Homemade Pickled Jalapeños

I am so excited to share with you all that I made these spicy, crunchy and tangy Jalapeños which I never thought I would and I always had the store bought ones. This can be made within minutes. I am promising you that once you try making these you wont go back to the canned ones. My daughter and myself like the pickled things so this was a hit.

Sometimes you can toss in some veggies like the carrots or bell peppers, they taste delicious. This is the best recipe for pickled jalapeños. Options are endless, you can  have these with burgers, nachos and so on. Usually we buy this from store, but when the last one got over, I thought of giving it a try and made them. It came out perfect. I am becoming a fan of refrigerator pickling, it’s very easy and this recipe is simple to make. Please try this recipe and let me know how it turned out.

Ingredients:

1. Jalapeños- 10- 12 numbers
2. Garlic- 2 cloves
3. Vinegar- 1 Cup
4. Salt- 1 tbsp
5. Water- 1 Cup

Method:

1. Cut the jalapeños peppers into slices and put it into mason jars.
2. Note: While cutting Jalapeño peppers use gloves or wrap your hands using cling wrap.
3. Mix the water, vinegar and salt in a bowl and heat it on a medium flame till it gets boiled.
4. Pour this into the mason jars filled with sliced jalapeños and when it cools down, close with lid and keep refrigerated.

Indian Chicken in Pickling Spices/ Achari Murg

A delicious, spicy, tangy Chicken dish made with pickling spices that preserves the dish for long time. A North Indian delicacy which is made with ingredients that enhances the flavors, increases the taste and is very authentic. This is a dish made in places like Rajasthan from a very long time.

I learned about this dish when I had this for the first time in a restaurant long back. I started making this at home, but couldn't post the recipe as it would be finished in no time and after some time I feel lazy to take pics. Today, here I am with a mouth watering , finger licking delicious dish which will be liked by all and hope you all will try it as the ingredients are easily available in the market.

Achar is an Indian condiment staple. Achar is a pickled food made with different variety’s of vegetables, fruits or meat and fish, which is preserved in brine or vinegar along with various Indian spices. There is no correct way of making pickles, rather every region every household has a preference. Here in this recipe, we use the spices that are used in pickles. Each spice is different from others, some are bitter, some are acidic, some are full of flavor but when everything comes together it's magical!!

Here I started with roasting and powdering the pickling spices and marinated the powder with the chicken, yogurt, which makes the gravy thick and which helps coat the chicken pieces evenly. Sautéed the onion- tomato mixture and then added the marinated chicken which is cooked in a generous amount of red chili powder and ended with a dash of crushed dried fenugreek leaves which will increase the flavors. A tender, juicy chicken in a spicy and tangy gravy is ready within minutes. This is traditionally made using mustard oil but you can use any oil as you like. You can adjust the gravy by adding water or decreasing. Hope you all like it!!

Ingredients:

1. Chicken Pieces- 2 lbs
2. Yogurt- 1 Cup
3. Salt- as required
4. Turmeric Powder- 2 tsp
5. Red Chilli powder- 1 tsp
6. Onions - 2 nos
7. Ginger- Garlic paste- 1 tbsp
8. Tomatoes (crushed)- 2 nos
9. Dried Fenugreek Leaves- 1tbsp
10. Oil- 2 tbsp

Roast and Grind: 
Pickling Spices:

1. Mustard Seeds- 1 tsp
2. Fenugreek Seeds- 1 tsp
3. Cumin seeds- 1 tsp
4. Fennel Seeds- 1 tsp
5. Nigell Seeds- 1 tsp
6. Dried Red Chilies-6 nos

Method:

1. Roast the pickling spices on a low flame and when it cools down grid to a fine powder. Marinate the chicken using this ground powder, turmeric powder, yogurt and salt. Keep this aside for half an hour.
2. Meanwhile heat oil in a pan, grind the onions to a coarse paste and fry till they turn translucent. Add the ginger- garlic paste and stir well.
3. When the raw smell disappears, add the crushed tomatoes and stir till everything gets well blended. When the water evaporates, add the red chili powder. Mix well.
4. In this add the marinated chicken, mix well and cook it covered for about 20- 25 minutes on a low flame.
5. When it gets cooked, add dried fenugreek leaves, stir and switch off the flame. Enjoy with roti, naan, bread or pulav.

Mummy's Kerala Prawns Pickle

Making a finger licking, mouth watering pickle is an art. Over the years, I think I have excelled in this. Before I used store bought pickle masala for making the pickles. This is my mother-in-law's recipe which she used to make often when we were in India. Now when she was here, we were lucky to get small shrimp from Costco. This pickle tastes better with small shrimp. She made this and stored in an airtight glass jar. I hid it from my husband and daughter and give them once in a while or else they would finish off within a day. This tastes amazingly delicious along with hot steaming rice. This will be loved by all the seafood lovers.

Pickling is a process of preserving food. Indian pickles can be made with almost every vegetable and also with fish, chicken, prawns and so on. I will make sure that one rack in my refrigerator is always filled with different varieties of pickle bottles. If you want more pickle recipes then you can check here.

