Mirch ka Achaar | Red Chillies Pickle

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Red chillies, deseeded and filled with a spicy saunf-based mix, preserved in mustard oil. An all-season, spicy pickle that goes perfectly with Indian staples like dal chawal!

Preparation time: 2 hours

Preservation time: 3-4 days

Storage Instructions: Room temperature.

Best time for pickling: Winters, when fresh red luscious chillies are available.

Ingredients:

Red chilies - 250gm

Mustard oil - 1cup

Spice mix - Haldi powder 10g, Saunf (fennel seeds) 30g, Kalaunji 50g, methi dana (fenugreek seeds) 20gm, jeera (cumin seeds) 15gm, ajwain (carom seeds) 5gm, kali mirch (black pepper) 10gms, sarson dana (black mustard seeds) 50 gms, black salt 20gm and normal salt to taste

lal mirch powder (Red chili powder) 50g, juice of two lemons or vinegar two tbsp.

Recipe:

1. Take a clean wet cloth and wipe the chillies really clean. Then keep them in sunlight for about one hour (alternatively dry them under fan for about 4 hours).

2. Take out the stem and with a knife make a hole and take out the seeds (don't discard them, we'll mix them up with the masala).

3. Lightly roast all unground spices except sarson and grind coursely. Then grind sarson also coursely. Mix them up.

4. Mix all ground masalas and salt. Add the seeds from the chillies. Add lemon juice and two tbsp of mustard oil to the mixture to bind it together.

5. Now fill up this mixture in the chillies so that they are filled properly but not overflowing. 6. Take a clean dry glass bottle and put all the chillies in it after dipping it in the oil. Put all the remaining oil in the bottle. Top up the chillies with more oil if required.

Enjoy with dal chawal or your favourite lunch!