Pickle is a very important side dish in Indian Cuisine. South Indian pickles are very hot compared to achars of North and they use sesame oil. As pickles are meant to stay good for a year, they use lots of oil, salt and red chilly powder to preserve them. My mom prepares delicious pickles and she has a great fan club. She used to prepare jars and jars of pickles and will distribute among friends, relatives and neighbours. Nowadays, the circle is very small and so I prepare it just for our use. As ours is a nuclear family, I go with one cup of main ingredient and that will be relished for 1-2months. We don't refrigerate pickles. So to keep it nice there are some golden rules. Never use a spoon with water content in the pickle. Always keep the pickle jar closed. Always maintain the oil level above the pickle. Transfer small amounts of pickle to small jars and use. Never use the bigger jar in a day to day basis. This ginger pickle is my own recipe adapted from turmeric pickle. It was so delicious and was a great accompaniment for curd rice.
Ingredients:
Ginger-1cup(cut into small pieces)
Lemon-2
Red Chilly Powder-4tbs
Salt-2tbs
Methi Seeds Powder-1/4tsp
Sesame Oil-1/3cup
Mustard Seeds-1/2tsp
Procedure:
1. Wash and scrap the skin of ginger.
2. Cut into small pieces.
3. Heat oil and add mustard seeds. When they crackle add the ginger pieces and saute on medium flame fro 5 minutes.
4. Add salt, red chilly powder and methi powder.
5. Give a nice stir.
6. Extract juice from the lemons.
7. Add the lemon juice to the pan. The mixture will leave oil suddenly.
8. Switch off stove and allow the pickle to cool.
9. Transfer to a sterilized jar and use.Labels: GINGER, PICKLES, SOUTH INDIAN DELICACIES
