Red Chilli Pickle

Red Chilli pickle is a stuffed pickle made using fresh red chillies. The stuffing contains a variety of spices which are dry roasted and coarsely ground.

Pickles are the most preferred accompaniment for stuffed parathas, puri and khichdi and this makes it more imminent to have a wide range of pickles in our shelves. This red chilli pickle especially pairs well with stuffed parathas and puris and is my personal favourite. I cannot have these dishes without a chilli pickle by the side! Though I am not an avid pickle eater, but this red chilli pickle is an absolute must for me. If you are a spice lover, this pickle won’t disappoint you!

Fresh red chillies are easily available during the winters in India. These chillies are typically not very hot and make them perfect choice for pickling. This pickle is commonly made in North India, especially in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. Banaras is famous for this Red chilli pickle and offers one of the best variation.

The fresh red chillies that are available during winters come in two forms – one which is small and bit plump in shape and the other variety which is long and relatively less plump. Both the chillies work great for this stuffed chilli pickle, and the recipe/ process is the same. The small ones are however easy to break and eat and works great from a portion point of view as well.

The recipe for this pickle varies slightly from home to home, however the key ingredients more or less remain the same. The stuffing for this pickle mainly consists of ingredients like fennel seeds or saunf, mustard seeds (mix of yellow and black), fenugreek seeds or methi, cumin or jeera and dry mango powder commonly known as amchur powder. These ingredients are dry roasted and coarsely ground and then mixed with vinegar, turmeric powder, asafoetida and salt and stuffed in the chilli. Typically mustard oil is used for this recipe, however if you do not like mustard oil, you can use any other vegetable oil too.

This pickle is typically a long shelf one and when made the right way, easily stays good up to a year. I like making this pickle in large batch and preserve for the entire year as these chillies are only available in winters. The key to preserve this pickle (as for any other pickle) is the right amount of pickling and naturally preserving agents like oil, salt and vinegar. Here are a few tips to ensure the pickle stays long:

Choice of Chillies: The first and foremost thing to take care while making this pickle is making the right choice of chillies and quality check them. Choose the red chillies which are thick and plump with no wrinkles in the skin. Any wrinkle in skin indicates it is not fresh. Also watch out for the health of the stems and it should not have any black spots.

Wash and completely dry the chillies: It is important to wash the chillies and completely pat dry before making this pickle. This is because any moisture content could lead to bacterial or fungus growth in the pickle. What works best is to wash the chillies and pat dry and leave it on a plate overnight so that it is completely dry.

Deseed the chillies: Since this is a stuffed chilli pickle, the chilli needs to be slit open and the inner membrane and seeds are to be removed. This not only reduces the heat of the pickle but also increases the shelf life. I recommend to do this step either wearing plastic gloves or apply a generous amount of oil in your hand before deseeding, as the chilli could sting your hands!

Pickling Agents: In this pickle, the main pickling agents are salt, vinegar and oil. Use ample amount of salt in the stuffing. Though it might seem a lot looking at the recipe, but note that this gets absorbed by the chilli over a period of time and the taste gets balanced out. Similarly, most pickles get spoilt when the main ingredients of the pickle are not coated or immersed in oil well. So if you prefer a longer shelf life, ensure that there is enough oil in the jar!

Use a clean and sterilized container: This is very important to ensure that there is no bacteria growth. Use glass or ceramic containers for storing the pickle. Never use steel or plastic containers. Also, while serving, make use of a wooden spoon and do not touch the pickles directly with your hands.

Show the Sun! This pickle needs to be kept under direct sunlight for a minimum of 3 to 4 days so that the chillies become soft. For this step, tie a muslin cloth around the mouth of the container and keep under sunlight directly and bring it back indoors during the evening. Repeat the process for at least 3 to 4 days. Once ready, the pickle can be stored in the refrigerator. It stays good easily for a year.

Give it a good shake once in a while! Yes, you read that right. Though you might have added ample oil while making the pickle, the oil tends to settle at the bottom over a period of time, so the chillies at the top might get dry and could get could spoilt. This generally starts the fungus growth in the pickle. So ensure that you mix the pickle well once in a week or so to ensure that all the chillies are well coated in oil.

