Pickle Recipes – Spice Up Your Meal with Homemade Achaar

We love to eat anything and everything with a pickle, don’t we? Pickles come as a boon when any food lack flavour, which is why we bring some amazing pickle recipes for you. There is a variety of Indian pickles to suit every taste, occasion, and season. Here is an article to give you recipes of 10 tasty and mouth-watering pickles which you can easily make at home.

How to Make Pickle at Home – Mouth Watering Homemade Pickle Recipes

1. Sweet and Salty Lemon Pickle

Lemon pickle is a favourite among many. The salt and sour juice of the lemon makes it tangy. It is said to be great for the stomach and also during motion sickness. So how do we make lemon pickle at home without oil? Read on.

Ingredients 

• 30 lemons
• 1 cup of salt
• 7 cups of sugar

Prep Time 

30 – 45 minutes.

How to Make 

• Wash the lemons and pat them dry.
• Then rub them well against a stone mortar as it will take away the tartness of the lemons.
• In case you don’t have a stone mortar, just cut each lemon into four pieces.
• If you have rubbed the lemons in the stone, then do not cut it. In case, you have not rubbed it; you can cut each lemon into four pieces.
• Then put all the lemons in a dry glass bowl and add salt.
• Toss them well every day for 7 days to avoid fungal growth. Refrain from using any spoon or your hands.
• After 7 days, put the lemon and salt mix in a non-stick kadhai and add the sugar.
• Cook for 20-25 minutes.
• After it is done, let it cool down in the kadhai.
• Store it in an airtight container.

2. Spicy and Sweet Garlic Pickle

As the name suggests, garlic is the main ingredient in this pickle. The pungency of it mixes with the sweetness of jaggery, the spiciness of the chilli powder and tanginess of the lemon juice to give it a wonderful punch of flavours. Most of us love this pickle but not many know how to make it at home. However, after making it, the pickle has to be kept aside for 7 days before you can take it.

Ingredients

• 1 cup of peeled garlic cloves
• 5 – 6 tbsp of mustard oil
• ½ tsp of turmeric powder
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp chilli powder (or as per your taste)
• 2 tsp jaggery
• 1 tsp salt

Spices (to be ground)

• 3 – 4 tsp mustard seeds
• ½ tsp fenugreek seeds
• ½ tsp cumin seeds
• ½ tsp coriander seeds
• ½ tsp asafoetida

Prep Time 

30 – 45 minutes

How to Make 

• Heat oil and add the garlic cloves and turmeric powder to it.
• Stir it continuously on low flame till the garlic becomes soft.
• Add the lemon juice and stir it for some time.
• The jaggery, salt, and chilli powder should be added after this. Keep on stirring until the jaggery melts and mixes with the garlic and the spices.
• Then add the ground masala and mix it well. Cook it for 1 – 2 minutes and switch off the stove.
• Once cool, pour the pickle in a dry, air-tight glass container and keep it aside in a cool place for a week.

3. Carrot Pickle

This pickle will make a bowl of khichdi or dal-rice. It can be kept for a week in the refrigerator and should be taken out with a dry spoon. Read the directions below and learn how to make carrot pickle at home.

Ingredients

• 1 cup carrots (cut in small cubes)
• 2 green chillies (chopped)
• 4-5 tbsp of mustard oil
• 4-5 tbsp ginger (finely chopped)
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder
• ¼ tsp fenugreek powder
• 2 tsp mustard powder
• Chilli powder (as per taste)
• Lemon juice (as per taste)

Prep Time 

20-30 minutes to prepare and cook the pickle.

How to Make 

• Heat the oil on low flame.
• After the oil heats up, add the carrot and ginger.
• Toss it well and add the other ingredients except for the lemon juice.
• Mix well.
• Let it cool down. Then add the lemon juice and mix it.
• Store in a container and put it in the refrigerator after each use.

4. Green Chilli Pickle

It is one of the easiest pickles to make. It tastes great with anything and having a bottle of green chilli pickle at home can save you from spending hours in the kitchen.

