Mango – Bitter gourd pickle

One of my trip to Golden Temple, Amritsar, Punjab, India, I happened to taste a pickle with bitter gourd. Intriguing !!! It was deliciously flavored with the tangy-ness of the raw mango along with hand pounded spices ❤

The eatery owner did not want to share the recipe, inspite of my coaxing though he agreed to sell a jar of it to me. Brilliant !! 😀 So begins my tryst with pickling bitter gourd with mango 😉

photo source : Google

My thoughts were on the spices used, should i use the regular mango pickle spices or there is something which will give that exact taste ??

Hubby solved the problem by emptying the jar onto a plate and literally comb through the hand pound spices 😀 It was fun to watch him !!! 😛

Here’s what I did…………..

INGREDIENTS

4 nos – medium sized mango

1 nos – large sized bitter gourd (de- seeded)

2 tsp – tumeric powder

4 tsp – kashmiri red chili powder

3 tbsp – dark mustard seeds

2 tbsp – fenugreek seed

1 1/2 tbsp – nigella seed

1 tsp – asafoetida

2 tbsp – fennel seeds

salt to taste

1 +1 cup – mustard oil

METHOD

Wash, wipe, peel and dice the mangoes in 1″ cubes. Rub 1 tbsp salt and keep aside in a colander for 30 mins. Keeping in the colander will help drain out the water.

Wash, wipe and de- seed the gourd. Dice it in 1″ cube. Keep aside.

Hand pound the mustard, fenugreek and fennel seeds. Just crush it enough to release the aroma. Do not powder.

Heat 1 cup oil to smoking point and take it off fire. As it cools down a little add 1 tsp of the asafoetida. Allow the oil to cool down completely.

In a large bowl mix the mango, bitter gourd with the pound spices, nigella seeds, tumeric and kashmiri red chili powder. Add some more salt. Add 1 cup of oil to this mix and jar it. Pour the asafoetida infused oil into jar. Cover the jar mouth with a muslin cloth and sun the pickle for at least 20 days.

It’s ready to be consumed. 🙂 Goes well with stuffed paranthas.

Shelf life is 1 year or more.

P.S. One can replace mustard oil with Olive or Canola oil.

Happy pickling !!! 😉

Cheers !! 😀