Monday, January 11, 2010

Athela Marcha (Pickled green chillies)




Athela Marcha sounds and tastes amazing with any dish which is bland, such as plain khichdi or varan dal and rice. Athela marcha which literally means pickled chillies add instant kick of spiciness to any food. The Recipe which I have used is an authentic Gujarati Recipe and is followed by my mom and my M-I-L equally. I bet pickles never were more simplier than this!!!


Ingredients :

250 gms Vadhwani lila marcha/jalapeno peppers/jada marcha
75 gms rai na kuriya / split mustard seeds
1 to 1 1/2 tbs of salt (adjust as per your taste)
2 tbs lemon juice
1/2 tsp Hing / asafoetida
1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder



Method :

Wash and dry chillies, slit them length wise remove the seeds from prepping them to be pickled.
Now toss all other ingredients into a wide utensil and mix them well, here "well" means really well, for about 5 to 7 minutes. mix them using your hand, esp your palms as this process helps in utilizing body heat in melting salt quicker and more uniformly.
Add in the slit chillies and mix them well with the prepared achari mixture.
Store this in glass jars at room temperature for 2 days and there after in refrigerator for upto 20 days.

Tips :

Storing pickle at room temperature for 2 days is crucial coz this gives time for chilles to nicely marinate and absord all the flavors.
Make sure to shake up the pickle jar during these 2 days.
You can add 1 tbs of split fenugreek seeds to this pickle too, if you prefer a bit bitter kick in your pickles.
This pickle can be served with any kind of parathas, snacks and goes good with everyday food as a side dish. It can also be chopped into bits and added to veggie raita and used as one of the topping on pizza etc. Just let your imagination go wild!!

No comments:

Post a Comment