Tomatoes Pickle

We all know being a Nepali, Tomato pickle is part of our daily food life; and without its pickle our meal will never come to a finishing line. This small fruit can be converted in pickle in so many ways than just one. And what more to rejoice when this fruit is available around the year in market.

Ingredients :

Tomatoes                                 :  One kg (1000 grams of medium size 

Green chili                               :  200 grams

Garlic/ ginger                           :  200 grams ( 100 grams each )

Salt                                          :  As per taste

Yellow Mustard seeds                :  2 tablespoon

Turmeric                                  :  One teaspoon

Mustard  Oil                              : 1/2 cup

How to convert all these ingredients into a tasty and delicious pickles ?

• Clean tomatoes and let its water dry up completely. for that you must keep leave it in dry Place for about an hour or so.
• After that cut in to two pieces.
• Clean and peel ginger and garlic and then cut it into think and long shape.
• Clean and split the green chili.
• Grind mustard seeds and make its powder.
• Mix tomatoes, salt, mustard powder, ginger and garlic in a bowl.
• Put some oil also when you mix the pickle mixtures.
• Fill the bottle and then before you put the lid fill it with some more oil.
• Put it uder the sun for four days during winter time or only two days when its hot season.

Your pickle will be ready in two days.

This recipe is prepared as told by Poonam Dhakhwa. She is a Co-owner of a Boutique named RD Chahat, which is in Durbar Marg. Although, she studied architecture in college she also is a designer. Mother of two girls and a food connoisseur, she spends her free time watching TLC or other medium to collect recipe for her. She comes from a Newar community, who are well known for their culinary art as they have mastered the art to tease the taste buds of  gourmet. Originally she is from Dhankuta and now she is married to Designer from Patan. That brings her two different taste and style in her making pickles.

Carrot and Radish

Carrot and Radish are almost the same in so many way but not all the way. One is sweet and other is not that sweet. Goods news is now a days both can be found the marker around the year. We do not have to wait for particular time for its season to enjoy this pickle. The best part of the mixing these two is that the carrot adds gives the pickle so lovely color combination. I must have mention this many times there are so many ways to make a pickle out of radish and this is just one more way to give it a new look.

Ingredients :

Carrot : 500 grams
Radish : 500 grams
Fresh chili : 150 gram

Garlic : 150 gram

Salt : 3 teaspoon
Fenugreek seed : 2 teaspoon
Dark mustard : 3 teaspoon

Parsley seeds : 2 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 and carrot by running  clean water over it. Clean and remove anything you are uneasy with.
• Cut it in about two inch long and half inch width.
• 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 on a flat bamboo  basket.
• Peel the garlic and then cut it into two or four piece of each clove.
• Heat a pan on high gas and then dry fry fenugreek, parsley and dark mustard seeds. Fenugreek color has to be golden brown from it natural yellow color. Let it cool down before you make it's powder.
• In the evening, when the radish, carrot and fresh chili drys enough it's time to make pickle out of it.
• Mix everything in a big bowl, like Carrot, radish, chili, salt, powdered fenugreek, parsley and mustards seeds, little bit turmeric powder and two 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. 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. 
2. 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. 
3. 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.

Gundruk's Pickle

All of you know this very well that Gundruk is one of the most loved vegetables in our country by all walk of life people which is famous for its tasty, tangy and acidic taste. I am going to presume now that you know its a fermented green vegetables. Normally, this is used for curry; however, we do not have anything that we cant make its pickles.

Ingredients : 

Gundruk                               :      100 gram

Ginger                                  :      One small piece

Onion                                   :      One medium size

Tomatoes                             :      Two medium size

Salt                                      :      As per the taste

Red Chili Powder                  :       One teaspoon

Fenugreek seeds                   :      1/2 teaspoon

Turmeric Powder                  :      1/2 teaspoon

Mustard Oil                           :      Two tablespoon

How to convert all these ingredients into a pickle ?

• Soak Gundruk for about 20 minutes on a bowl but clean it before soaking it.
• Keep water just enough to soak it so that you do not have to throw the excess water. If you keep more water then you will be wasting the real taste of it.
• Clean the ginger and peel it before chopping it into a small pieces.
• Clean and chop onions and tomatoes also finely.
• Put all the chopped ingredients into a bowl.
• Add salt and chili powder.
• Add the properly soaked Gundruk and mix it well. Pour some juices (from the bowl where you soaked Gundruk ) but keep in mind throw away the last teaspoons of juices as it might hold some mud in it. 
• Heat oil on the heavy pan and put some fenugreek seeds on it.
• Wait until it burns.
• Gas off
• Add turmeric powder on the hot oil
• Pour the hot oil on the pickle mixture
• Mix it one more time and now its ready to serve.

Now, your pickle is ready.

The recipe is shared by Ramina Bajracharya. She is a fashion designer at RD Chahat Boutique, a mother and a food lover herself. She belongs to Newar community of Kathmandu, who are famous for their culinary art; as they have mastered it to tease the taste buds of  gourmet.

Lemon and Lapsi

Lemon and Lapsi both are acidic and small sour fruit. These two are so adaptable in all taste. You can make it hot, sweet or sour, its your choice. So, this time it was an experiment to see how it taste if you combine the two extremely sour fruit together. The result may not have come out to be the best but let me assure you it sure was not the worse as well. Yes ! I have to admit it it was too sour ! if you are lover of it the tangy, acidic and sour taste then this is for you.

Ingredients : 

Lapsi                                                  :    300 grams

Lemon                                                :    300 grams

green chili                                          :     50 grams

Annis seeds                                         :    1 teaspoon

Fenugreek seeds                                 :    1 teaspoon

Parsley seeds                                     :    1 teaspoon

Cumin powder                                    :    1/2 teaspoon

Salt [mix of white and black ]             :    as per the taste

Timur                                                 :    one teaspoon

How to convert these ingredients into a pickle ? 

• Clean Lapsi and keep it in in hot water for some time so that it will be wilted and easier to mash it before you mix it with lemon.
• Clean and cut lemon in about six piece of each lemon;  and then put it in a bowl.
• Dry fry anise seeds, fenugreek seeds and parsley seeds in a heavy fry pan.
• After that make its powder.
• Clean green chili and then make two slices of each chili.
• Grind Timur with salt to make its coarse powder.
• Now take a big bowl and put Lapsi, Lemon, green chili, salt, Timur, cumin powder, and then mixed powder of annis, fenugreek and parsley seeds.
• Take a bottle and  stuff it with the mixture in a glass bottle [or a plastic jar]. 
• Put the bottle in a cool and dry place for more than two month or under sun for about a month to mature it.

Now your pickle is ready !

Note : If you use plastic jar I advice you not to put it under sun. If you want to put it under sun then use glass bottle to make pickle.