Green Chili Pickle / Hari Mirch ka Achaar

In an attempt to cook healthy food for my family I often end up cooking bland food . But there are times I cannot resist myself to have something spicy and that is when this Chili pickle comes to my rescue. Have I echoed the scenario in your house hold too ?? Here's sharing my Mums recipe of a delicious hot and sour green Chili pickle to spice up any meal.

This green Chili pickle is prepared using a very simple an instant recipe. The fresh green Chiles are chopped to bite size pieces to which powdered Mustard seeds, Turmeric, Fenugreek seeds , Asafoetida and salt are added and then Lemon juice is mixed with it followed by addition of Oil.In India we easily get the yellow Mustard seed dal known as Rai ki dal or Mohrichi dal. If it is unavailable, we can powder the yellow or black Mustard seeds using a grinder.

You can have this green Chili pickle with Theplas or Parathas of your choice. This also serves as a side dish with Khichadi or curd rice. Try to hand pick fresh and bright green coloured Chiles for the pickle which are crisp and unwrinkled or broken. I generally make smaller batches of this pickle to enjoy the Chilies in their crispier form.

Ingredients:

• Fresh Green Chilies - 200 gm
• Powdered Mustard seeds / Rai ki dal - 4-5 tbsp
• Turmeric powder/ Haldi- 2 tsp
• Fenugreek Seeds/ Methi dana -1 tsp
• Asafoetida / Hing - 1 tsp
• Salt- 3 tbsp
• Fresh Lemon Juice- 1/4 cup
• Oil- 1 cup ( 200 ml)(  I have used Sunflower Oil)

Method:

1. Rinse and wipe the chilies well , making  sure no moisture is left , as it may spoil the pickle.

    2. Remove the crown and chop the chilies to bite size pieces . Put the pieces in a bowl and add all the ingredients except Lemon juice and oil. Mix well.

     3. Now add the lemon juice and mix it nicely with a dry and non reactive spoon . At this point we can taste this mixture for salt and sourness and add some salt or lemon juice if required.

    4.   Heat up the oil in a pan , let it cool for 5 minutes or so and pour it over this mixture while it is still warm. If using Mustard oil, heat the oil till smoking point. Let the pickle cool down completely and then trasfer it to clean and dry glass jar. The Oil should float above the pickle in the jar, this is to ensure the pickle last for longer time without spoilage.

 

 

  5.   You can place this jar in Sunlight for 4-5 days to fasten up the pickling process if you wish to, though the pickle can be consumed immediately also. Keep the pickle in refrigerator once you start serving the pickle.

Note:
  This Green Chili Pickle should be consumed in moderation as it may cause acidity and burning sensation if taken in larger quantity.