Serving Suggestion

Red chilli pickle can be served as an accompaniment to parathas especially all stuffed parathas, puris, rice and khichdi. Take the pickle out of the container only using a wooden spoon. Do not transfer back any of the broken or partially used chilli back in the container. You could dice the chilli in small pieces as well before serving for convenience while eating.

Red Chilli Pickle

Kannan

Red Chilli Pickle is a long shelf-life stuffed pickle made using fresh red chillies. The stuffing is made using a range of dry roasted spices which are then coarsely ground.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Maturing Time 4 days d

Total Time 4 days d 50 minutes mins

Course Condiments

Cuisine Banarasi, Indian, North-Indian

Servings 1 jar

Equipment

• Measuring Cups and Spoons

Ingredients

  

• 350-400 grams Fresh Red Chillies
• ¼ Cup Green Fennel Seeds
• ⅛ Cup Yellow Mustard Seeds
• ⅛ Cup Black Mustard Seeds
• 2 tbsp Fenugreek Seeds or Methi
• 2 tbsp Cumin or Jeera
• ¾ cup Mustard Oil
• 3 tbsp Salt
• 3 tbsp Vinegar
• ½ tsp Asafoetida
• 2 tsp Amchur or Dry Mango Powder
• 1 tsp Turmeric Powder
• 1 tsp Kaala Namak or Rock Salt optional
• 1 tsp Nigella Seeds optional
• ½ tsp Carom Seeds optional

Instructions

 

• Remove the stems of the chilli. Wash them and pat dry them completely. Let them dry overnight preferably.
  
• Either using gloves or applying some oil in your hands, gently slit the chilli only from the centre. Repeat this process for all the chillies.
  
• Using the back of a spoon, gently deseed all the chillies and remove the membrane too. Be careful not to completely slit open the chilli.
  
• Discard all the seeds
  
• Heat a pan or kadai and dry roast the mustard seeds (both black and yellow) on a low flame till they start popping. Transfer them to a clean and dry plate.
  
• Next, dry the fenugreek seeds till slightly golden in colour. Transfer to same plate.
  
• Next, dry roast the fennel seeds and cumin or jeera till they start popping. Transfer to plate.
  
• In the same kadai, heat the oil till smoking point and keep aside. Let the oil cool completely.
  
• Cool all the dry roasted spices.
  
• Now just pulse grind the spices in a mixer grinder. Make sure to keep the spices coarse and do not make a powder out of it.
  
• Transfer the spice mix to plate and add the remaining dry ingredients – turmeric powder, salt, asafoetida, amchur powder, kala namak, nigella seeds, carom seeds and mix well.
  
• Now add the vinegar and around 2 tablespoons of the cooled oil to this mixture and mix well.
  
• Now the stuffing mix is ready and can be filled into the red chillies.
  
• Using a small spoon, carefully stuff this masala in each chilli. Make sure that there is enough stuffing. Repeat the process for all the chillies.
  
• Now dip each of the chilli in oil and stack them in a clean and sterilized container.
• Pour the remaining oil over the jar. If there is any leftover masala, you could mix this too.
  
• This pickle is to be kept under direct sunlight for 3-4 days. Tie a clean muslin cloth around the mouth of the jar and keep the pickle under sun during the day time and bring it back indoors in evening. Repeat process for 3 to 4 days till the chillies become soft.
• Once ready the chillies would be soft, the pickle can be kept in refrigerator for up to a year.
  

Notes

• Make sure to dry the chillies completely after washing. There should be no water or moisture content.
• Use standard measuring cups and spoons for the above recipe to get precise measurements.
• If you do not like mustard oil, you can use any other vegetable oil of your choice.
• You could also use mustard dal and methi dal instead of the seeds.
• If you do not wish to make use of vinegar, increase the amount of Amchur powder to 3 tablespoons instead of 2 teaspoons.
• You could also add a small amount of nigella seeds and carom seeds in the masala mix. But do not grind them and just mix along with other dry masalas.
• If you feel that the pickle requires some more oil, you could heat the oil and cool completely and then add to the pickle.
• Mix the pickle once in a while to ensure that all the chillies are completely coated in oil at any given time.

Keyword Accompaniment, Achar, Banarasi, Pickle, Red chilli, Stuffed Red Chilli