Red Chilli Pickle
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.
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.