Punjabi Aam Ka Aachaar – The Punjabi Mango Pickle

Punjabi Aam Ka Aachaar – The Punjabi Mango Pickle

Three days back, as I do each year, I made Punjabi Mango Pickle. This time, I just put out a tweet and a picture of the pickle.

A simple tweet I thought but it turned out to have triggered memories of hundreds of people across both genders and all age groups. What was so different about the pickle?

This recipe of pickle is being made by Punjabis and particularly the Sikhs from generations. Somehow the commercial industry has not picked this up and hence seen in homes where the lady of the house has learnt it from her mother or mother-in-law. The tribe is reducing each day.

Here is a recipe I follow. The basic recipe was selected by me after researching on internet and reading hundreds of variations. I would read a recipe and think if that could be made 200 years back. Soon as a process or ingredient was identified as not being possible then, I would discard it. I came across a recipe on a blog written by a lady who simply put the recipe as told by her 80 yrs. old mother. She was in US. ‘THIS IS IT’ I said. Plain, simple, village ambience and made with whatever was available in a rural Punjab village. I modified the recipe slightly.

Preparation

• 5kg of raw sour mangoes, washed, dried, cut in one by one inch cubes and the seed removed.
• 150gm Kalonji (onion seeds)- half seeds, and other half grinded in mixer to coarse powder.
• 200gm Badi Saunf (aniseed)- half seeds, and other half grinded in mixer to coarse powder.
• 150gm Methi (fenugreek) Dana – half seeds, and other half grinded in mixer to coarse powder.
• 500gm salt
• Two table-spoons Haldi (Turmeric) Powder.
• Three tablespoons (or to your taste) Red-Chilly Powder
• One Litre Cold Press Sarson (Mustard) Oil (no heating at all)

Container

I use a big open glass jar. This is a big flower vase. I clean it and use it for pickle. Idea is to have a flat bottom and wide mouth glass container. Avoid metals.

Crux

• Mix ALL above in jar. Pour 800ml oil straight from bottle.
• Mix well.
• Cover it with a newspaper.
• Place in sun/place with heat generated by sun.
• It should be kept in sun/heated place for two days throughout the day.
• Mix/Stir it every two/three hours.

Flat two days is all it takes for the salt to squeeze every drop of water from the mangoes and the water gets removed by evaporation. THIS IS THE CRUX. I generally keep it in sun for three/four days and bottle it. Ensure the mangoes are completely submerged in oil. Use remaining 200ml for it. THAT’S IT.