Aam Ka Achar / Indian Mango Pickle in Mustard Oil

Mango pickle is something that we love pairing with chapathi - dal or poori-bhajji combinations. They are a pure bliss. Having spend half my life in north India, I had a special liking towards this pickle. Every time my parents would visit us, they would bring a jar of this pickle knowing that it is my favorite. But J would never understand what is so special about this pickle. He has a hate relationship with mustard oil. But having lived together for some years together and me going umm ahh over it whenever I eat :D, he started trying it and guess what I have to share the pickle with him too now .. he he. My kido too likes it. He, for some reason, calls pickle as Olli. I have no idea where he got that word from, but every time he sees me take out the pickle jar he will go on saying he wants it. 

We used to help mummy break open the mangoes, as a kid. It was a family affair if we were pickling this particular mango pickle. Right from sourcing the mangoes from our own mango tree to pickling, everyone in the family would be involved. My brother would pluck the mangoes. Washing and wiping it dry would be done by mummy and me. Breaking it open would be done by papa and mummy and we used to pull out the seeds and clean up. And pickling would be done by mummy. Everyone would then wait patiently for the pickle to be ready to eat. It tastes good if you pickle it with the hard cover of the seed on it. But you can always use just the flesh part of the mango to make it. I was lucky that the vendor did chop it out for me, which made the whole process such a breeze.

Try this pickle this summer. This pickle stays good for about 1-2 years if stored properly in room temperature. We just ran out of the pickle that we had made last year. But lucky us, the mango season is here and we get to pickle more :).

Ingredients

1. 1 kg of small variety raw mango, washed and wiped dry
2. 4 tbsp of Mustard seeds
3. 1 tbsp of Fenugreek seeds
4. 1 tbsp of Ajwain / carom seeds 
5. 1 tbsp of Jeera/ cumin seeds
6. 1 tbsp of Fennel seeds / saunf
7. 3/4 tbsp of Kalonji / kala jeera 
8. 3 tbsp of Red chilly powder
9. 1 1/2 tsp of Turmeric powder
10. Salt as required
11. 2 cups of Mustard oil

Method

• Break open the mangoes by cutting them through the seeds. Remove the seed and let the hard cover of the seed stay on the pulp. Chop them into small cubes. 
• Place the chopped mangoes in a bowl. Put the turmeric powder and salt. Give it a thorough mix. Cover and let it rest overnight. 
• Next morning, water would have released from the mangoes. Disgard the water, spread the mango pieces on a tray and keep it in the sun for about 2 hours. 
• In a blender jar, take the ingredients 2-7 and run it to crush them into a coarse mixture. Transfer it into a bowl. Add red chilly powder and mix it. 
• In a pan, take the mustard oil and heat it to smoking point. Pour this mustard oil over the masala mixture just enough to turn it into a paste. Rub and coat each mango piece with this mixture. Arrange the mango pieces tightly into a clean and dry jar. Wait for the mustard oil to cool down completely. Pour it over the mango pieces untill all the pieces are completely immersed in mustard oil. Close the jar and keep it aside for about 10 days. The mango pickle would be ready to use. If stored properly, it can stay good for 2 years or even more.

Tips

1. Heating the mustard oil to a smoking point is important. But wait for it to cool completely before you pour into the jar of pickle. The mango pieces should remain immersed in oil to not go bad.

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