ...

Kadugu Maanga Achar ( Mango Pickle)

Kadugu Maanga Achar is a life saver. For me if I have this achar, one meen varuthathu and beans mezhukkuvaratty with some rice, then its heaven in a plate on earth :-)))

All of us have stories and stories to tell when we think about Kadigu Maanga Achar. Hmmmm...  :-)

Here is how you do it...

2 Mangoes - take the skin off and chop into small pieces.
Ginger and garlic - sliced 1 table spoon ( don't add more else it will over power the taste of mango)
Curry leaves
Chilli powder -2-3 table spoons
Tumeric - 1 teaspoon
Fenugreek Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Vinegar -(1/4 cup ... roughly depends on how tangy you like it)
Asafetida - a pinch
Crushed mustard - 1/4 teaspoon ( if you add too much , you will get a bitter taste )
Salt
Sesame Oil (4-5 table spoons)

Heat Oil. Add the mustard seeds, let it splutter.
Add the ginger garlic slices and sauté.
Add curry leaves.
Switch off and add the chili powder, just to avoid burning, and sauté the chili powder.
Add Vinegar and switch the flame back on, and let it boil.
Add salt.
Add the fenugreek powder, and Asafetida.
Add the crushed mustard.
Switch off, Let it cool a little.

Then finally add the chopped mango slices. Give a quick stir.

Enjoy this pickle with anything and everything. Don't worry, everyone does that. :-)

Narenga Achar

Narenga Pickle ! Who doesn't like to have narenga pickle with a nice Biriyani ... If you are like me, you will like it with anything. Keeping all things aside about health hazards of eating pickles, lets move on to the recipe ;)

What you need to get started ?

A bag of key limes (25-30 small ones )

Ginger ( 4 table spoon  chopped and 3-4 table spoon ground paste)

Garlic ( 4 table spoon chopped and 3-4 table spoon paste 

Chilli Powder - depends on how spicy you want it Maybe 3-4 table spoons

Tumeric Powder - a teaspoon 

Fenugreek Powder - a teaspoon

Asafetida - 1/4 teaspoon

Curry leaves - Plenty

Sesame Oil . Only use this oil. It makes a huge difference. ( Nallenna)

Mustard Seeds ( a teaspoon )

Salt to taste

Jaggery or Brown Sugar or if you don't have that at the least some white sugar will also do :-)

Vinegar 1/4 cup ( almost )

Method

1. Wash the Key Limes and wipe them dry
2. Take a flat pan
3. add a little 2 table spoon of Sesame Oil
4. Add the key limes and keep sautéing till the limes are about to break open, take them out before they break and wipe them dry. Throw away the oil. It would have taken out the bitter taste. After its cooled, quarter the limes, make sure you don't lose the juice. 
5. Then take a skillet, add sesame oil 1/4 cup, add muster seeds, let it splutter then add the curry leaves, add the chopped ginger and garlic. Sauté well. After its sautéed well, add the ginger garlic paste, let it sauté . 
6. Mix the powders with vinegar and add it to the pan, let it sauté well till oil clears on top.
7. Add salt and taste
8. Add the quartered limes and let it boil.
9. I like to add some jaggery or brown sugar at this point, because the Sour taste of the lime and the vinegar will be balanced out when you add  sweetness to it .
10. Taste and see if the salt, Vinegar and the sweet taste are well balanced. Switch off. When its cooled, store it in an airtight container. Let it sit for 2 weeks and all the limes would have become so soft by now after sucking in all the gravy .

ENJOY !!! :-)