Mango pickle: today, I want to share with you the secrets of an authentic Indian recipe. It is a homemade pickle from an Indian house, our house. The recipe is not new, it is prepared by the next generations now. It brings a lot of memories, tasty moments, and smiles.
No matter where you are in the world, you should be able to prepare it at home. There is just one ingredient that is a must-have raw mango. Many raw mangoes!
And if you think one recipe is too little and want to enjoy more of the Indian cuisine, check one of my previous posts: Secrets of an Indian Cuisine: Authentic and Easy Recipes. Six super yummy food recipes are there, including step-by-step preparation. All inspired and shared by My Better Half!
MANGO PICKLE
Mango pickle, the most famous pickle, is a traditional Indian condiment. It is made with raw mangoes, spices, and oil. Although the name is the same, it is different than European pickle. Yes, it includes a lot of spices, many packets of spices.
People in India eat pickles as a side in many meals. They are eaten with dal and rice, dal and roti, parathas & some snacks, like mathri.
Indian cuisine is very diverse. Don’t be surprised that mango pickles can be prepared in many different ways. At our home, there are always two different types of mango pickles. One homemade and one bought Madras Thokku, by Mothers Recipe.
Are you ready for the homemade mango pickles recipe and its secrets?
The authentic indian recipe
CUTTING TIME
If you are an Indian, you might remember from your childhood two things: eating salted mangoes and cutting raw mangoes for your mom to prepare the pickle. 🙂 That’s what My Better Half recalls with a smile from his childhood.
The smell I carry from my childhood is that of Mango pickle…
Akanksha
The base for the below recipe is 10 kg of raw mangoes. You can prorate it and make a smaller portion too. My Better Half prepares 10 kg nearly every year. If you can buy raw mango that is freshly cut for you, ask for 7 kg (~30% will be the weight of the seeds). We are lucky, as our seller cuts mangoes for us. 🙂
SALTY TIME
If you buy entire mangoes, first wash them, dry them, and then cut them in small pieces. If you can buy cut mangoes, wash them when already cut. Do not peel mangoes.
Now we are ready for the second step: salt! Salt is added to mango pickles for three reasons. Salt adds to their taste, acts as a preservative, and helps to remove water. If water is not removed well, pickles will go bad.
How much salt? 350-400 grams for 10 kg (or 7 kg of already cut mangoes). Use a regular table salt, a fine white one. Mix all well.
Tip: By now, you will notice one important thing! Your cut mangoes won’t be 7 kg anymore. Many mango pieces will continue to disappear magically. 🙂 Check the tummies of your family members!
DRYING TIME
Now it is a relaxing time. Both for your mango pickles and you!
Keep all the mango pieces on a big cover (not a cloth, as they need to dry up well) and let them dry. Ideally, they should be in the sun otherwise, under a fan or in a warm place. If you decide to keep them outside in the sun (e.g., garden, terrace), be careful with any ad hoc rain. Rain can spoil them.
How long should they dry? Best, leave them for a full day of relaxation. You can relax a bit too! After drying 7 kg mangoes, they will become 5 kg. Important: don’t overdry them.
Tip: If you won’t be able to dry mangoes in the direct sun, leave them first mixed with the salt for a while and keep removing water that accumulates. It will help in drying mangoes well.
SPICY TIME
Spices are the key differentiator for the Indian pickles. At least for me and my childhood taste of super unspicy pickles from Poland. 🙂 As I wrote before, using 10 kg of raw mangoes you need to mix them with packets and packets of spices! Not pinch nor a spoon measurement. It all makes it so unique and yummy!
Also, it is best to buy not ground spices. And grind them on your own before using them. Ready-made ground spices are usually very thin. For pickles, you will need coarse grinding.
Tip: Open spices one by one in a separate bowl. Before adding them to mangoes, check their freshness. Just to avoid spoiling 10 kg of mangoes. 🙂
SECRET LIST TIME
Below is the secret list of a perfect masala mix. Just remember, this is for 10 kg mangoes, and the salt was already added. 🙂 If you don’t find specific spice as seeds or don’t have a grinder at home, you can replace them with a ready-mix.
- Coriander seeds: 500 grams (grind coarsely)
- Fennel seeds: 250 grams (grind coarsely)
- Yellow mustard seeds: 200 grams (grind coarsely)
- Nigella seeds (kalonji): 100 grams (do not grind)
- Fenugreek seeds: 60 grams (do not grind)
- Red chili powder: 40 grams
- Turmeric powder: 60 grams
- Mustard seed oil: 1.5 liter
MASALA MIX TIME
It is time to add all spices. If you are not used to many spices, keep a tissue box next to you. It will get spicy in the air! 🙂 If you have children, involve them. They will enjoy all the colors of different spices!
Add spices one by one. You can start with the ones that require grinding, like coriander, fennel, and yellow mustard seeds. Then follow with powders, red chili, and turmeric. So that at the end you can cover all with beautiful colors of nigella and fenugreek seeds.
Summer smells like mangoes. Both of the spicy pickles and of the chilled sundaes. The good thing is when we love these extreme flavors of life served to us, only then we have tasted the real essence.
OIL TIME
Oil is one of the key ingredients of the pickle. Select a good quality one, mustard seed oil. This oil is very pungent in the taste. To reduce the pungency, heat the oil in a pan just to make it warm, avoid smoke. Once ready add it to the mangoes mixture.
Many recipes mention to cool it down. We add it still warm. Its taste merges even better with mangoes. Keep a bit of oil on the side to refill it later in the jars, just before closing.
Maybe we are all our mom-made pickles: a bit sweet, a bit spicy, soaking all the positivity and blessings, and just getting better with age!
Tanvi Purohit
MIXING TIME
Initially, cut mangoes weighed 7 kg. After drying, they turned into 5 kg product. Guess what? With the oil and all the spices, they should be back to ~7kg weight! 🙂 Oh, minus the part that disappeared by now in the tummies! 🙂
Wash hands well and mix all. That’s a lot of mixing to be done! All the spices should merge with the oil and cover all mangoes.
Once all mixed well, transfer mango pickle into selected jars. Add remaining oil. You can keep the pickle initially in the big jars (e.g., 5 kg one and 2 kg one) and later on transfer to smaller ones before eating or serving. They won’t get spoiled. You do not need to vacuum close them.
How long to wait now? At least 2 weeks, ideally 2-3 months! Bon appetit!
SUMMARY TIME
- Cut raw mangoes into small pieces.
- Mix mangoes with salt and leave for a full day to dry.
- Prepare spices, grind if needed.
- Mix dried mangoes with a secret spices mix (all details above) add warm mustard seed oil.
- Mix all and store in a big jar.
- Wait 2-3 months for the final product (don’t worry, tasting in between is fully allowed!). Enjoy your pickles!
- Picture: Mango Pickle, our final product
- Manufacture date: 14th April 2021
- Best to eat date: 14th June 2021 onwards
- Expire date: Valid forever 🙂
WINNING TIME!
Do you feel like tasting our mango pickle? And maybe not in the mood to make one? Or maybe raw mangoes are not there in your part of the world? Don’t worry! (oh, My Better Half is already worried, haha, that his pickles will disappear!) Add a comment under this post. We will prepare a nice trial jar of our pickle for one of you and send it across! 🙂 Don’t wait! Comment below till April end! It is taste fun time!
Moments that matter, no matter the pickle.
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