Monday, July 17, 2006

Kharachi Mirchi (Pickled Green Chillies)
Oh god!!!! As usual I am late in sending my entry. Basically as a newcomer to blogging I never know what event is being hosted where. Anyway better late than never. So here's my entry for Barbara's The Spice is Right .


This is a typical Maharastrian (a state in Western India) pickle which has a very important place in all Marathi households. Eaten along with a meal or with a with a snack (in very small quantities) its adds that extra zing to anything. So here goes!!!

Ingredients

1 dozen hot green chillies cut into very small pieces

Juice of 2 lemons (med size)

1 tspn fenugreek seeds powdered

1 tspn asafoetida (Hing)

2 tspn salt

1/2 tspn sugar

1/2 tspn powdered mustard seeds

1 tspn turmeric powder

3 tblspns cooking oil

Procedure:

Heat the oil in a pan. Add to that half the quantity of asafoetida, and all the powdered fenugreek. Let this mixture cool down. After it has cooled, add to it the remaining asafoetida,the turmeric powder, sugar and mustard powder and give it a good stir.Add now the main ingredient i.e the chillies and mix well.

There is a unique way of storing this pickle. In a clean bottle first put in a tspn of salt, then the chilli mixture and then all the lemon juice. Finally top it all with another spoon full of salt .The salt is the natural preservative. Close the bottle tightly. Leave this pickle for about a week in this condition and then open the bottle. Stir the pickle thoroughly before using. This way it won't spoil. As an added precaution store the bottle in the fridge.


8 comments:

Ashwini said...

thats one super hot dish Anupama :-)

Vaishali said...

My mouth is watering as I am writing this comment, Anupama. I am so looking forward to making and then eating it. *drool* *drool* *drool*

Unknown said...

Sounds interesting.

Pavani said...

Hi Anupama,
That is a very interesting way of pickling. Your pic looks good.

Pavani

Anupama said...

Thank you guys! do try it out. its a sure shot winner.

Anonymous said...

Anupama, I am on a pickle trip! This sounds wonderful and relatively easy to make. It has all the right ingredients to make a tangy and spicy khaar. I'll let you know how it turns out!

Anonymous said...

I made this today. I had about 80 green chillies that were about 2 inches tall. I tripled the proportions for the khaar because I had more chillies and I also wanted a lot of khaar! Do I leave in a dark place for a week or does it need to be refrigerated right away? Let me know!

Anonymous said...

Hey Anupama, I put the pickle in the refrigerator after a couple of days as I was not sure where I should leave it for a week - in a cool dark place or in the refrigerator. It looked and smelt so good when I made it! The whole house was smelling of it!

I opened it up today and the khaar has a 'taar.' It smells slightly off. Any clues what I might have done wrong? It shouldn't have spoiled in the refrigerator. My chillies had been stored in the refrigerator but I had brought them to room temperature and washed and dried them well. Should I have used unrefrigerated chillies? Any clues?

I do so want to try making this again cos the khaar was just divine. Do let me know whenever you get a chance.