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India’s pickle people: Decades-old culinary heirlooms, nostalgia

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Re: India’s pickle people: Decades-old culinary heirlooms, nostalgia

#71

Post by OJFord »

qart wrote: post #68
OJFord wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Ah, the "achaar". So wrongly translated as "pickle". Why do you say that? I wrote a longer reply here to someone saying the same, but in brief my guess is that you're thinking of (US) 'dill pickle'? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37725552 Nimbu achar is called lime pickle in the UK. That doesn't seem strange and nobody's surprised at what they get, so why is it 'so wrongly translated'?

Pickle is definitely the right word. Achar is a Persian loan word in Hindi. There's no good reason to use that as a standard term when writing in English. Both pickle and achar would sound alien to my great-grandparents, who spoke neither English nor Hindi. They would use the term uppinakaayi. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Asian_pickle

I grew up (British) with it called pickle, sure we also had pickled onions^ etc. which are quite different, but that doesn't mean it's wrongly translated - for one thing they've both been through the pickling process; for another (perhaps more importantly as a layman term) everyone understands it as pickle.

I don't know what they think would be a better translation (i.e. explicitly not just borrowing achar ourselves too) - salsa maybe? Seems weird to use a loan word from a completely different culture for a different preserve, and anyway I suspect Britain had achar before salsa.

(^Anyway you would never say 'pass the pickle' for pickled onions, maybe something like piccalilli, which is relatively achar like! Although I'm not sure how good an argument that is, it probably was colonially achar-inspired, heavily uses yellow mustard seed which I think isn't/wasn't cultivated here (for harvest of seeds for culinary use I mean).)

Re: India’s pickle people: Decades-old culinary heirlooms, nostalgia

#73

Post by bakul »

My mom used to make a variety of achār (athāṇuṁ in Gujarati). Sour, sweet ones (made with unripe mangoes and they both had mustard & red pepper in oil), Chhundo (shredded unripe mangoes in sugar syrup & red pepper). These would be stored in white & light orange ceramic pots. But I don’t recall them lasting years and years! Lime as well as green pepper pickles were more seasonal. Also whole not quite ripe black peppers on their stem. The green pepper ones would get less hot over time but some could still be tongue burning hot.

People who want to make their own pickles should first try readymade ones as they can be a bit of an acquired taste. You can get many kinds in most Indian stores (usually a at least a whole shelfful if not a whole aisle). Patak’s used to be the main one many years ago but now there are many more brands. My favorite is Patak’s brinjal (eggplant) pickle. You can even use some pickles as a sandwich spread! Or on crackers or lightly sautéed chapati or masala puri etc as a quick snack.

Re: India’s pickle people: Decades-old culinary heirlooms, nostalgia

#74

Post by [deleted] »

OJFord wrote: post #63
kumarvvr wrote: post #56

Yeah, this is not the western idea of Pickle. These are long lasting, chilli powder filled, Mustard powder based goodness, that is tasty throughout the year, filling and an absolute delight. There are so many fond memories of eating mango pickle with steaming hot rice, in the hot summers in my home. In every Indian Home (at least in the south that I know about), you will find at least a couple of these pickles stocke…

> Yeah, this is not the western idea of Pickle. > These are long lasting, chilli powder filled, Mustard powder based goodness, that is tasty throughout the year, filling and an absolute delight. Achar right? 'Pickle' is exactly what I'd (white British) call it, and vice versa not be surprised when it was what I was given. Maybe you're thinking of American 'dill pickle' (where the pickle stands for 'with pickled cucum…

[deleted]

Re: India’s pickle people: Decades-old culinary heirlooms, nostalgia

#75

Post by quadrifoliate »

dilawar wrote: post #65
Metacelsus wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>My contribution to this was introducing potassium permanganate as an extra layer to fight fungus. It is still known as "achaar powder" in the village. Did people end up eating potassium permanganate? I think that would be pretty toxic.

