Monday 23 January 2012

Green chilli pickle

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How are you all my lovelies? Has the New Year been fruitful to you? It has been uneventful for me so far and I want to fast forward to spring. Although winter has not been terrible this time (we haven't had to turn on the heaters regularly), I am really looking forward to spring and summer which, at the moment, is so far away. 

The trip home was good fun and 3 weeks went by so so fast and I'm kicking myself for not staying on for some more time. Its strange how a country and its ways just grow on you and you head to the place you called home only to find their ways annoying. I had a couple of epiphanies after I got home. Care to read?
1. I will give up cooking and baking altogether if I move back to India. I care too much about convenience and much less about my passion (if I can call it that) for baking. UK has spoilt me with ready made ingredients, like simple powdered sugar for instance. I hate having to grind sugar (large as rocks btw) and make a mess with the powder. The weather makes it impossible to store maida, baking powder, etc etc at room temp, which means the refrigerator is packed with things and I hate a stuffed refrigerator. I cooked thrice in 3 weeks and hated every moment of it. The 2 cakes I made was a disaster and the butter chicken, my family complained, was too bland like the Brits have it (this, after gloating on my previous post about how I figured out the perfect, traditional chicken tikka masala).
2. I expected people to stand in line at payment counters and like an IDIOT followed it twice or thrice until I realised it was never going to happen. I was jostled around and lost my cool once, after which Ro decided to never come out shopping with me. I realised I was a sucker for anything organised (This, coming from someone who thinks you don't need to organise anything. So you can imagine my shock after I realised this)
3. Zebra crossing is just a pretty design on the road. I got shouted at by a driver because i was trying to cross at a zebra crossing.
4. To prove that I could still handle street food, I went ahead and had all sorts of junk from the road side only to be gently told by my immune system that I couldn't handle it. I was devastated that even milk was creating issues for me :(
5. Movie channels are fab, and I realised I missed watching all the nonsensical mallu movies so much
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6. Rains are still the most awesomest in Kerala. Ah so green and lush and absolutely romantic it is. It poured like mad a couple of days I was there and unlike here when I tell Ro, 'ah I wish I could have hot vada and chai right now' and could do nothing but just wish for it, back home, I exclaimed it out loud and in an hour I actually had steaming hot vada's and chai on my table.
7. That said, I'm absolutely sick of mallu food. Although I'm having rice withdrawals now and am trying hard not to go ballistic on it, it feels great to not have anything mallu for a while.
8. I hate Indian Chinese. Its got nothing Chinese about it except a bucket full of soy sauce. We went to our fav Chinese restaurant the day we landed and it was heavenly. We both decided that getting back to London was so worth it :)
9. I am not the emotional type who misses the parents and broods about it once I'm back (unlike my brother who is still such a baby about it), but I wished for the first time the entire clan lived in the same country at least (not India though). Close enough to drop in whenever we wanted to but far enough to not be visited often. That is more likely to become a reality in the US where half of the clan already is :(
10. Its soothing to know that Ro and myself, we still miss each other when apart (even though we are about 6 yrs into our married life)
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Ok that's enough ranting to make up for not having written in 2 weeks right? Coming to the recipe, this is probably the yummiest chilli pickle I've ever had. My best friends mom, who is also my neighbour and like a mom to me, made this the last time I was in India. I could only bring back very little of it last time and it got over in a jiffy. I got the recipe from her, made it once by quartering the recipe and without the right ingredients and it was not delightful, to say the least. So this time I decided to just bring one whole bottle full, clicked some pics and decided to blog it since its definitely a keeper. There's no cooking involved and its super duper easy to put together. I have this with dosa's and parathas and with just about anything and trust me its divine. I have given the exact measurements, but feel free to halve it for convenience sake.
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Green chillies- 1 kg 
Lemon juice- 50gms
Turmeric powder- 5 gms
Split mustard seeds (kaduku parippu)- 100 gms 
Asafoetida- 2 tsp
Fenugreek powder- 5 gms
Salt- 250 to 300 gms
Gingelly oil (sesame oil)- 1 cup

Wash and pat dry the green chillies, cut into small rounds and transfer to a large bowl.
Add all the ingredients except oil and mix well till the chilli pieces are all more or less evenly coated with the masala.
Slowly pour the gingelly oil on top of the chillies and gently stir it in.
Transfer to clean bottles, seal with a tight lid and leave it to mature for a minimum of 1 week, after which the chillies would be soft and ready to be dug into
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Notes: Go for the mild green chillies if you cant handle the heat. Definitely not the birds eye, but finger chillies should be OK if spice is not too much of an issue. Apparently, the big ones you now get in India are not that spicy any more, so choose that if you have the option  
You can either buy split mustard seeds or make your own by coarsely grinding/ pounding black mustard seeds with a pestle and mortar, but not too fine.

