Tender Mango pickle / Kanni manga achaar / Kadumanga / vadu maangai / mavadu

Pickling, as I have said before, is a fine art. Getting the balance right is a tight rope walk. 

I have shared many pickle recipes on this site..Whether it be the guilt free Ginger-Green Chilli Pickle, every season Tomato pickle, Gooseberry pickle or the ordinary Mango pickle, the key is to get the balance that suits your family right. How hot / spicy do you want it? How much oil does your family like?

But some traditional recipes like Avakkai manga and Mango thokku have strict measurements you have to follow.

Similarly, if you want to make pickle with tender mangoes, you follow the traditional recipe.

We went trekking about 2 months back to Illikkakallu and on our way back we saw a man selling tender mangoes at Rs.50 per kilo which was half the price of what was available at the Ernakulam market.

I bought 3 kilograms and that night I soaked all the mangoes, stalks and all, into a bucket filled with water.

Wash the mangoes twice with the stalk and then start the process.

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Below you will find that I have used a plastic container. This is a strict no-no. That is for photograph / illustrative purposes only. I shifted the mangoes after I took my photographs. You have to use ceramic or glass containers. Traditionally we use a Bharani.

Time frame before you can relish the pickle

Tender mango + salt = 10-14 days

After mixing in spices = minimum 45 days

Total number of days = 60 days

Ingredients:

Tender mango - 3 kgs, with stalk

Sea salt - measured to mango in ratio of 4:1, That means for every 4 measure of mango, use 1 measure salt.

Red chilly - 100 gms

Mustard seeds -50 gms

Kayam / asafoetida - 10 gms

Methi seeds / uluva - 1 tbsp

Method:

After you wash the mangoes with the stalk, you have to remove the stalk from the mangoes. A milky white strong smelling liquid squirts out when you break the stalk.It has to be saved as it is very helpful in preserving the pickle. It is called 'chona' in malayalam and can cause burns to the skin. So be careful. 

Below is a pictorial of how to go about the stalk removal.

Your hand will feel greasy and slimy.

Now measure the mangoes and keep count.

For every 4 measure of mangoes, you need to add 1 measure of sea salt.

I had 6 measures, so I used 4 and 1/2 measures of salt.

Now layer the container with salt and mangoes.

Keep covered and in a cool dry place for more than 1 week.

When you open, it will look like this.

The mangoes are all shriveled and all the salt has mixed in with the water released by osmosis.

Now we begin pickling.

Dry roast the mustard seeds, red chilly and methi seeds separately.

Use minimum oil to fry the asafoetida.

Start by first powdering the dry fried mustard.

Then add in the methi seeds, asafoetida.

Last add the Red chilly.

Powder as finely as possible.

Drain the salt water / brine from the tender mango.

If you feel your spices powder is not smooth enough, use a little of the drained salt water to grind it into a fine paste.

Now mix the ground spices with the brine.

Mix this back with the mangoes.

Now immerse a neat cloth in gingelly / til oil and place it on top of the pickle.

Seal the jar and keep in cool dry place for 45 days.

And after 45 days..............

Transfer into a small quantity into a clean glass container.