Jul 25, 2008

Mixed Vegetable Pickle

Making pickles was my Dads hobby. Though my Dad never cooked Lunch or Dinner for the family, he has a special interest in certain recipes. He loved making pickles. Its a tough job, a very tough job. Its very unlike the regular cooking. May be that was the reason my Mom wasnt so interested in making pickles. I set out on an adventure to make pickles just as a tribute to my Dad. The end result was very hot and very sweet. Ofcourse, pickles are hot. But sweet? right...memories and achievement are sweet.

The recipe listed here does not contain oil and a very traditional Konkani Style pickle.

Heres how to start with the mixed vegetable pickle



Gather some very fresh veggies such as
carrots
cauliflower
lime, preferably keylime, make sure the skin is not dried.
green chillies, make sure the seeds haven't blackened
ginger
tendle, tindora, use only if its tender and tiny

1 cup salt, table salt or sea salt, your choice
1.5 cup water

1 cup chilli powder
1/2 cup mustard seeds
2 tsp hing

Boil the water, add salt and continue boiling for may be 15mins. Now cover with a thin cloth or splatter screen and rest it till completely cool. Better wait for half a day.

Clean and slice the veggies, drain the water, pat and dry them completely. Make sure no water droplets remain. In a glass jar, add the veggies and now pour the salted water till everything is submerged. Store in a cool place for 2-3 weeks. You can keep it for longer say up to a month. The veggies absorb salt and get tastier.

Now drain the salt water from the veggies into a bowl. We will use this water to make the pickle paste.

Take a clean blender jar and finely powder the mustard seeds. Add the together chilli powder and hing and blend together everything, use the salt water and make a paste. Blend for may be 10- 20mins. This helps to get the powders blend together making the paste smoother and soft. Without blending the paste remains grainy and you can surely feel the difference.

Now mix together the veggies and the paste, store in a cool place. Stays for up to a year. If done right may be years.



Here's a trick from me for amateurs like myself. Add a tablespoon of vinegar(preferably buy a naturally brewed one) to the salt water when you soak the veggies. Helps as a natural preservative, also adds sourness to the pickle.

24 comments:

Sia said...

hey manjula, its so good to see u resume blogging:) how have u been?
i just had breakfast and guess what we had? made surnali dosa following ur recipe and it was just yum:) thanks for the recipe:)
mixed pickle is my fav and amma usually prepared it whenever we had functions at home.
by the way, u can send this to WBB-Summer Feast which i am hosting. its perfect with summer veggies and i know can be served for bf and brunch:) chk my blog for details...

Deepa Kudva said...

hi Manjula, thanks for posting the mixed vegetable nonche recipe.i shall try and make this.

zlamushka said...

Wow, Manjula, this is fantastic. I am never tired of pickle recipes :-)

maybelles mom said...

oh, this nonche looks so delicious.

Pooh said...

Okay, I just loved the transformation in those two pictures!

Unknown said...

Wow homemade pickles is a favorite of mine, my mom used to make instant mango pickles sometimes:) That bottle of pickle looks so tasty :)

Uj said...

Hi Manjula,
This pickle happens to be one of my fav. Looks yummy. I have never tried making pickles at home. Was always scared about messing it up.

Sharmi said...

Hi Manjula, Its so long since I visited you. Pickle tickles my tongue:) ok now let me go through other recipes!

Nithya Praveen said...

Wow...I will reserve this for the next summer.A lovely recipe for a sot pickle:)

Anonymous said...

hi manjula,

nice pickle recipe...this is simply great.

Raaga said...

this is the kochla lonche? I love it... haven't ever tried making it.

Manjula said...

Hi Raaga,
This is "kochla nonche" translates to pickles of pieces. Some pickles are made with whole raw mangoes, tendle/gherkins and such.
There are many other konkani style pickle recipes too.

writer said...

looks awesome:) my mouth is watering.

John said...

It looks very healthy.
Thanks for sharing.
www.ahacook.com

Anonymous said...

Hi Manjula, your recipe looks good.I want to try it. But whenyou are calling for 1 cup of chili powder,how much of the veggies? a cup of each(tendle, limbiyo,carrot and cauli)? Pl be specific.In my experience, if the mustard is ground finely, makes the pickle darker in colour a tad bitter and pasty. Generally in Konkani pickles mustard is ground coarsely(kasmashichi)Try grinding it towards the end and see the difference.

Unknown said...

Love your pickle recipe, Manjula. You make it look so easy :).

betty said...

Wonderful,yummy site-thanks for the pictures and info! Betty

Ash said...

Mixed pickle!!!!Wow!!! My hubby loves it a lot compared all other pickles... It gets emptied, like anything...

Kindly collect ur Beers to you!!!! award from my blog,

Ash....
(http://asha-oceanichope.blogspot.com/)

Unknown said...

Dear Manjula, Thanks for this recipe. I don't have a "pickle" hand but I'll try this out. That's because ALL the Dalitoy recipies have been wonderfully simple to make and a great hit at home. I have two queries and would be grateful for your help:

1. Given the measurement of salt and water, what should be the quantity of veggies?

2. My husband and I are in our late forties and have been asked to go a bit slow on red chilli. Anyway of reducing the red chilli quantity? (I can almost read your mind on this, but please help!)

thanks,
Anshu

Manjula said...

Anshu,
Glad you have liked the recipes I have posted. I am not a Pro in pickle making. From the visual training I got from my parents, here is my best possible attempt to answer your Questions.

1. Start with 2 cups of veggies. Its always better to have excess salt water to begin with. When marinating the veggies, just add enough salt water to soak the veggies. Store the excess salt water in a jar. On the day of pickling, you will make the paste with the water drained from the veggies and use it first. Add more salt water as needed according to your taste and consistency required.

2. This is a tough one. I would say slow down on the pickles! If you are allowed to eat salt then go for the pickles with only salt and no chillies. When growing up my mom used to make lemon "kanchi", a kind of pickle with no chillies, just whole or diced lemons marinated in salt water. If you are allowed to eat green chillies, you can add them to the kanchi along with the lemons.

Anonymous said...

I've never really tried making homemade pickles but I loooove pickles! I'll sure try this one out one day, thanks for the tips! :-)

Swathy said...

hi, i love ur blog.. why havent u updated it for sometime now?
waiting for ur next post!
:)

Mangala Prabhu said...

Aaah! Looks very appetizing. Curd rice and this pickle would be a sumptuous meal for me.

http://rasoiexperiments.blogspot.com/

Shanthi Krishnakumar said...

Mouthwatering and useful tips for amateurs. Do visit my blog when time permits. http://shanthisthaligai.blogspot.com/