Its peak summer in India and I am missing my homeland so much. Nooo....Not the sun and scorching heat, but I miss all those yummy juicy mangoes and also those tangy and sour green ones. Whenever my mom bought green mangoes for pickle, I used to eat sliced raw mangoes with a dash of salt and red chilli powder...YUMMMM.
Summer was the time for mango pickles.And I am sure many of you love pickles like I do. My love for yummy, spicy pickles started right from my childhood when mom used to make different kinds of pickles throughout the year. Among them my most favourite ones were mango pickle,carrot pickle and nellika (gooseberry) pickle. and now its like 'Like mommy, like Son' . My 5 year old loves pickles.Though he doesn't eat very spicy food, he won't let go of any opportunity to eat pickles.
And after getting married, I used to see my mother in law making grated mango chutney and I just fell in love with the taste, . And then, when we moved to USA I started missing that yummy pickle. But finally found a substitute to it while living here in UK thanks to mom in law who while visiting us one summer, saw the Green Apple tree on our premises and after tasting those sour apples, suggested about trying a grated pickle with them. And it turned out so yummy and tasted exactly(well... almost) like the mango chutney. And there has been no looking back from that day, every year I wait for summer to pluck those Apples and turn them into pickle. And when its not summer what do I do? I go ahead and buy some Granny smith apples from the supermarket to satisfy my craving :) So, here goes the recipe for it.this same recipe can be used for both -Green mangoes or Green apples.
GREEN APPLE PICKLE/ CHUTNEY
Ingredients:
4 granny smith apples-grated,
1/2 cup vegetable oil,
1 pod of Garlic-crushed,
1 tbsp black peppercorns-crushed,
1 sprig of fresh curry leaves,
5-6 dried whole red chillies,
1/2 tsp mustard seeds,
1 1/2 tbsp red chilli powder,
1 tsp turmeric powder,
1 tsp mustard powder- dry roasted and powdered,
1 1/2 tsp methi(fenugreek) powder- dry roasted and powdered,
1 tbsp salt or per taste.
Method:
Heat oil in a kadai/wok. Add mustard seeds, when they splutter, add curry leaves, dry red chilles, crushed or coarsely chopped garlic, crushed peppercorns and saute for 1-2 minutes.
Now add all the dry powders - red chilli powder, turmeric powder, mustard powder and fenugreek powder and salt and switch off the stove. Now add the grated apple to this and mix well. Add more salt if needed.
And after it cools store in a sterilized, clean air tight bottle in refrigerator.
Notes:
Make sure to remove all the excess moisture from the grated Apples. Also make sure you don't grate and leave the apples for a long time, as it will oxidise and changes to brown colour. Grate just before adding it to the spices.
This pickle stays in the refrigerator for at least 2 months.
