My Grandmom’s Avakai Pickle Recipe

I have been flooded for long with requests from friends and family to share the recipe of my grandmom’s famous avakai pickle. The one that I have been following to make the mango pickle every other year… Didn’t mean to be cagey about the recipe…or maybe I did and just got over the feeling and decided to share 🙂

So here it is…the recipe…raw, uncut, unedited…copied right from the notes of my grandma!

Ingredients:

Raw mangoes (big) –    25-30

sunflower refined oil            1 litre

Red chilli powder-                750gms

Salt powder                         750gms

Raw mustard powder           200gms

Ginger garlic paste                750gms

Asafoetida and Fenugreek seeds(together)                    50gms (first dry roast them separately, carefully so you don’t get them burnt. Then grind them to a powder)

fresh lemon juice                    4 lemons

Jeera seeds                                 2 table spoons

Dried red chiles                      15

Garlic pods(slightly crushed)   30

Dry wooden spoons for mixing  1 or 2

Ceramic jars for storing the pickle – Few

Clean piece of white cloth and white thread

Intangible Ingredients:

A sprinkle of patience, laughter and love!

Procedure:

1. Wash the mangoes and wipe them dry

2. Cut each half into 2 equal pieces and then each quarter into 8 -10pieces. Let them dry for a few hours.

3. Next mix the mango pieces with ginger garlic paste,salt ,chilli powder ,mustard seed powder,powdered asafoetida and fenugreek seeds and lemon juice…mix all the ingredients with wooden spoon and set aside. You might need to add more lemon juice if the raw mangoes are not sour enough.

4. Next pour oil into a kadai. Saute it on low flame with jeera, red chilles and garlic pods. Turn off the stove once it turns slightly brown ( don’t over fry ).

Let it cool well then mix it well with the other ingredients using a wooden spoon.

5. Transfer the pickle to a ceramic or a glass jar. Tie the jar with a clean piece of cloth.

6. After 3 or 4 days open it and mix it with the wooden spoon again and cover the lid and store it.

7. Place it in a cool and dry place.

8. Make sure that the pickle is immersed in oil. If there is not enough oil to completely cover the pickle, then heat some more oil and pour in the jar until the pickle is immersed.

9. Transfer a little pickle to another small jar for daily use. Do not take the pickle from the huge jar for daily use.

10. Enjoy