In this, the prawns are marinated with the required amount of spices and fried in oil till done. Prepare the pickle by adding garlic, ginger and all the spices and mix along with fried prawns. The flavors of the spices and the slight tanginess from kokum are well incorporated in the pickle and a finger-licking deliciousness will be ready which can be enjoyed anytime with anything.

Ingredients:
Marination:

1. Shrimp- 2 lbs
2. Red Chilli Powder- 2 tbsp
3. Salt- as required
4. Turmeric Powder- 2 Tsp
5. Sesame Oil- 1/4 Cup

For the pickle:

1. Ginger (grated)- 2 tbsp
2. Garlic Cloves- 10- 15nos
3. Red Chilies- 5 nos
4. Salt- as required
5. Mustard Seeds- 1 tbsp
6. Curry Leaves- few
7. Red Chili Powder- 1 tbsp
8. Fenugreek powder- 1/2 Tsp
9. Turmeric Powder- 1 Tsp
10. Kokum- 2- 3 pieces (optional)

Method:

1. Mix everything for marination except oil, keep this aside for about 3- 4 hours or overnight, so that everything will get blended well.
2. Heat oil in a pan,  fry the marinated prawns till the water gets evaporated this will take about 10- 15 minutes. Once the prawns are fried well, keep them aside.
3. Meanwhile, in the same oil, splutter mustard seeds. Add the grated ginger, garlic cloves, red chilies and curry leaves. When the raw smell disappears, lower the flame, add the red chili powder, turmeric powder and fenugreek powder. 
4. Stir for a minute, add the kokum along with marinated prawns, Mix well and switch off the flame.
5. Tasty and yummy prawn pickle is ready to store in airtight jars and enjoy.

P.S: Instead of kokum you can also add 2 tbsp of vinegar.

Instant Andhra Tomato pickle

Andhra food is known for its spicy food. It consists of mouthwatering vegetarian and nonvegetarian dishes. The scrumptious cuisine consists of palatable biryanis, rice, tempting gravies, tangy pickles and heavenly desserts.

As I grew up in Andhra, I love  Andhra cuisine to the core. My mom prepares different varieties of tasty and spicy pickles, which we all like to have along with our daily rice, roti, dosas, idlis and so on. Every time the glass jars are filled with one or two varieties of pickles. If one pickle gets over she is ready with some different variety of pickle. Always the jars are filled with delicious assortments of pickles. Likewise, I have become like her. I love to prepare and also eat pickles. Whenever I get raw mangoes/ amlas/ lemons, I  grab the bag and prepare pickles and store them in different glass jars. Now my daughter is also a big lover of pickles. She loves to eat the pickle along with rice. I won’t make them spicy, as she loves to eat them.

This tomato pickle I am trying for the first time.Traditionally in Andhra, tomato pickle is made by using sun-dried tomatoes. This which I made is an instant pickle, can be stored for about 3- 4 months in a clean and sterilized glass jar. Everyone has their own version of making pickles. This is my version of a delicious, mouthwatering, long lasting, tasty and tangy tomato pickle. Just try this out and let me know.

Ingredients:

1. Tomatoes- 1 kg
2. Tamarind- a lemon size
3. Oil- 1 Cup
4. Mustard seeds- 2 tsp
5. Fenugreek seeds- 1 tsp
6. Dry Red Chillies- 5 nos
7. Garlic cloves- 1 no
8. Curry Leaves- few
9. Red Chilli Powder- 5 tbsp
10. Turmeric Powder- 2 tsp
11. Salt- as required
12. Asafoetida- a pinch

Method:

1. Wash and roughly chop all the tomatoes, meanwhile heat ½ cup of oil in a nonstick pan and drop all the roughly chopped tomatoes.
2. Stir on a medium flame till all the moisture from the tomatoes is evaporated. This will take almost 20- 25 minutes. In the middle of the stirring, the process adds the lemon sized tamarind and let it boil along with the chopped tomatoes.
3. When all the moisture is evaporated from tomatoes, switch off the flame and let it cool.
4. When tomato and tamarind mixture is completely cooled, grind this to a fine paste using a hand blender.
5. Dry roast the fenugreek seeds and grind to a fine powder. Keep this side.
6. Heat the remaining oil in a pan. Splutter the mustard seeds. Add the curry leaves, dried red chilies, and garlic cloves.
7. Stir for about a minute or 2. Lower the flame and add the red chili powder, turmeric powder, roasted fenugreek powder and adjust the amount of salt.
8. In the above, add the ground tomatoes and tamarind mixture along with a pinch of asafoetida. Taste and adjust the salt accordingly. Cook the tomato mixture till the oil starts to float on top. Turn off the flame. Let it cool completely and transfer in a clean and sterilized glass jar.

Andhra Mango Pickle/ Avakaya

Avakaya/ Mango pickle is an authentic pickle exclusively prepared in Andhra. Those who grew up in Andhra will know the specialty of this pickle. I love this a lot. My mom mixes steaming hot rice along with dal, a dollop of ghee and this pickle and the taste was mind blowing, which I won’t forget in my life. A magical combination they are.

