Radish Pickle

Radish now a days are available around the year. We do not have to wait for particular time for its season to enjoy this pickle. Radish is another widely used vegetables to make pickles and no wonder there are time perhaps more than 20 - 30 ways to convert it into a pickle than just one. Here I am going to talk about just one of the variety of radish pickle.

Ingredients :

• Radish : 800 grams
• Fresh chili : 150 gram
• Salt : 3 teaspoon
• Fenugreek seed : 2 teaspoon
• Dark mustard : 3 teaspoon
• Mustard oil : two tablespoon
• Turmeric powder : 1/2 teaspoon
• Glass Bottle : 1 kg [ 1000 ] capacity

How to convert it into a juicy and acidic pickle ?

• Clean radish by running  clean water over it. Clean and remove anything you are uneasy with. You can keep some of the the radish leaves.
• Cut it in about two inch long and half inch width. Size can vary as per your likeness also.
• Let it dry under sun for whole day so that it dries out most of its water.
• Also cut the fresh chili, into two and then let it dry with radish on a flat bamboo  basket.
• Heat a pan on high gas and then dry fry fenugreek and dark mustard, separately. Fenugreek color has to be golden brown from it natural yellow color. Let it cool down before you make it's powder. Keep them in a glass bottle.

1. Dark mustard seeds gives the acidic taste to this radish during that 15 days maturation. If the pickle is not sour and acidic enough then there must be less of mustard on it.
2. Do not get surprised if you see so much juices forming in glass bottle over the next couple of days. Those juices will help pickle taste better. Shake bottle carefully if you want it to reach in the area where there is less juice in bottle.
3. Do you know even the salt grain on the rim of bottle can cause the lid not to tighten properly ? so remove the bottle rim with clean cloth before you use the lid.

• In the evening, when the radish and fresh chili drys enough it's time to keep them in a bottle.
• Mix everything in a big bowl. Like radish, chili, salt, powdered fenugreek and mustard seeds, little bit turmeric powder and a tablespoon of mustard oil. Put one tablespoon of mustard oil inside the glass bottle. Role the bottle so that the oil will spread every part of it. Now you put all the mixed ingredients into that bottle.
• Keep the lid airtight properly, so that the essential flavor and gas will remain inside the bottle.
• Keep the bottle in a place where it gets sufficient sun in the next 15 days.
• Your pickle will be ready in 15 days. Bottle pickle like this can be consumed for couple of weeks one it gets ready.

Grandma's wisdom  :

1. Dark mustard seeds gives the acidic taste to this radish during that 15 days maturation. If the pickle is not sour and acidic enough then there must be less of mustard on it.
2. Do not get surprised if you see so much juices forming in glass bottle over the next couple of days. Those juices will help pickle taste better. Shake bottle carefully if you want it to reach in the area where there is less juice in bottle.
3. Do you know even the salt grain on the rim of bottle can cause the lid not to tighten properly ? so remove the bottle rim with clean cloth before you use the lid.