I hope not. It was meant to be sprinkled on the top after oil and salt has been added. Besides’ we didn’t know that it was toxic. I read about it in my chemistry book and it is available in a medical store. I am more worried about people keeping insecticides in husked and unhusked rice. Trace amounts of insecticides is very common in grains here. I hope this improves soon since epigenetic changes due to insecticides…

You might be thinking of potassium metabisulphite? [1]

Sounds like it's a white powder, which fits your description. Also, I grew up in India, and am pretty sure that at school, I read about this being introduced to complement traditional preservatives.

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[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potassium_metabisulfite

Re: India’s pickle people: Decades-old culinary heirlooms, nostalgia

#76

Post by satvikpendem »

smusamashah wrote: post #52
signal11 wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or seafood, in some (coastal) parts of the country[1]. I’ve had shrimp pickle from Andhra Pradesh, it’s delicious but doesn’t seem to be as well known. [1] https://www.vahrehvah.com/shrimp-prawn-pickle

My grandmother use to tell about beef pickle but didn't make it when I req. It was a difficult one. Would love to try meat pickle someday.

I've had chicken and mutton pickles, you can get them at certain Indian restaurants and stores, often in the refrigerator section.

Re: India’s pickle people: Decades-old culinary heirlooms, nostalgia

#77

Post by rmk »

There are also the 'sweet' pickles, murabba: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murabba

Don't know what they would be called in the west. I see 'preserves' often, but they seem to be closer relatives of jams than murabbas. Unlike jams, murabbas have a savory taste (much smaller than the overall sweet taste) element to them.

Re: India’s pickle people: Decades-old culinary heirlooms, nostalgia

#78

Post by rmk »

NL807 wrote: post #53
dilawar wrote: post #39

Ah, the "achaar". So wrongly translated as "pickle". In my village (Ganges plain, North India), making achaar was a significant seasonal community event. When mangoes were small, we used to wait for heavy winds during early monsoon. A lot of raw mangoes would fall on the ground, and the next day they would be sold at a much cheaper price. There were two broad classes of mango varieties: one for eating ripe, and the o…

I would love to learn how to make this. Do you or anyone here know good recipes and the process?

You could buy a pickle spice mix (this one is a North Indian style pickle mix, by the looks of it):

https://foodsofnations.com/products/indian-pickle-masala-ach...

Here's a 'wet kind' to make Gujarati style pickles:

https://www.tarladalal.com/homemade-indian-pickle-masala-guj...

Here's a recipe to make mango pickle (this being the tail end of summer, you may chance upon raw mangoes still): https://www.tarladalal.com/spicy-mango-pickle-mango-pickle-w...

Or try pickling lemons, which are easily available year-round:

https://www.tarladalal.com/sweet-lemon-pickle-nimboo-ka-acha...

https://profusioncurry.com/sweet-lemon-pickle-recipe/#recipe

Re: India’s pickle people: Decades-old culinary heirlooms, nostalgia

#79

Post by rmk »

Baeocystin wrote: post #23

Anyone have a recipe for the lemon they would enjoy sharing? I love pickle of all kinds, and my Meyers produce more fruit than I can handle, even sharing fresh lemons with friends. If I can also share some as preserves, that sounds like a fun way to continue the sharing.

Here's one that will make you long-lasting pickle. It involves an initial set of steps, a 6-7 day wait, and then another set of steps followed by another 6-7 day wait until you can eat them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeR99HCIAPA

You can get the specific types of dried red chillies from most Indian stores.

Here's an 'instant pickle' recipe, in english:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRosfCOEpzA

Re: India’s pickle people: Decades-old culinary heirlooms, nostalgia

#80

Post by satvikpendem »

hawk_ wrote: post #44
dilawar wrote: post #39

Ah, the "achaar". So wrongly translated as "pickle". In my village (Ganges plain, North India), making achaar was a significant seasonal community event. When mangoes were small, we used to wait for heavy winds during early monsoon. A lot of raw mangoes would fall on the ground, and the next day they would be sold at a much cheaper price. There were two broad classes of mango varieties: one for eating ripe, and the o…

> The last process requires special hands if you wanted your pickle to last a few years. Is that some code word for hygiene? I seem to remember that the concept of hygiene for making achaar (and for other kitchen matters) was codified in religious practices in my family/community.

It's probably more of a code word for experience and luck, like a gardener's green thumb; some have it, some simply don't, is the implication.
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