In almost all the houses in Andhra, they used to make this pickle at home. My friends always used to bring lunch which was pickle  mixed rice i.e “avakaya annam”.

My mom used to prepare almost all the Kerala pickles, but this avakaya is the one which she doesn’t know the exact proportions. “Priya” pickles are most famous pickles, and they used to have the “mango avakaya”, which my dad used to bring regularly. Our favorite past time in the afternoons, when my mom used to take a nap, is to take a mango piece from the pickle jar, wash it and enjoy it. This used to happen regularly and my mom used to wonder, how come a big jar of avakaya got over within a few days of purchase.. :) (this is a secret till now…)

I used to think that preparing this pickle is a big and tiring process until I stumbled upon the wonderful blogger Lubna’s blog

If we have the right proportions then making this pickle is not a difficult task. This pickle is made in large portions, because of its good shelf life and that too without refrigeration. During the mango season, the Andhra markets are flooded with varieties of raw and ripe mangoes. They used to sell raw cut mangoes for pickling. The mangoes used for avakaya is cut along with the inside shell, which is a difficult process.  If the shell is not intact then the piece should be discarded, as they turn soggy.

Here in the US, I got raw cut mangoes in the frozen section, but I was not sure of how they will turn out after preparing this pickle. But to my surprise, they turned out just like the store bought ones. Just thaw them till done and wipe with a clean tissue and start the pickling process. I was excited and happy by the outcome. I am sure that you all will love this. Just try this out.

Adapted from Kitchenflavours:

Ingredients:

1. Mango pieces- 3 cups
2. Mustard seeds Powder- ½ Cup
3. Fenugreek powder- 1 tbsp
4. Red Chilli powder- 1 Cup
5. Salt- as required
6. Oil- 2 Cups
7. Garlic Cloves- 2 Cups

Method:

1. Take mango pieces in a bowl, add the mustard seeds powder, fenugreek powder, red chili powder, garlic cloves, and oil.
2. Mix well along with salt. Combine everything and keep this in an airtight glass jar.
3. After 3 days open the jar and using a clean ladle, give it a nice stir. Keep it closed.
4. Repeat the process for every 2- 3 days till 10- 15 days.
5. Enjoy the mango pickle along with hot steamed rice and a dollop of ghee.

Garlic Pickle / Veluthulli Achar

Pickles are staple in our home. Whatever be the gravy, a tinge of pickle is a must. So I never let any pickle bottle to empty. One is finished, the other will be ready.

Garlics are loved much in our family. It also has many medicinal values and can even be eaten raw. This pickle will be very good for digestion as well, especially along with a heavy binge meal !!

Ingredients:

1. Garlic Cloves- 250 gms
2. Dry Red Chillies- 7-8 nos
3. Curry leaves- few
4. Red Chilli Powder- ¼ Cup
5. Turmeric Powder- 1 tbsp
6. Asafoetida Powder- 1 tsp
7. Fenugreek Powder- 1 tbsp
8. Mustard Seeds- 1 tbsp
9. Fenugreek Seeds- 1 tsp
10. Gingelly Oil- ¼ Cup
11. Salt- as required
12. Vinegar- 2 tbsp

Method:

1. Heat oil in a kadai. Splutter mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds.
2. Add the curry leaves, dry red chillies and the garlic cloves.
3. Stir for a minute. Remove from flame, add the red chilli powder, turmeric powder, fenugreek powder and asafoetida. Mix well.
4. Add the vinegar and mix. Let it cool and store in clean glass bottle.

Nadan Manga Achar/ Kerala Style Mango Pickle

Usually I like to eat pickles along with rice, breakfast and so on. My mom makes different varieties of pickles and I used to enjoy them always. So recently I started trying to make pickles in small amounts and got successful. This raw mango pickle holds a special place in my heart.

This mango pickle is an important ingredient in any Onam sadhya. In different parts of Kerala, this pickle is made in different varieties. As Onam is nearing, I thought this is the best time to prepare this yummy and spicy pickle. Just try this out…

Ingredients:

1. Raw Mangoes- 5- 6 nos
2. Garlic- 1 Cup
3. Curry Leaves- few
4. Red Chillies- 5-6 nos
5. Mustard Seeds- 1 tbsp
6. Fenugreek Seeds- 1 tsp
7. Water- ½ Cup
8. Red Chilli powder- 5 tbsp
9. Turmeric Powder- 1 tbsp
10. Fenugreek powder- 1 tsp
11. Asafoetida Powder- ¼ tsp
12. Salt- as required
13. Oil- ¼ Cup
14. Vinegar- 2 tbsp

Method:

1. Peel the skin of mangoes and chop the raw mangoes to small pieces (I used a food Processor). Add salt to the pieces, mix well and set it aside overnight.
2. On the following day, heat oil in a kadai, splutter the mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds.
3. Add the red chillies, curry leaves and garlic. Saute till the raw smell goes.
4. On low flame, add the red chilli powder, turmeric powder, asafoetida powder and fenugreek powder and mix for some time.
5. Adjust salt and pour water, let it boil till it thickens. Add the mango pieces, mix till everything is well blended. In this stage add vinegar, mix and transfer to a neat glass jar and serve as you wish.