Winter is a lovely time to be in Ahmedabad. The weather is beautiful and you get some really lovely vegetables and fruits in this season. There are some that are really unique to this state, like ponk or fresh jowar, fresh tuver or pigeon pea and kand or purple yam. I had never heard of these before I moved here. Another really interesting one is the fresh red chilli, which I was always tempted to buy but never knew what to make with it.
Fresh chillies drying in the sun
The really friendly and helpful vegetable vendor sometimes even gives me ideas of what I can make with the veggies that are new to me. Like mogri, or radish stems, which he even gave me a recipe for, but unfortunately I didn't like the taste of it too much, way too strong for my taste. He told me this is the red chilli that's used to make the red chilli stuffed pickle. That was the pickle I always enjoyed with parathas at the restaurants serving authentic North Indian food and I was thrilled with the prospect of making my own stuffed red chilli pickle ~
Pickle ready to be eaten
I love it with parathas, especially aloo parathas. This pickle is not terribly spicy but has the tangy, bitter and spice tastes all merged together to make it really irresistible. I was so thrilled with the idea of making this and two of my friends here gave me their aunt's / mother's recipes. I combined both these recipes and since I had bought just 10 chillies, I reduced the amount of all the spices, going by the great 'andaaz' or estimation, more than anything else. Its a miracle this pickle turned out right
Chilli pickle getting sun-cooked
Here's the recipe after all my approximations. I will definitely make a bigger batch next season
Stuffed red chilli pickle / Lal mirch ka achaar
What you need -
10 large fresh red chillies
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp red chilli powder
1/4 tsp asafoetida powder / hing
3 tbsp dry mango powder / amchoor powder
3 tbsp black mustard seeds
1 tbsp fennel seeds / saunf
1 tbsp fenugreek seeds
2 tsp kalonji seeds / nigella
2 tbsp salt or to taste
1/3rd cup mustard oil
What you do with it -
Heat the mustard oil to smoking point first, set aside and allow it to completely
Wash chillies and allow to dry completely on a towel, leaving in a sunny place for a day
Dry roast the mustard, fenugreek and fennel seeds. Allow it to cool and then add the nigella seeds to it
Grind it coarsely and keep aside
Add 2 tbsp of oil to the spice mixture
Using a spoon, stuff the mixture into each chilli, whole or slit lengthwise, as you prefer
Add a little oil into each chilli and place these in a clean, dry glass jar and pour the remaining oil over it
Keep it in the sun for 2-3 days
Enjoy the pickle with parathas
