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 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.
3tablespoonsOilI used half mustard oil and half canola oil. See note.
½cupCracked Mustard seeds (rai na kuria) also called rai na kuria or rai dal
1qtyLemon
½teaspoonAsafetida (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.