Pickle Masala

My friend’s MIL makes excellent Mango Pickle and we eat it everyday. Finally last year  when I purchased the mangoes I requested her for the recipe.   I followed the recipe (for once) and waded through the masala very quickly and forgot that it is almost over.

Then one day  since I had promised one of  my friend’s some pickle I found that I was running short of the masala! So, the Mad Scientist that I am, I added one more pickle masala, this time Shanta’s,  which was lying in the freezer.

To my surprise the first person who came to tell me that the pickle was suuuperbbbbbbbbb,  was my elder daughter, Apeksha. So this time I have made the masala by mixing both the masalas.

The best part of this masala is you can save in an airtight container throughout the year.

Ingredients:

½ kg chilli powder ( I used 1/2 kashmiri and 1/2 badgi chilli powder)

½ cup (heaped) red mustard

2.5 grms Shankar chaap hing/asafoetida

1 level tsp methi/fenugreek

1 ½  level tsp  pepper

A little oil  

½ tsp haldi/turmeric powder

Method:

1.       Heat the oil and fry the hing/asafoetida till you get a nice aroma. Drain well and remove from  the kadhai.

2.       Next fry the methi/fenugreek taking care that they do not turn brown. Drain and remove from the kadhai.

3.       Fry the pepper till you get an aroma, again drain and  remove.

4.        Put the mustard in the mixer and pulse.

5.        Add all the other fried ingredients  and grind with a little salt fine powder.

6.       Mix the  powder with chilli powder and haldi/turmeric.

7.       Store .

Here I have made carrot pickle where in I have grated carrots, added masala, salt, lime and a little oil  in which mustard spluttered.