31 comments:

Finla said...

Love that barani, i am not a huge fan of chillie pickle, i am more a mango pickle person.

lubnakarim06 said...

I can feel that ticking sensation on my tongue while seeing the pics...yum.....

Priyanka said...

I love chilly pickle...the pics are too tempting

Ms.Chitchat said...

Tasty tongue tickling chilli pickle.nice click.

Padhu Sankar said...

Looks so tempting! Loved your write up

Unknown said...

now i'm even more curious see how I will feel after going to India, its been more than two and half years. Mum already sensed some warming signals. i'm pretty sure to cook and bake there would be challenge... chilli pickle looks amazing, i'm yet to finish last bits of priya's chilli pickle, though not as good as homemade. hope you get soon out of vacation blues!

Sushma said...

Bookmarked..altime fav thanks for sharing

Kelvy said...

lol lol lol...Ok Nis I understand ur sentiments....that’s my permanent feeling now after being bac here… and I am willing to run out of this place at the first chance...
I complain about anything and everything here ...baking cake here is a task by itself for ME…Don’t know about others …. Half the ingredients r not available..phewww...i decided to bake a cake after 2+ yrs... but it was so frustrating…Did not get self raising flour, thats ok (coz I dint expect to and I substituted for it)...did not get fresh or packaged cream, and i don’t know how many shops i asked for baking soda..But dint get that too...no cooking chocolate, nothing .....
life is definitely easy aboard..that’s what i miss about Kuwait..the huge shopping malls, hypermarkets and all where everything is available....that also readymade to our needs…
My bro after having been in UK for 5 yrs came bac to India and he too kept complaining...he is the one who missed India like crazy, the food, friends, home and everything...lol I had the last laugh when he started driving and kept telling y r people honking, its rude as per UK standards, y r people doin that, y this, oh my lord i just want to die in UK :P heheh he was the one who used to give me rude remarks earlier wen I got tired of time in India telling me that I am an Indian and so on…. This time I got to give him bac that comment :D
jokes apart, i am sure Ri's mom’s pickle must be really yummy :) will definitely try making it …
Another thing dear----looks like being with Rosh has rubbed off a lot on u ---- lol u and organized wow wow wow.... lol heheh that’s a wonder dear…..

Love and other Spices said...

That pickle looks divine!I know how it feels when we get used to this environment and going back to our home country only to find it's full of annoyance,the people,their ways and the food.I too can't wait to return back...

Archana said...

Do in Rome as romans do has certainly changed quite a few . Even my bro complains when he comes down here and I used to lecture him. Now I guess I wont as all of u seem to be in the same boat!

drooling over the pickle.

Unknown said...

wow! awesome dear...luv this recipe, so simple should try this! Bookmarked it and thanks for sharing!

Pavithra Elangovan said...

Pretty pictures with yummy pickles..lovely write up Nisha :)

Sumi said...

I have had the same feeling with just cooking, never thought of baking :)
My favorite dishes which I think could make in a jiffy would turn to disaster's. But it took a while to figure out the behaviour of the ingredients, veggies, flavour, even the heat from the stove etc., and then I became somewhat comfortable.

the Junkie book said...

a big rant and read thru it...though i dont agree with a lot of it ;p
wishing you only the good surprises in life!
guess am missing out on your lovely pics...pages not loading fast nuff.

Suganya said...

Very flavorful and mouthwatering recipe. YUM!

Rose from Magpies Recipes said...

haha I LOVED reading this post! Agree with ALL of your sentiments Except that I love Indo-Chinese :) I too was all huffy about the lack of rules and so true abt having had an overdose of mallu food tho a week later I was having major withdrawal symptoms. Love green chiclli pickle too and am kicking myself for not having thought to bring back a barani!

