I am the fourth generation in my family to follow this super-simple mango pickle recipe, passed on by my great-grandmother. As my mother fondly reminisces, in older times making this pickle was more like a community activity. Ladies from the neighbourhood were requested to come home and help as 50-odd kilos of mangoes were to be pickled. An ‘axe’ was used to cut the raw mangos in pieces. Huge ceramic jars or barnis, as they were called, were sanitised and kept ready to put the pickle in. Special care was taken regarding hygiene and each of the ladies covered her head with a cloth. The fresh pickle was sent to families of all the eight children of the household with the helping ladies getting a share too. As the store-bought pickles miserably fail to match up to the rustic flavours so characteristic of the homemade ones, I cannot help but thank my ancestors for the simple yet perfect accompaniment to every meal. I have grown up eating delicious tangy pickles made by my Nani. It was an integral part of the parathas in my tiffin for most of my school life.
Take mangoes with a clean skin and no blemishes. Wash and dry. Cut in pieces taking care to remove the inner seed while making sure that the outer skin of the seed stays attached to the mango pieces. Dry in sun or under the fan for a few hours.
Heat oil on the gas and then cool it. In a big vessel, add all the ingredients together with the cooled oil. Mix thoroughly with fingers so that each piece is well coated with all the spices and oil.
Sprinkle some salt in a glass jar before adding the coated mango pieces to it. Cover with a muslin cloth and keep in the sun. After two days, mix well with a clean dry ladle. Check salt and oil and add more if needed. (Oil to be heated and cooled like done previously.) After a week, remove the muslin cloth and cover with a lid and bring indoors.
Room temperature
For The one week that it is being sunned, make sure to put the jar out in the sun every morning and bring it back inside before sunset. Best served with fresh homemade mathri , parathas, and chhole bhature.
