Mirch Ka Achar (Two Ways)

That warm feeling when you are sifting through some old photographs and you get so involved that you do not realize how it stole hours away! I had one of those the other day. During the process of this blog redesign I happened to sit down and started going through some old posts.

With two kids now and our endless chores, we are constantly on the move. Either running after this active 9 month old (!) who is almost ready to get up and walk any day – we move our eyes away for a second and she is found in the bathroom hovering over the toilet seat with an evil yet adorable grin on her face. Or driving the 1st grader from one “social engagement” to other. All the important conversations Abhishek and I have these days are over text messages. Thank god for free texting and phone calls! Without them my house might fall down!

So while trying to get this another thing I had to strike off my to-do list, I happened to sit down and go through some old posts. I ended up spending hours just reading my way through those poorly taken old photographs, those ill written stories and those simple recipes. When on one hand they made me cringe, they also broke a barrier and came gushing in all those memories and emotions. They were far from perfect but hidden in them was a piece of me and my soul. Old photos of the butterfly in her first pink sneakers, standing on her grandfather’s porch peaking down through the rustic old railing and those stories of several of my own firsts made me realize this blog was my baby too. I nursed and nurtured it just like I did with the butterfly but then I am not sure when life and “projects” took over and this baby went neglected. Hope I am able to correct that now!

Mummy Papa came back recently to celebrate our new house. When they are visiting us that is the only opportunity we get to spend quality time together. Quality time talking, laughing, fighting and cooking. There was a lot of gosht shorba, macher jhol and jars after jars of pickels made in the past couple months. I was smart enough to pay more attention this time and note them down. Sharing with you two recipes today. Both showcasing an indian kitchen quintessential: hot green chili peppers.

Unlike typical indian pickles that need to be preserved for a few months at least before being ready to use, these pickles can be enjoyed as early as the same day. Of course, if you can let it rest for a few days for the spices to marry well with the chilis then it will taste even better but you don’t have to.

Ingredients: (for Chili pickled in mustard lemon sauce)

Green Thai Chili- 250 grms

Sliced garlic lengthwise- 100 grms

Sliced ginger lengthwise- 100 grms

yellow mustard- ½ cup

black mustard- ½ cup

freshly squeezed lemon juice- 1 ½ cups

Salt- 1/2 cup

Turmeric- 1 tbsp

Method:

Wash chili thoroughly. Lay out in the air to dry. Cut into small 1/2 inch pieces.

Squeeze lemon juice. Strain all the juice through a strainer. Discard the pulp. Store the juice in a jar.

Soak mustard seeds in the lemon juice for 1-2 days.

Once the mustard is soft, grind to make a thin loose paste. Its ok if the mustard isn’t smooth. Grains are fine.

Mix salt, turmeric, chili, ginger, garlic.

Either start eating right away or let it get softer for a few days before eating.

Serve with parathas, pooris, samosa, kachori etc.

Ingredients: (for chili pickled with dry spices)

Green Thai Chili- 100 grms

Garlic- 1 whole bulb

Mustard seeds- 1 ½ tablespoon

Dry mango powder- 1 ½ tablespoon

Turmeric- ½tablespoon

Salt- 1 1/2 tablespoon

Mustard oil- 2 1/2 -3 tablespoon (enough to coat the chilis well but not dripping)

Method:

Wash chili thoroughly. Lay out in the air to dry. Make single superficial slits lengthwise.

Heat a dry pan. Stir the chilis in hot pan until slightly soft. Turn off the heat. Set aside.

Coarsely grind the mustard seeds and garlic.

Mix everything together throughly until coats the chili well.

Add mustard oil.

Can start eating same day.