Mix Vegetable Pickle (A must-make in winter)

I call this a must-make (a word I just conjured up) because it used to be a winter must-make in my Aai's (mom's) kitchen all through my school and teen years. She still makes it ,though probably in smaller quantities as my sister and I are not there anymore to hog it with every meal.This is a winter specialty as the vegetables are always so much fresher and appealing then ,than in the hot summers in India.

So I am continuing the tradition even in England where funnily enough it is cold for almost three quarters of the year if not more. The cold weather somewhat demands that I make this hot and spicy pickle .

It's terribly easy to make and can be made even as a last minute addition to spice up a meal. Infact it's so easy that I had second (and even third) thoughts about posting it as a recipe on my blog, but something so delicious has to be shared. Right? So here goes:

You need:

2 carrots finely diced,

1 cup small cauliflower florets,

juice of one lemon,

6 green chillies cut into small pieces,

1/2 cup green peas

approx 1 tblspn readymade pickle masala (easily available in Indian grocery shops)

1/2 tspn salt

What do you do with these?

Very simple. Just mix all the ingredients and leave for about 30 mins until the pickle releases its juices

Give it a taste and adjust the pickle masala ,lemon juice and salt according to your taste. Make it spicy.

Well that's it. It's ready to eat. It tastes better the next day so it's a good idea to make it one day in advance although it tastes beautiful even when made at the last moment as I said earlier

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Serve at as an accompaniment with your meal,like any other pickle

Note: Needs to be stored in the fridge and finished in 3 to 4 days which is not at all difficult.