Konkani Chili Pickle (Vegan + Gluten Free)

There are no newspaper boys where I live. Early morning, everyone goes to the tiny village marketplace to pick up their newspapers or to sell their milk and fresh farm produce, or to just gossip over a glass of tea at the local tea shops. This morning, when my husband went there for the newspaper, he spied a pile of fresh, mild green chilies. He returned home with a kilo, to my delight.

I remembered my mother-in-laws delicious Konkani chili pickle. She would make it sometimes for my brother in law, her younger son, and enjoy seeing him rolling the hot chilies and lemon pieces in slices of bread or in chappatis and munching away so happily. I want to share this rare and wonderful recipe with you all. Of course, chili lovers can substitute mild green chilies with hot ones. Be sure to try and enjoy!

Konkani chili pickle

Print Recipe

Konkani Chili Pickle Yum

A delicious, hot and sour green chili-mustard lemon pickle.

Cuisine

Indian, Konkani

Prep Time

50 minutes

Cook Time

20 minutes

Passive Time

30 minutes

Servings

servings

Ingredients

• 250 gm mild green chilies (hot green chilies for chili lovers)
• 250 gm small ripe lemons (or limes)
• 100 gm mustard seeds
• 2 gm fenugreek seeds
• 100 ml sesame oil (gingelly oil)
• 2 gm asafoetida powder
• 2 gm turmeric powder
• 50 gm powdered salt

Cuisine Indian, Konkani Prep Time 50 minutes Cook Time 20 minutes Passive Time 30 minutes Servings servings Ingredients 250 gm mild green chilies (hot green chilies for chili lovers) 250 gm small ripe lemons (or limes) 100 gm mustard seeds 2 gm fenugreek seeds 100 ml sesame oil (gingelly oil) 2 gm asafoetida powder 2 gm turmeric powder 50 gm powdered salt

Instructions

To prepare:

1. Set a cast-iron wok on low heat.
2. Tip in the lemons / limes and half of the oil (50 ml.).
3. Roast slowly for 20 minutes, taking care to stir occasionally. Switch off the heat and let cool naturally.
4. When cool, take out the lemons / limes, chop to pieces and set aside.
5. Put the wok (together with the roasted oil at the bottom) aside for cooking the pickle later.
6. Put the mustard and the fenugreek seeds into a cast-iron wok or a non-stick pan and set on low heat.
7. Roast slowly for 10 minutes, stirring frequently to avoid burning and for uniform roasting. The mustard seeds will pop and you can enjoy the beautiful flavor of the roasted ingredients. Switch off the heat.
8. As soon as the mixture is cool, transfer to the dry grind jar of your food processor and grind to superfine powder.
9. Put the powdered salt in a pan and roast on high heat for a minute, taking care to stir all the time.
10. Switch off the heat and set aside.
11. Slit the green chilies lengthwise into halves from the tip to almost up to the stem and set aside.

To cook:

1. Put the cast-iron wok containing the lemon / lime roasted oil on high heat. Pour in the rest of the oil (50 ml.)
2. Tip in the chilies. As soon as the chilies are hot, turn down the heat and roast for 10 minutes, taking care to stir occasionally (if the chilies are quite fleshy, they may take up to 15 minutes).
3. As soon as you can see silvery patches on the chilies, tip in the lemon / lime pieces, the turmeric powder and the powdered salt. Turn up the heat and stir, mixing thoroughly for a minute.
4. Tip in the ground powder (mustard and fenugreek). Add the asafoetida powder and stir thoroughly again.
5. As soon as the powders stick to the chilies and to the lemon pieces (this will take around a minute), turn off the heat and let cool naturally.
6. When cool, transfer to an airtight, sun-dried jar. Your delicious Konkani chili pickle is ready to enjoy. Serve with hot chappatis, rotis or with freshly baked bread. Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

If you wish to store this pickle for more than 2 days, please refrigerate, as no preservatives have been used.