Instant Green Chilli Pickle or Hari Mirch ka Achaar is a hot favorite condiment in most Indian households :). Pickles or Achaar are a staple part of most Indian meals. This instant pickle is very quick and easy to make, needs just a few basic ingredients available in most Indian pantries, and can be made any time of the year and day.
The green chilli pickle tastes amazing with paratha, roti, rice, or just about anything. It’s tangy, pungent, spicy, flavorful, and helps enhance the taste of whatever it is paired with.
Making pickles is an ancient tradition in most Indian families. Generally, summertime is the pickle making season as mangoes and other pickling fruits and vegetables are in season at that time, and the sunlight is available aplenty. Traditionally raw mango, gooseberry, lime, lemon, chilli, carrot, garlic pickles are made in big batches for the whole year during the summer season. Traditional Indian pickling is a long process that goes on for several days. The pickles are carefully made and marinated, kept in sunlight for days – which helps the marination process, as also help preserve it year-round.
The recipes of Indian pickles are passed down through generations and each family has certain signature pickle recipes. Different regions in India use different types of oils, fruits, and vegetables to make pickles. And the tastes, flavors, and textures of these pickles vary significantly.
In modern times, the tradition of making big batches of pickles during summertime is fading away. The family dynamics have changed and not everyone finds time to make big batches of yearly pickles. Hence, a lot of instant pickles have become very popular. This green chilli pickle is one such pickle that can be made instantly and during any time of the year. It does not need sunlight so it can also be made during any time of the day.
Salt, turmeric lemon juice are natural preservatives that help keep the pickles last longer. No other artificial preservatives are added to these home-made instant pickles.
Instant pickles are more flavorful and delicious in my personal opinion as the fruits/vegetables used still has a crunch and a bite since these are to be consumed relatively sooner. Also, the sharp and pungent taste of cracked mustard seeds and mustard oil is much more prominent within the first few days.
This recipe is vegan, gluten-free.
Instant Green Chili Pickle | Hari Mirch Ka Achaar
Ingredients
- 25 qty Green chillies see note
- 1 tablespoon Salt
- 1 tablespoon Turmeric
- 3 tablespoons Oil I used half mustard oil and half canola oil. See note.
- ½ cup Cracked Mustard seeds (rai na kuria) also called rai na kuria or rai dal
- 1 qty Lemon
- ½ teaspoon Asafetida (hing)
Instructions
- Wash, dry, and cut green chilies.Wash and dry green chilies. Once it is completely dry, slit these lengthwise, without breaking these into pieces. If the chillies are long, you can also cut them into half. Remove seeds (optional) if you want it less spicy. I did remove the seeds. You may also cut the stem. I did not cut it purely for aesthetics 🙂 The chillies look cute with the stem on. Though while consuming, please remove the stem.
- Add salt, turmeric. Keep it aside.Put the above chilies in a bowl. Add salt and turmeric. Cover and keep it aside for an hour.
- Mix all ingredients, pour hot oil.In another bowl, add cracked mustard seeds (rai na kuria), asafetida, the above green chillies. Cut the lemon into 8 pieces and add it to this mix. Heat oil, pour it over the ingredients of this bowl. Cover the bowl and keep it aside for about 15 minutes.
- Transfer it into a jar.Once pickle is cold, transfer it into a glass jar. The pickle is ready to use. You can keep this pickle nice and fresh for up to a month in the refrigerator.
Notes
- Green chillies: You can use more or less quantity of green chillies. I used the small green chillies available in Indian grocery stores. These are a bit spicy. You may use any kind available to you.
- Oil: I used half mustard oil and half canola oil. Mustard oil gives a nice pungent taste, but you can use any oil.
The quantity of oil can also be more or less. Typically, there is a lot more oil used in making pickles. As time goes by, the oil in the pickle also becomes very flavorful. In this recipe, I have used lesser oil. - This recipe is very forgiving – you can increase or reduce the quantity of each ingredient to your taste and liking.
- Before starting to make this pickle, it is important that the green chillies are completely dry, with no trace of water. This helps in the preservation of the pickle.
- After keeping the chillies covered in salt and turmeric aside for an hour – in case it has oozed water as a result of adding salt, then drain out the water, and put the green chilies on a plate to dry it out for a couple of hours. The ones I had kept aside didn’t have any water content so I didn’t have to follow this step.
Nutrition
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Instant Green Chilli Pickle can be paired with the following Indian meals:
What are the benefits of pickles?
According to WebMD, some of the health benefits of pickles include:
- rich in anti-oxidants;
- the fermentation helps with digestion and gut health;
- helps lower the sugar spikes.
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