I made this mango pickle a few months ago when raw mangoes were in season in Singapore and distributed it to a few friends who loved it! I don’t make pickles at home often since I have a few favourite brands of pickles I buy from the stores and amma makes some for me when I visit her. Since our consumption is so low, making pickles at home in bulk is hardly necessary.
However, after making this mango pickle with just one mango, I regretted not making more since it came out so nice and flavourful. Use the ingredient and amounts as guidelines and check the notes for some additional customizations you can make to suit your palates. Check out the Onam Sadya Menu here and also notes on how to serve an Onam Sadya.
KERALA-STYLE INSTANT MANGO PICKLE RECIPE
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Makes 2 cups
Recipe source: Amma
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups of raw mangoes, with skin, cut into cubes
2 tbsp of salt (you may need to adjust this)
1/4 cup of oil
2.5 tsp of black mustard seeds (kaduku)
1/2 tsp of fenugreek seeds (uluva)
2 strands of curry leaves
2-3 tsp of red chilli powder
2 tsp of vinegar (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Add salt to the cut mango pieces and set aside for 20-30 mins.
2. Combine 2 tsp mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds together…
… and powder it together. You can make it a finer powder or leave it a bot coarse like I did.
3. Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds. When they pop, turn off the flame and add the powdered mustard+fenugreek.
4. Quickly follow with the chilli powder and curry leaves and stir vigorously for 5 seconds.
5. Tip in the salted mangoes and mix well, adding salt and vinegar (if using).
The entire mixture will come together in the residual heat of the pan. That’s it! The mango pickle is ready.
Let it sit in the same pan until completely cooled and then transfer to a dry glass jar. Store refrigerated and use up within a week. Always use a dry spoon to serve the pickle.
Notes:
- You can make customizations to this pickle by adding 1/2 powdered jaggery, a few garlic cloves, green chillies instead of red chilli powder (my favourite!), etc
- I generally add the vinegar if the mangoes are not sour enough. It also helps to preserve the pickle longer. I didn’t add any for this batch
- Leave the skin of the mangoes on, especially if they are too sour, otherwise the pickle will become mushy and too sour
- Adjust chilli powder and salt to your preference. Don’t be stingy on the salt though, it acts as a preservative. Also, if you like a fiery red pickle but not the heat, add Kashmiri chilli powder like I did
- Take care not to burn the spices, that’s why we turn the heat off adter initially heating the pan well
Tina says
April 11, 2017 at 6:21 pmI tried this recipe of yours. Mango pickle came out good.. !! The only thing I did different was keeping sliced mango in salted water for a day..!! For rest followed your recipe exactly.. Thanks 🙂 I must say that the chilll and crushed mustard can get burnt very easily.. done careful and keep it on low flame. Thanks again …I was craving for my mom’s handmade pickel..!! 😁😊👍👍
Sibi jinu says
September 30, 2016 at 2:31 pmIam going to make
Chief Gwex.VNT says
October 27, 2016 at 12:43 amBeautiful. We have lots of raw mangoes around this time [November] in Zimbabwe and I think this recipe is wonderful.
nags says
November 16, 2016 at 4:38 pmthank you, hope you try the recipe