A brief whiff is enough to succumb to the zesty ‘’ avakaya’’, ambrosia of Andhra , the delightful mango pickle for hot summers.
It wasn’t not a salad or soup. Not even the much - maligned fresh fruit juice. But ‘‘Avakaya rocks’’.
For the uninitiated avakaya is a smattering of raw mango dices afloat in thick cherry red gravy made of chilli powder , mustard powder , turmeric, salt and oil. Before you completely give up after the chilli bite , the mustard paste arrives and soothes your taste buds with its mild bitter taste while the oil buffers the allied harsh reactions. Bits of raw garlic and specks of fenugreek gently cajole your sense to come back and relish the unforgettable experience all again.
Ingredients
5 regular sized mangoes
200 g salt
200 g chilli powder
100 g mustard powder
50 g fenugreek powder
50 g turmeric powder
5 gm garlic
200 g oil
Method
Select the right mangoes. Chop them into pieces.
Get all your ingredients ready and mix it with mango pieces in a dry, shallow tub for 3 to 4 days. Do not scrimp on oil or salt as it can show its effects on the pickle after a few months.
Keep dry and use dry cutlery to transfer the contents from the earthen jar to the dining table bottle.
TOMATO PICKLE
ingredients:
Chopped tomatoes - 5 cups
Thick tamarind extract - 1 cup
Chili powder - 1/2 cup
Salt - Accordingly
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp
Oil - 8 Tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
And a deep bottomed, non stick pan
Wash the tomatoes thoroughly and chop them in to medium sized pieces.
Heat a tbsp of oil in a pan and add tomatoes to it. Fry on medium flame for about five minutes.
Remove them from heat. Let them cool a little bit and puree them in a blender.
Again add remaining oil, tomato puree,tamarind, turmeric powder, asafoetida to the pan and keep cooking on medium flame. Since the mixture tends to splatter, cover the pan with the lid. You can cook on medium flame and keep stirring once in a while in the initial stages of cooking. Later turn down the heat to avoid the mixture sticking to the bottom of the pan. Cook till the mixture reaches almost solid stage as in the picture. Then add chili powder and salt and let it simmer for about five minutes.
Heat a tsp of oil in a small pan and add mustard seeds. When mustard seeds start to pop, remove and add it to the tomato chutney.
Let it cool and store it in a glass jar and refrigerate it
GONGURA PICKLE
is very delicious taste,that whole andhra people love,This recipe is from my mother-in-law. She is great in making this pickle. I can never get the same taste as she does. There is some magic in her hands.
lets see very easy process to make it
GET READY
Ingredients:
1 bunch of Gongura. (Remove the leaves).
15 Red chilies (Adjust as per your taste. This pachhadi should be spicy so I used 15 red chilies. :) )
1/4 tsp of Fenugreek seeds
pinch of hing
1/2 tsp of mustard seeds
salt to taste
6 tbsp of oil,
6 garlic cloves
cuminseeds
tamarind depend on your taste
Preparation:
1. Remove the gongura leaves, clean them with water and dry them in sun. (If you want to store this pickle for more than a month then the leaves should dry in Sun for atleast 2days .)
2. Heat a pan add 4tbsp of oil. Add hing, mustard seeds,cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds and redchilies. Once mustard seeds starts popping up remove it from pan and keep it aside.
3. In the same pan fry the dried gongura leaves,garlic cloves for 5-6 mts.
4. Once the mixture(chili,fenugreek,mustard seeds mixture) cools down make a powder using blender/mixer.
5. Now add the fried gongura leaves and salt and blend so that gongura leaves nicely blended with the spices.add tamarind to it(depends on taste)
For Garnish: Toss the garlic flakes and mustard seeds in 1 tbps of oil.
Garnish the pickle with tossed garlic flakes(optional) and mustard seeds.
The delicious Gongural Pickle is ready to be served with hot rice,ghee.
