Hole Mango

26
Feb/10
0

Do you know how to make Achar, traditional Indian pickles ?

In making East Indian fermented foods, can I substitute healthier ingredients for some recipes ?
Some Amchar or East Indian pickle recipes use white vinegar, also sometimes called glacial acetic acid, which is great for washing your windows but bruns a hole in your stomache. Can I substitute lemon , lime juice or apple cider vinegar for the white vinegar ? When Mangoes are called for in Mango Pickle, does this mean only green unripe mango, or does it mean ripe sweet mango or could it be either ? Can fresh tuemeric be used instead of powdered turmeric / if so, what is the proportion of powdered to fresh ? What time of the year is lotus stem in season to get it in Chinatown ? Wth the lack of sunlight in eastern Canada, can I use a grow lamp to replace the sun ? How many hours of a grow lamp is equivalent to sunshine ? Is it the same ?

I am a former chef and from Canada, I live in Toronto ON, and I would use white or cider vinegar, I have made it with coconut vinegar, and for Mango Pickle you can use green mangos or under ripe ones, I buy then both here, fresh turmeric is fine, but does not give the same colour or flavour, if you use it, buy a piece, slice and slightly dried it, then roast it with the dry seeds and grind into powder, I did use it once but it is most present in curry pastes not in other dishes, it does give a nice smokey flavour.

For achar, small green peppers, carrots, Thai eggplants, lotus root, green mango's, sliced limes and if you like daikon radish does work, make your base with the spices, I use black mustard seed in mine, I roast my cumin, cardamon, fennel, allspice, bay leaves, mustard seeds, amchar, garlic (I use dried slices), I then lightly toast them, grind in my spice grinder, then add my turmeric, cayenne, salt and white pepper, add to my vinegar and simmer, then the veg, and cook the mix for 30 minutes, I then put the mix in wire closure preserving jars (available at hardware stores), I let it mellow for few weeks, I am fortunate to have a large Indian community here and the veg and spices are widely available, in the east coast you may have to improvise.


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