Lime pickle with pickle powder

Pickles...whether it is with chilly powder like gooseberry or mango, or without chilly powder (lemon green chilly pickle), adds a certain zing to all Indian foods.

While I have shared a lime pickle recipe as made by my grandmother before, this recipe is by Mrs. Gracy Mathew, a person who used to own a pickling unit.

This pickle can be twisted to suit your taste buds and made sweet by adding more dates.

Ingredients:
Lemons / lime - 1/2 kg
Dates - 1/4 to 1/2 cup (depending on the sweetness you wish)
Ginger chopped - 2 tbsp
Green chillies chopped - 3 tbsp
Pickle powder - 1 large cup
Coconut oil - 1/2 cup
Vinegar - 1/4 cup
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Gingelly/ til/ oil (Nallenai) - 1/2 cup

Method:
Wash the lemons well and place in a vessel. Add enough water to cover and keep for boiling.

Once it boils hard for 2 minutes, turn off flame and cool. Cut each into quarters or eights. Remove as many seeds as possible.

Seed the dates and boil in just in very little water for 2 minutes. Let all the water evaporate.

Similarly, boil the ginger and green chilly.

All the ingredients are prepped and ready.

Heat the gingelly oil and splutter the mustard seeds. Then add the green chilly and ginger.

The ginger must turn slightly golden.
Reduce flame & saute for a minute. Then add the pickle powder.

After frying on low flame for 1 minute, add the cooked dates.

When the dates are well coated, add the lemon pieces.

After 2 minutes, make a well in the middle...

...and add the vinegar.

Let it boil for 1 minute. Mix well.

Turn off flame and add the coconut oil.

Pickle is ready.
Cool and store in glass jar.

Pickle Powder

This powder can be used to make any pickle, be it gooseberry pickle, mango pickle or lemon pickle.
This is a basic recipe and can be bought in stores. But why buy, when you can make it at home?

Ingredients:
Dry Red chilly - 250 gms
Methi seeds / uluva / fenugreek - 50 gms
Asafoetida / kayam - 50 gms
Salt - 150 gms
Sugar - 25 gms
Turmeric powder - 10 gms

Method:
Dry fry the red chilly in a heavy bottomed pan on a very low flame till it becomes a deeper shade of red. Keep aside to cool.

Dry fry the Methi seeds till they pop. Cool completely.

Now take the asafoetida gum and and flatten it as much as possible.
The gum is preferred as it has more smell than the powder available in the market.
This gum needs to be fried in a little oil on a low flame, till it becomes very crisp inside out.
Cool this also.

First powder the red chilly in the mixer.

Then add the methi seeds and powder it.
Next add the asafoetids strips.

Once powdered, add the salt, turmeric powder and sugar.
Grind into a smooth powder.

Store in an air tight container until required.

Onion Chammandi with Coconut / Thick onion Chutney

This chammandi gets over the day I make it - whatever the quantity!!
It tastes excellent with both rice and dosa. The best accompaniment!! :D

This Onion Chammandi has got Coconut in it. If you wish to avoid Coconut, try my Onion Chammandi without Coconut.

Ingredients:
Small Onion: 200gms, peeled and each halved
Coconut grated - 1 cup
Dry Red chilly - 8 to 10 (more or less based on the spice level of your family)
Tamarind - small ball
Salt to taste
Curry leaf - 1 sprig
Coconut oil - 3 tbsp

Method:
Heat a heavy bottomed vessel and fry the red chilly on a low flame till it starts become deeper red.
Keep aside.
Heat 1 tbsp coconut oil in the vessel and fry the onions on a low flame till it becomes translucent. Move the onion to the vessel with the red chillies.
Add the coconut to the vessel containing the residue oil. Fry on low flame for a minute and turn off flame. Let it be there till the vessel cools.

Now mix the coconut, red chillies, onion, salt and tamarind.
Grind to a smooth paste. Add very less water.
Transfer to a serving vessel or a glass jar.
Heat the rest of the coconut oil in another vessel and add the curry leaf. The curry leaf must not burn, but just crispen up. Turn off lame and allow it to cool to room temperature.

Pour this oil on top of the chammandi.

No cook Ripe Mango curry / Trikkur Mampazha curry

Just 3 main ingredients are used to make this amazing yummy dish and the best part is - no cooking!

Recipe Courtesy: Mrs.Latha Shankar

Ingredients:

Ripe Mangoes - 2

Green Chilly - 2

Fresh Curd - 1/2 cup

Salt to taste

Tadka:

Coconut oil - 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Dry red Chilly - 1, broken

Curry Leaf - 10

Method:

Peel the skin of the mangoes and keep the skin aside. Do not throw it away.

Now add 1 tbsp water to the peel and squish. Remove as much juice as you can from it.

Now add the peeled mangoes and squish them both. Leave them inside the curry.

Pound the green chillies and add to the curry.

Add the salt..

Break the curd and add to the curry.

Mix well and top with curry leaf.

Splutter the mustard seeds in coconut oil and add the broken red chillies.

Add this to the curry.

That's it!! The curry is done.

Serve with spicy and bitter South Indian Pitla made with Bitter gourd or Sambar.