Pickling This Monsoon? Try This

Karonda Mirchi Achar

Recipe From Uttar Pradesh

People who love sour things as well as spicy will love this mirchi achar recipe, which adds something beyond the usual red chilli pickle to the pantry. Karonda, or natal plum, is a small, tart berry that grows from the summer to June, and ripens in the peak monsoon months in parts of Uttar Pradesh. This sour berry, when paired with green chillies in a mustard-oil pickle, turns into a sharp, sour-hot condiment that is perfect to add some ‘chatpata’ flavour to any plain meals like dal and roti or parathas or even rice and sabzi. This karonda mirchi achar recipe uses a common pickling technique, common across North Indian achars. The whole spices are dry-roasted and coarsely ground rather than using powdered masalas, so the spices retain some of their texture and have a crunch to them. These spices tend to release oil slowly as the pickle matures. Fennel, fenugreek, and mustard seeds form the flavour backbone here, joined by asafoetida and red chilli powder. The mustard oil is heated to a smoking point first, then cooled slightly before adding the ground spices. The karonda needs a little more care than most pickle fruits and vegetables. The larger berries are halved, and any brown seeds inside are removed, with smaller berries left whole so the pickle gets textural variety. Once everything is mixed, the achar needs to be rested overnight. Then the remaining oil is added to it, and finally transferred to another container to mature.