RECIPES: Try these three achar recipes that are easy to whip up and perfectly timed for pickle season
Food blogger and home chef Monowara Mohamed Bhamjee shares three recipes that are easy to prepare, whether for enjoying at home or even to help you with a side hustle to put a little extra cash in your purse.
*Grated Mango Achar
STEP 1: 1 kg green mangoes
Cut in half, seeds removed & partially peeled
Pack on a tray with paper towels and leave to dry a bit for a few hours
Grate into a dish.
Dab the grated mango with paper towels to remove excess liquid.
Add 2 tsp (or to taste) salt
3 tbs brown sugar
2 tsp ground jeero
1 tsp fine dhania
4 tbs methi masala
1 - 2 tbs fine red chillies
1 tsp turmeric
⅓ cup white vinegar
1 tsp crushed red chilli powder
Mix above well
STEP 2: In a saucepan, add about ½ cup oil
Add 2 tsp mustard seeds
About 10 fresh garlic(grated)
Don't brown the garlic.
2 tbs green chillies(crushed)
Mix well.
STEP 3: Pour over the mangoes and mix and pour into a container
Keep it refrigerated.
*Carrot Achar
STEP 1: 1 kg carrots (cut into sticks)
A handful of Broccoli, cauliflower, baby corn and Mangetouts peas to give it a bit of colour (or use only carrots)
Wash and drain well
Dry access water with paper towel
To the Carrots add:
4 -5 tsp fine red chillies
4 -5 tbs methi masala (pickle)
1 heaped tsp salt
1 tsp fine dhania
½ tsp fine jeero
¼ tsp turmeric
Mix above and keep aside
STEP 2: In a pot add 3 and ½ cups white vinegar and 1 and ¼ cups white sugar.
Bring to boil and when the Sugar is dissolved make a paste with 4 heaped tbs Maizena and ½ cup vinegar
Then add to the boiled vinegar and stir all the time till it thickens.
Pour this mixture over the carrots and mix well..
STEP 3: Make a vagaar
In a small saucepan add
¼ cup oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
2 -3 whole green chilies (slivered)
1 heaped tsp crushed garlic
A few curry leaves
Braised a few minutes but add the garlic last and braised that only a few seconds. Do not brown the garlic
Then add the vagaar to the carrots
*Mango Achar
1 kg small green mangoes (wash, peel and cut into small pieces or slices)
Try to get the young ones with the soft pip (pip removed)
Add about 2 tbs rough salt and leave it to draw the salt for a few hours
Drain and give it a slight rinse
Pat it dry and leave it
Spread out in a big container on paper towels and covered with paper towels as well
STEP2: The next day, throw it onto a baking tray.
Cover with a net and leave it to dry. You can leave it for two days, but I was too impatient, so I put it in an airfryer and dried it on the lowest setting for 10 minutes.
Not too long. Otherwise, it gets soft and loses its crunchiness.
Stick to the tray if you don't want to make a mistake
Empty the mangoes into a dish
If it needs salt, add salt to taste
2 to 3 tbs fine red chillies
5-6 tbs methi masala
Mix well
STEP 3: Warm 1 cup oil and cool down slightly before adding it to the mangoes and mix thoroughly
If you're not going to refrigerate it, then add enough oil to cover the mangoes
Bottle and keep refrigerated
Stir through it a few times to rotate the oily ones at the bottom.
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