pickles...

A pickle is such a dish that is famous all around the world. It is made from a variety of ingredients such as different fruits or vegetables. The spices also change accordingly. The pickle recipes are numerous but the basic recipe remains the same. Primarily, cucumbers, raw mangoes, onions, carrot, limes etc are used for making pickles. In India it is eaten as a side dish whereas in America it is an appetizer. Pickles are mainly prepared to reserve food stuffs. Pickling helps them to last longer even up to 1 or 2 years.

There are a number of pickle recipes. Out of which the most famous ones are described below. The cucumber pickle is made with the following ingredients;

1. 2 cups medium sized cucumbers
2. 1 cup onions
3. 1 cup vinegar
4. Ľ cup kosher salta
5. 1 cup water
6. ľ cup sugar
7. ˝ teaspoon mustard seeds
8. 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
9. ˝ teaspoon ginger
10. ˝ teaspoon celery seeds

Wash the cucumbers well. Cut thin slices and jeep aside. Mix well the onions, salt and cucumbers. Keep aside the mixture for about 1 to 2 hours. Drain off the liquid. Cook the remaining ingredients in a large cooking pot properly. Add cucumbers, salt and onions to the pot. Boil them for about 7 to 10 minutes until they are crisp and tender. Store the pickle in sterilized jars for about a month. After a month the pickle is ready to eat.

Instead of cucumbers, onions, cauliflowers, green tomatoes can also be used. The same pickle recipe applies to all these vegetables. The brine solution made from vinegar remains the same. In America, the pickle recipes are made with vinegar. However in India and other South East Asian countries, vegetable oil is used in place of vinegar.

Pickle recipes in India are made using raw mangoes, tamarind, limes, and tomatoes along with a number of spices and most importantly vegetable oil. The ingredients for the pickle are as follows

1. Limes (6 to 7 nos)/ raw mangoes/ carrot/ tomatoes/ tamarind
2. salt to taste
3. vegetable oil
4. 1 tablespoon chili powder
5. Garlic cloves (5 to 6 nos) optional
6. Ginger flakes (optional)
7. 1 tablespoon turmeric
8. 2 teaspoons powdered fenugreek


Wash the limes/raw mango pieces/ tamarind pieces or any other ingredient well. Slice or cut them in quarters retaining their juice. Take oil in a large cooking pot. Add turmeric, chili powder, salt and fenugreek and cook well. Seasoning should be checked properly. Cool the mixture and then add the slices of the main ingredient. Mix the mixture well so that the mixture is distributed evenly to all pieces. Store the pickle in sterilized jars for some time until all the ingredients settle down. After the settling period, the pickle can be eaten off the jars. Pickle recipes may not change but the ingredients do change. Every recipe made with a different ingredient has an equally good taste and flavor.

Bread and butter pickle

Bread and butter pickle is a type of pickle which is sweeter than the dill pickles. It is also known as sweet and sour pickle. Bread and butter pickles have a higher concentration of sugar.

These pickles are not served along with main course dishes. But they are a part of the main course dishes. These pickles are often used in sandwiches, hamburgers or potato salads.
People sometimes confuse bread and butter pickles with sweet pickles. However there is a difference in terms of the ingredients.

Sweet pickles use spices such as cinnamon, cloves and allspice along with vinegar. But bread and butter pickles use turmeric, mustard, onion and vinegar and sugar mixture.

The ingredients used in making bread and butter pickles are:

1. Large fresh cucumbers (6 nos)
2. Onions (4 nos)
3. 5 cups of ice cubes
4. ¼ cup salt (to taste)
5. 2 cups of white vinegar
6. ¾ cup sugar
7. ¾ tablespoon turmeric
8. 1 teaspoon celery seeds
9. 1 teaspoon mustard seeds

The recipe is as follows;

1. Wash the cucumbers well. Cut slices of the washed cucumbers. Next, cut thin slices of the washed onions. Place the cucumbers and the onions in a bowl and add salt to the mixture. Put the ice cubes in the mixture. Let the mixture stand for about 2 to 3 hours. Change the ice cubes as frequently as required. Putting the vegetables in salt and water mixture makes them soft and hence enables faster mixing. The pickle making process is sped up.

2. After 1 hour, drain the salt water and wash the vegetables with cold water.

3. Add celery seeds, turmeric, mustard seeds, white vinegar, and sugar in a large bowl. Heat the mixture until it boils. Stir continuously until then. Cook it for about 3 minutes.

4. Sterilize the storing jars by boiling the jar and their lids in water for about 15 minutes. This enables de- contamination and ensures longer life of the pickle.

5. Place the cucumbers and onions in the sterilized jars. Add the vinegar and sugar mixture to the jars. A thin wooden or metal spoon can be run inside the mixture to ensure that no air gaps or bubbles are trapped inside the jars. Leave about half a centimeter space at the top of the jar.

6. Seal the jars immediately. Rubber bands can be used to secure the lids of jars tightly in position. Clean the rims of the lids and outer surfaces of the jars with a damp cloth to remove any food residue. Additional processing is required. This is done by boiling the jars in water bath or a tub for about 5 minutes.

7. After the jars cool, store them in a cool and dark place for at least 2 months.8. After this waiting period, the pickle is ready to be consumed.

Thus it can be seen that making bread and butter pickles is just the same as any other pickle except that the ingredients change. The taste of this pickle is equally tempting.

Read more about pickles at these sites:

pickles
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fried pickles recipe
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