MANGO PICKLES

A JIST of  MANGO PICKLES 

A few decades ago, when we were kids, the process of making raw mango pickles used to be a week-long event, as our parents used to make all the ingredients of the pickle from the scratch, including making raw chili powder.  Also, varieties of pickles used to be about dozen. And the process used to involve the entire family, extended family, and often a collaborative partnership next-door neighbors too.  the whole family was also involved in the process of peeling garlic and ginger and removing seeds from mangoes.

Mango pickle-making is multi-sensory. The varied shapes and colors of the mangoes; not all mangoes are worth eating, but nearly every mango can be pickled. The feel of the firm fruit that stews to softness or still chewy pickles. The fresh acid scent of cut green mango and the thwacking sound of the manual slicers wielded by the vendors in Mumbai’s markets who do this 

It is a celebration that could be global because mango pickle was one of the earliest Indian foods to become well-known outside India. Early travelers to India spread the reputation of mangoes as the finest of fruits, but since they couldn’t take the fresh fruits back home, they made do with dried or pickled mangoes.

What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you see unripe/raw mangoes? Lip-smacking avakaya pickle or kaachi keri lathered with salt and chili. Both might taste great, but pickles/pachadi is my favorite. Pickles have been in the Indian cuisine for as long as we can remember. Talking about pickles my grandmother has her very own recipe which she calls Theeyati Aava – Avakaya Pachadi – mango pickle with my grandmother’s secret ingredient, which binds all the flavors together! Scroll down and find out how to make my family’s avakaya pachadi and get to know more about raw mangoes!