Suja Manoj said...

Love chilly pickle,this one is so tempting..bookmarked

Priya Suresh said...

Mouthwatering here, wat a terrific and super tempting chilli pickle..

Binys Recipes said...

nish...pickle is gr8 but moreover i adore the facts that u have listed...so so true....i miss home but i too hate somethings though its just a secret...noone know abt it.....sometimes i feel a foreigner in both the countries..........

Anonymous said...

OMG .. Reading your post was like reading my thoughts!! I am serious.
As for this recipe. Well, the husband eats only and only chili aachar and this, I have to make as soon as he finishes the red chili aachar.

Sajitha said...

Looks like I have a bone to pick with you here ;)

I believe every country has issues, and our's are'nt any worse than anybody else's. Just give us a little time, we will get there! (And I bet the English Hooligans are'nt any worse than the Indian queue-breaking, evesdropping, urinating/spitting on the road irritants :) )

To those who have complained about the 'nightmarish cooking scene' in India, I live in Bangalore and I have baked cakes, made Thai curries and have dined at gourmet restaurants with no issues. You get everything from milk cream to cream cheese to Thai Basil to mushrooms here, but not in your nukkad shop, you just need to look in the right places (just like how you don't get a lot of typical Indian ingredients there!).
Also, I have lived in the US and you know what I missed the most while there? Sense of Belonging. I was acutely aware of the fact that I did not belong there. Heck even the Mexican laborers made me feel I had no business being there! And in any case, if given a choice to pick between an array of exotic ingredients to cook with and living where I can afford to be in my own skin, I think I will chuck the grub happily. Just saying ;)

(I know - your blog, your rules, but I could'nt resist! :) I hope that's okay but feel free to delete/moderate the comment if its too offensive!)

Deeps @ Naughty Curry said...

lol, had a good laugh reading ur post... ur sooo right bout ppl not standing in queue! the total disregard for others gets my blood boiling every time. this looks spicy & yum, my kinda pickle :)

PJ said...

Hi Nisha, first time commenting on your blog. Just wanted to say that we moved back to India 6 months ago after 6 years of being away in the US. I bake every single day and pretty soon, going to start my own bakeshop. There is no ingredient you do not get here that you get there. You just have to know where to go! As for the fridge issue,am just like you. I hate full refrigerators! I always felt even the most monster sized freezer could not hold all my groceries in the US. Frozen veggies, frozen prepared foods, icecreams, raw meats, fish. Ugh, I now wonder how I managed so much frozen stuff!
Here, I feel lighter. We own a smaller fridge, eat fresh food almost everyday as most things are available at your doorstep and my freezer holds nothing except a packet each of green peas and corn.

As someone else said, your blog, your views..did not mean to offend you in anyway. Am sorry if I did.

Indian Khana said...

Looks absolute yum ...love the pickle, the bowl, the spoon and the pickle jar .... :D

Miri said...

All ingredients for baking (including packaged castor sugar, icing sugar, brown sugar etc) are all available in most metros today, so I don't really find it a pain. But when you are used to really really convenient access I guess its a huge change!

The green chilli pickles looks delicious.

BTW, the green colour font and the yellow colur font at the bottom make it quite difficult to read on a white background....just a small feedback from me

Anonymous said...

My Indian dad would LOVE this...he is a huge pickle fan! Thanks so much for sharing.

PS: Your pictures are fabulous!

Vineetha Sush said...

Good to see u back...loved the Bharani and pickle..

Reflections said...

Hahhaaaa...had a good laugh...the irony of it huh....u have popular food blog and think u can show ur family a thing or two & people look at what u cooked & wonder how ur blog got so famous;-D.
Seriously i got this feeling of 'been there, done tht' when i read ur grouses;-D

I'll be trying out this pickle....doesnt looks very hard & i have this bottle of gingelly oil which i picked for soemthing else & is just sitting there;-P

Oceana said...

my husband used to eat a lot of this...i will try ur rezept sometime :)

shaini said...

Yummm yummy...BTW have to tell u nisha I am trying a lot many recipes from your blog...measurements are impeccable girl...keep cooking and posting - shaini

MusinglyMe said...

This is one of our favs too! Thanx for putting up the recipe!