Ingredients 

• 250 grams of green chilli
• ¼ cup of mustard seeds (yellow)
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp of dry mango powder
• 1 cup mustard oil
• Salt (as per taste)

Prep Time 

15-20 minutes

How to Make 

• Wash the chillies and dry them out completely.
• You may either slit the chilli at the centre or cut them in small pieces.
• Roast the mustard seeds a bit and grind it coarsely.
• In a bowl, add the coarse mustard powder, salt, mango powder, turmeric powder and half of the mustard oil.
• Mix the masala mix with the chillies.
• In a wok, pour the rest of the oil and heat it until you get the pungent smell of the oil.
• In the meanwhile, put the masala mixed chillies in a dry glass bottle.
• Once the oil cools down, add it with the chillies in the jar.
• The pickle is ready after keeping it in the sunlight for 5 -7 days.

5. Sweet Mango Pickle

Mango pickle is the commonest among all pickles. There are many variations of mango pickle. The sweet mango pickle goes very well with plain parathas and thepla. Learn how to make mango pickle from the directions given below.

Ingredients 

• ½ kilogram or 2 raw mangoes (washed, peeled, and cut in small pieces)
• 1 cup jaggery (grated or crushed)
• ½ cup sugar (optional)

Spices (to be ground)

• 2 tbsp coriander seeds
• 2 tbsp cumin seeds
• 1 tbsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp fenugreek seeds
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds
• 2 tbsp red chilli powder (or according to taste)
• 1 tsp asafoetida
• 1 tbsp mustard oil

Prep Time 

It may take a day to prepare for and cook the pickle completely.

How to Make 

• After peeling and cutting the mangoes, dry it out in the sun completely.
• Add salt and turmeric powder to it then keep it aside for a night.
• In a wok, heat a little mustard oil.
• Add the marinated mangoes, grated jaggery, and sugar and keep stirring it on low flame.
• Let it cool after this.
• Dry roast the mustard, cumin and coriander seeds and grind them together.
• Add the ground masala, chilli powder and asafoetida powder to the mango, jaggery and sugar mix and stir it well.
• Store it in an airtight jar.

6. Ginger, Tree Tomato, and Cherry Chilli Pickle

It is a family favourite and can be eaten with anything from puffed rice, beaten rice, to rice and dal. The cherry chilli or “Dalley khorsani” (Dalley meaning round and khorsani meaning chilli in Nepali) and the ginger makes it very hot and spicy, and the tree tomato adds tanginess.

Ingredients

• 250 grams of cherry chillies
• 100 grams ginger
• 50 grams of green chilli
• 4-5 tree tomato
• 2 cups of mustard oil
• Salt (as per taste)

Spices (to be ground)

• 2 tbsp of mustard seeds
• 4 tbsp of coriander seeds
• 4 tbsp of cumin seeds

Prep Time 

8-12 hours

How to Make 

• Wash the cherry chillies, green chillies, tree tomatoes, and ginger. Then peel the ginger and chop it in thin strips; cut the cherry chillies and tree tomatoes into four long pieces and slit the green chillies from the centre.
• Spread all of it in a big plate and leave it out in the sun until the water dries out.
• Roast all the spices together and grind them coarsely.
• In a wok, add 1 cup of mustard oil and heat it.
• Once the pungent smell leaves the oil, add the chillies, tomatoes, and ginger, and stir.
• Add the ground spices and salt to it. Stir it for a minute and switch off the stove.
• Once cool, pour it in a dry glass jar and add the remaining oil to it.
• Keep the pickle in the sun for 3-4 days.

7. Radish Pickle

The pickle is rich in spices, and the radish adds a tang to the flavour. It is best eaten with rice-dal, puffed rice or beaten rice.

Ingredients 

• 1 kilogram radish
• 3 cups of mustard oil
• 4 tbsp of red chilli powder
• 200 grams of cherry chillies
• 4 tbsp of turmeric powder
• Salt (according to taste)

Spices (to be ground)

• 100 grams of mustard seeds
• 100 grams of cumin seeds
• 100 grams of coriander seeds
• 4-5 tbsp of fenugreek seeds

Prep Time 

It requires about a week’s time to prepare and cook completely before you can try it.

