Green Chilli Achaar with Garlic and Ginger

Green Chilli Achaar using Kunal Kapur's YouTube Recipe

 

Green Chilli Achaar  


Personally I am not brave enough to eat green chillies by themselves, however my hubby loves them.  When they are in other food items like moong ki dal pakora or bhel puri, I enjoy the flavor and heat they offer, but I’m not quite up to eating them plain.  


Life is still in lockdown and I wanted to make something new.  I had just started the process of putting up 15 kg of lemon achaar.  I had also put up 6 kg of Red Chilli Achaar, when making that one of my staff talked about a green chilli achaar they make in the village.  I asked him for the recipe and all his recipe is to go to his local market and pick up a masala packet and add to green chillies and put in the sun.  When I asked what was in the masala, he didn’t know.  I tried to find something similar online, but no luck.  I forgot about it, because, well, I’m not going to eat it.  Then on my feed a recipe for instant green chilli pickle came up.  I watched the video and when Kunal Kapur put in garlic and ginger I was ready to try it.  So I watched the video several times to write down amounts and instructions (I couldn’t find a written version on YouTube or his website), we had to guess at the salt level, because he said “to taste”, I really hate when recipes say to taste without at least a base level.  


So my staff cut the vegetables and I arranged the spices.  Once the vegetables were prepped I followed the recipe.  It took less than 10 minutes.  We initially added 1tsp of salt, but my staff decided that was too less.  So we doubled it.  I’m quite sure others could actually do more.  


I was wary of the vinegar as I’m not a major fan.  Tasting immediately made me think I wasn’t going to enjoy this at all.  However, in the evening when I tasted one of the garlic pods, it was yummy, with no hint of the vinegar.  


Last night hubby and staff all ate the chilli with dinner.  Thumbs up all around.  In fact two of my staff have requested a jar each for themselves to take home.  So that really makes it a success.


I ate only the garlic and ginger and they really added another level to the simple dal and the panch subzi pulao we had.  I was able to get some of the heat and flavor of the green chilli without actually eating the green chilli.  So today while making the staffs jars of achaar, I am planning to decrease the chilli to 1 cup and have 2 cups of garlic and ginger.  It may or may not work, but it sounds really good to me.  


I also just want to mention.  Unlike the red chilli achaar the spices are not roasted and ground to a powder.  They are left whole.  So when fried they become a little crunchy and nut like, the added texture to the soft dal and pulao just made my tummy make yummy noises.  


GREEN CHILLI INSTANT PICKLE From the Kunal Kapur YouTube Channel This is an instant pickle preserved with vinegar. Make it in the morning and can be eaten by night time, although it tastes better the next day. According to the video it can be kept for a year if you add extra oil at the end. SERVINGS OR AMOUNT Fills about ¾ of a 1 liter yera jar. INGREDIENTS Mustard Oil 1 cup Asafoetida (Hing) ¼ tsp Fenugreek Seeds (Methi Dana) 1 TBS Mustard Seeds (brown or black not yellow) Rai 2 Tbs Cumin (Jeera) 1 Tbs Anise Seeds (Saunf) 1 Tbs Garlic Pods 20 pods Ginger Slices ¼ cup Turmeric (Haldi) 2 tsp Green Chillies cut into 1” pieces 3 cups Salt 2 tsp (or to taste) Vinegar 5 Tbs METHOD

  • Wash the chillies and leave overnight to dry.  Ensure NO water is present on any of the vegetables, utensils,  or the glass jar for holding the achaar.

  • Pour Mustard Oil into a large pan on medium heat

  • When oil is hot add Asafoetida and Fenugreek and stir until Fenugreek darkens slightly

  • Add Mustard Seeds, Cumin, and Saunf and stir

  • Add Garlic pods and Ginger Slices cook for one-two minutes don’t let spices burn

  • REMOVE from heat

  • Add Turmeric and stir

  • Add Green Chillies and stir covering all chillies with spices and oil

  • Add Salt (adjust for personal preference) and stir

  • Add Vinegar

  • Cool Mixture thoroughly before putting in a dry glass jar

  • Shake the jar daily for a week.  To coat all vegetables with oil. Place in sunny window if possible. 

  • If made in the morning, will be ready to eat in the evening.

* IMPORTANT. There should be no water droplets on anything while making this or any achaar. It is best to wash the jar the day before making to ensure there is no moisture left inside. ** Once all ingredients are chopped, the cooking time should only be less than 10 minutes. *** Kunal Kapoor did not post a written recipe on his site. He stated salt to taste. We first added 1 tsp of salt, tasted then added a 2nd teaspoon. **** When I tasted the pickle immediately after mixing there was a very strong vinegar flavor, but after a day I didn’t even notice a vinegar flavor. ***** Make sure to remove the pan from heat before adding Turmeric and Green Chillies. I don’t know why for the Turmeric, but you don’t want to cook the Green Chillies.

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