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Merrily ‘in a pickle’: How Indians are sating aachar cravings
The Coronavirus lockdown won’t stop people from using simple pickle recipes this summer
For many of us, a childhood summer afternoon meant ice lollies, fairy tales, playing house in the attic and pickles. Pickles are not just another condiment. They, surprisingly, blend in with our emotions. There should be a pickle for every mood: like the one for compulsive night-time snacking must taste different from the one we furtively lick on at noon. Can a lockdown in the wake of Covid-19, separate us from sating our pickle-cravings? Store-bought packs and bottles are not quite in supply and the pandemic has turned our understanding of “essentials” on its head.
With the summer sun shining bright, we speak to freshly converted homebirds about their pickle-making trials.
Green mango love
“We are preparing our own sweet and sour fix,” says Mona Jena, a fashion designer in Pune. Mona, who is presently stuck at her friend Rahul Sahoo’s apartment in Mumbai says her taste buds were itching for that homemade tang of kachcha aam aachar (green mango pickle); “the kind that makes you scrunch up your face,” Rahul adds. Rahul goes on to list out the basic spices they have used: “After marinating the chopped unripe mangoes in salt, turmeric and red chilli powder, we added some powdered fennel seeds, powdered mustard seeds, cumin powder and jaggery. We then folded the mix using mustard oil and now, it’s out in the balcony for sun-drying.” Mona mentions that their other batch of pickled mangoes, which is slightly sweet, is also underway.
Elephant apple memories
What’s Rituparna Das, a Kolkata-based academic, pickling this season? Chaltar aachar, she replies with a grin. Chalta or the elephant apple is savoured as a relish chutney in most Bengali households. Regular teacher-student interaction and hours of reading and writing for her research, barely leaves the scholar with any time. The curfew has helped her shake up nostalgia through food. “The pickle reminds me of summer vacations at my Didun’s (grandmother) place. She never made it, but the local hawkers would have it on display. One blob of aachar for one rupee,” Rituparna fondly recollects. She follows a simple recipe where the fruit is cut into pieces and, with a dash of turmeric, allowed to soften in a pan. “Heat oil in another pan, temper it with dry red chillies and shallow fry the softened chalta. Now, add jaggery and keep boiling until sticky. You can top it off with roasted spices like cumin and coriander seeds,” she signs off.
