Fresh Gundruk's Pickle

This is winter time and its time to enjoy Gundruk which is part of winter as well as   inseparable part Nepali food. This is that curry which is always in our kitchen  because when you don't find anything new in the market this curry is going to save your day. It is made out of fomented green leaves. This is one of the most liked curry in Nepal. People from all walk of life love it for its tangy and acidic taste and its best to eat in soupy form. Thinner it is better you get the real taste of it when you eat it with rice. But,  when you make its pickle you are forbidden to add water more than two tablespoon on it, even if its dry food. Normally people consume gundruk only  when they dry it under sun for about a week but some really like its fresh pickle just when its out from the Can.

I would like to request you to go through my earlier post on Gungruk to understand how it is made. As we focus here how you can make its tasty and delicious pickle.

Ingredients :

Gundruk                     :  One bowl [ 200 grams ]

Salt                            :  As per the taste

Fresh chili                  :  Three nos

Timur                         :  Four piece only

mustard Oil                :  One table spoon

How to convert these ingredients into a pickle ? 

• Put fresh gundruk in a clean and dry bowl.
• Clean chili and make its fine paste.
• Add salt and timur also when you make its paste.
• Once you have a chili paste ready in your hand put it in the bowl and then mix it well.
• Now add mustard oil on it and mix again.

Now your pickle is ready.

Note : 

This is better suited to eat with bitten rice or just like this when you are enjoying winter sun instead of eating it with rice like most of the pickle we prepare.

Radish Pickle

You should not be surprised if you must have tasted so many varieties of radish pickle. We have more than a dozen or two ways to make a pickle out of radish only. If you try and taste it, you sure will find the one that you really like the most and then you can stick with this for long until you find another one that tease your taste bud again.

Good news about radish is, now a days we can find radish in the market around the year so we do not need to worry about weather its season or not. Well, I should  recommend you to try all kind of radish pickle during its season. Then the food or pickle taste a lot better than the time when its not its real season. However, I have found that good quality radish always retain its tasty taste even when its not its time.

Here is one more recipe make a good and fast radish pickle.

Ingredients :
 
Radish                     :  300 grams
Sesame seeds           :  four tablespoon
Green chili               :  3 piece
Salt                          :  As per the taste
Lemon                      :  one big size
Turmeric powder      :  1/2 teaspoon
Fenugreek seeds       :  1/3 teaspoon
Clear oil                   : three tablespoon
Mustard if you like its strong scent


How to convert all these ingredients into a pickle ?

• Cut the radish into thin and long piece as in the picture.
•  Roast sesame seeds in a preheat pan and let it pop it properly.
• Then make its thick paste. 
• clean and chop the chili also.
• Put radish, sesame paste, salt and chili in a bowl and then mix it.
• Squeeze a big lemon over the radish and stir it slightly.
• Now put a fry pan in a gas and heat the oil on it.
• Once its hot enough add fenugreek seeds on it. wait until its color becomes dark black.
• Now pour the smoking hot oil over the mixture of radish.
• 
  After this put the lid over the mixture for a minute or two, then mix it again for the last time so that the turmeric mixes well with everything. 
  
  Now, your pickle is ready  to eat !

  
  

 

Green Peas Pickle

In general pickles are made using either spices, vegetables, fruits or condiments. Although green peas has been a key part of many types of pickles, its unlikely that we make pickles using only grains. I mean grain being the main ingredients of the pickles instead of the side ingredients. Therefore, a pickle which is made out of grains would be unique in so many ways. But the question is will the unique is edible ? and if its edible then is it tasty ? It's easy to make and very tasty also to eat it during meal. Trust me you will be surprised with the result and you will love its sour, tangy, acidic and hot taste. 

Good news is peas are available in market around the year and abundantly also. Not surprisingly its a part of so many dishes we make in our daily life. What are needed to make pickle out of green peas  ?  

Ingredients :

Green peas : 100 grams [soaked overnight]
Lemon juice : one bowl
Fresh Chilies : five or six piece
Salt : as per the taste
Garlic : 4 - 5 cloves
Timur : about 15 piece 

 

How to convert all the above ingredients into a pickle ? 

 

• First of all we need to soak green peas and that we do by pouring all the lemon juice on the clean green peas and keep it aside to soak it properly. It may take four to six hours or you can leave it overnight to soak it properly. 
• Clean the green chilies and remove its holder before you put it into the mixture. 
•  [Next day] before meal put everything into a mixture and run it until everything becomes a fine paste.

 
Now, your pickle is ready !

Sweet and Sour Lapsi Pickle

Lapsi is available in the market from October till December. I have heard that this is rare fruit which is available only in Nepal. Because, I have never been in other part of the world, so; I am going to believe that what I have heard until other people come claiming they have seen it grow in their part of the world. Keeping aside the availability part of it, this is the fruit which can be used for many purposes like candy, sauce, pickle.  

We love it whatever form or taste it comes to our table. Lapsi Titaura is another very famous finger food here in Nepal. However, people love it mostly coated or added sugar in any form. Had this fruit been found in other part of the world like US or UK, they would have made jam out of it, but we are Nepali and have the taste bud for tasty and delicious pickle and we love pickle of all kind. Not surprisingly, we only know how to make pickle out of it.

What you need to  Sweet Lapsi Pickles ?

Ingredients 

Lapsi                          :  One and half kg [ 1500 gram]
Green Chili                 :  200 gram
Sugar                         :  One kg [1000 gram]

Sea Salt                      :  Two teaspoon
Black [rock ] Salt        :  Two teaspoon
Annis seeds [Sauf]      :  One teaspoon
Fenugreek Seeds        :  Half teaspoon
Turmeric powder        :  Half teaspoon
sunflower oil               : 3-4 table spoon [100 ml]


How to convert these ingredients into a pickle ?

• Clean Lapsi and then boil it for about 10 - 12 minutes only. Its a very soft fruit so its skin cracks up very fast.  When you boil it put only one cup of water [ 275 ml ] on it and a teaspoon of sea salt. You can use that water later on when you mash the pulp.
• Keep it aside once its skin opens up.
• Clean green chilies and put it in mixture to make fine paste.
• Once lapsi cools down then mash it using fork or your hand. If you do not like its pit then you can remove it. But, let me tell you, you may like to suck its pit when you enjoy the sweet pickle. If you consider yourself royal then you can also remove the skin of it. However, I like the taste of it in any form so I keep it on my pickle.
• In another pan heat oil. Put fenugreek seeds on it, when its color is brown then add annis seeds [ Sauf ] and wait until both color is golden brown.
• Add green chili in the pan and stir it for about  three minutes.
• Add all the sugar in it and stir it until it melts well.
• Add the mashed lapsi on it. Stir it well and mix properly with the suger and chillies.
• Cook it for about ten to fifteen minutes, so that all the sugar and salt will enter into the soft and sour lapsi pulp.
• After that gas off and keep the lid on until it cools down.

Now, your Sweet lapsi pickle is ready !

 

Note : 

1. use the hard anodized cookware to cook sour and acidic fruit. other metal vessel are not suitable for sour fruit like lapsi, lemon or amala.  
2. This is a fresh pickle which can be ready to eat once its cooked but you can also put it in glass or plastic bottle. 
3. Unlike other pickles its not something you can enjoy with rice.  You can enjoy this tasty and delicious pickle when you feel sleepy during day time. 
4. Do you know you can make a different pickle using only the skin of this sour and tangy fruit ? go ahead and try this one.