How to Make 

• Wash the radish and peel it.
• Then cut in 2 inch long strips.
• Add some salt to the radish pieces. The water from the radish will come out.
• After an hour, squeeze out the water from the radish and spread it in a plate in the sun until it dries up and shrinks.
• In a pan, roast all the spices and grind them together coarsely.
• In a bowl mix the powdered spice, turmeric powder, and salt with some mustard oil.
• Mix the spices well with the radish and put the mix in a dry glass jar.
• Add the remaining mustard oil in the bottle and tighten the lid.
• For the next 4-5 days, keep the bottle out in the sun.

8. Chicken Pickle

It is not a pickle which many people know of. However, for people who have had it once, it is something they love and like taking again and again. It cannot be preserved for more than a month.

Ingredients

• 500 grams of boneless chicken
• 1 cup of mustard oil
• 50 grams of ginger (chopped in thin slices)
• 50 grams of garlic (chopped)
• 1 tbsp soya sauce
• 1 tsp of turmeric powder
• 2 tbsp of garam masala powder
• Salt (as per taste)
• 1 tbsp aamchur
• 3-4 tsp of red chilli powder

Spices (to be ground)

• 2 tbsp of cumin seeds
• 2 tbsp of coriander seeds
• 1 tbsp of sichuan pepper
• 1 tbsp of mustard seeds

Prep Time 

About an hour’s time.

How to Make 

• Wash and cut the chicken in small pieces.
• In a kadhai, heat some oil and fry the chicken till it turns brown.
• Drain out the excess oil from the fried chicken pieces.
• In another pan, dry roast the spices and grind them each separately and coarsely.
• Again in a kadhai, put some oil, add chopped garlic and ginger.
• Sauté them then add the mustard powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, and chilli powder and soya sauce.
• Then add the fried chicken pieces, salt, sichuan pepper powder, garam masala powder, and the aamchur, and mix well.
• Let it cook for 3-4 minutes.
• Allow it to cool and then it in a glass jar with a tight lid.

9. Grape Pickle

This is a very simple pickle which can be made very quickly. It can be eaten along with pulao or parathas. It can be stored in room temperature for 3-4 days and then it needs to be refrigerated.

Ingredients 

• 500 grams of seedless grapes
• 3-4 tbsp of red chilli powder
• ¼ tsp of asafoetida
• ½ tsp of black salt
• 3 tsp of lemon juice
• 1 tsp of sugar
• Salt (as per taste)
• 200 ml of mustard oil
• 8-10 tbsp of coriander, cumin, and mustard powder (roasted and ground coarsely)

Prep Time 

About an hour

How to Make 

• After washing the grapes, dry them well and cut each grape in two halves.
• Heat oil in a kadhai, add the asafoetida and put the grapes, spice powder, sugar, white and black salt and lemon juice.
• Stir and mix everything together.
• Allow it to cool and then put it in a dry glass jar with a tight lid.

10. Gooseberry Pickle

The gooseberry pickle is sweet and tangy. It is a great accompaniment with parathas and rice as well.

Ingredients 

• 500 grams of gooseberry (big and fresh)
• 200 ml of mustard oil
• 1 tbsp mustard seeds
• 2 tbsp of chilli powder
• 1 tbsp of asafoetida
• 1 tbsp of turmeric powder
• Salt to taste

Prep Time 

45 minutes to 1 hour.

How to Make

• Cook the gooseberries in water till they turn tender.
• Drain the water and let them dry.
• In a kadhai pour the oil and add the asafoetida, mustard seeds, turmeric powder, salt and chilli powder.
• Then add the cooked gooseberries and coat them with the masala.
• After it cools down, put in a dry glass jar and put a tight lid.

Easy Tips to Preserve a Pickle for a Longer Time

Pickles have come down through ages. It is a part of our everyday food. Pickling is basically done to preserve seasonal vegetables and fruits. Some of the easy ways to preserve pickle for a long time is listed below.

• The pickle or the jar in which it is kept should be absolutely dry.
• Sun-dry the vegetables and fruits before preparing the pickle to dry out the moisture.
• Dry roast the salt till it is golden brown to preserve the pickle.
• Never touch pickle with wet hands.

A simple dal-rice or khichdi can taste awesome when consumed with a tasty pickle which can be easily made at home. Try making any of the above pickles and experience the burst of flavours it adds to your everyday meal.

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