KANCHA AAMER MISHTI ACHAR / RAW MANGO SWEET PICKLE

The mango season is on, I can see its reflection everywhere.... in shakes, desserts, pickles.... South Asian pickle variety is our achar.... a condiment. The mention of achar / pickle brings forth many a sweet memories. Our mom used to prepare pickles with mango, tamarind, elephant apple, mainly sweet ones using jaggery considering Bengal's love for sweets. I remember only the lemon pickle she made was a sour one. She did prepare one sour mango pickle which I loved very much. 

Our daddy had to have little bit of sweet pickle with his fish curry and rice, hence sweet pickles had predominance in our home, made with sour jujube, elephant apple, raw mangoes. That simplistic love story was typical of that generation..... altogether a different generation, a different perspective of life.... They hardly shared any amount of romance between them!

Coming back to pickle, ever since I saw the raw green mangoes in the market, I was planning to prepare some achar for my senior who loves it with hand rolled breads, even if they are accompanied by vegetables and meat. Though he prefers sour pickle in oil, I prepared this sweet one, with a typical Bengali dry roasted ground spice mix added to it. I prepared this KANCHA AAMER MISHTI ACHAR yesterday evening. What you see in the picture has to be kept under the sun for a week and then stored in a jar.

INGREDIENTS : [ for the dry spice mix]

Cumin Seeds : 1 tsp

Coriander Seeds : 1tsp

Fenugreek Seed : 1/4tsp

Fennel Seed : 1/4tsp

Black Mustard Seed : 1/4tsp

Wild Celery Seed : 1/4tsp

Dry Red Chilli : 5

INGREDIENTS : [ for the sweet mango pickle ]

Raw Mango : 3-5 standard sized [preferably whose seed has not hardened enough]

Jaggery : 1 medium tea cup [I used the powder]

Sugar : 2-3 tbsp

Salt : 1/4 tsp

Turmeric Powder : 1/4 tsp

METHOD :

Peel, wash and cut the mangoes into medium sized cubes discarding the seeds. Rub with salt and turmeric powder. Rest for half an hour.

Take a wok, switch on the gas stove. Add the marinated mango cubes & cover cook at low heat for 8-10 minutes. Give a stir in between!

Remove the cover, add the jaggery powder & a medium cup of water; fold in well. As the jaggery melts, keep stirring at medium heat till it turns little sticky. Add the sugar to get the mixture more sticky.

Switch off gas. Transfer to a bowl. 

Dry roast the spices at minimal heat for 3-4 minutes, grind to a coarse powder! 

Add it to the pickle & fold in well!

Give a good sunbath to the pickle before transferring to a sterilised jar! Keep giving sunbath a intervals.