Maa inji Pickle:(Mango-Ginger Pickle)

Mango-Ginger, Botanical Name is 'Curcuma amada'. This ginger has lots of medicinal properties, it helps in too many skin problems, enlarged spleen and liver.

As many of you may dont know, what a 'mango-ginger' is....its a type of ginger.....just resembles like a regular ginger.....but bit slender than it. It has strong mango flavour in it. And it has very distinct smell and taste. Its generally used for making pickles. Though one can make some instant pickles out of it. I wanted to copy my Grandmom's recipe today. I would like to stick to her recipe on the whole....without making any alterations. Though she actually didnt reveal me her secret recipe.....i figured it out all myself. As a little girl.....i watched all the painstaking effort she made. Its totally her recipe.....i am giving it out without any alteration here(version 1). One can still adjust their sesoning. It turns out with rich dark brown color, very tangarine......strong flavor.

Ingredients:(Version 1)

Mango-Ginger skinned/peeled - 250 grams
Thick Tamarind paste/milk freshly 1 bowl full
Sea Salt/Rock Salt
Turmeric powder 2 spoons
Chili powder 2-3 spoons

To be Dry Roasted and Powdered:

Mustard seeds 1/2 cup
Fenugreek seeds 1/2 cup

For sesoning:

Oil 2 cup(sesame oil)
Mustard 1 spoon
Cumin 1/2 spoon
Asafoetida 1 spoon
Fenugreek seeds 1/4 spoon
Dry red chilies 3-5
Curry leaves 1 cup.

Method:


Peel ginger with back of your spoon, this way..toomuch flesh is not wasted. See this ginger is already slender and not so mushy...so dont waste too much of flesh by scraping.

Thinly slice down your Mango-ginger(maybe it looks like thin rings) Shadow dry them over kitchen tissues or any clean cloth for 2-3 hours.

In a large non-stick wok, heat oil. Add sesoning items. Let them pop and splutter well.

Then add mango-ginger and fry them real good. Now add salt, turmeric and chili powder.

Followed by tamarind milk. Cover and cook over medium heat.

Once it comes to thick pickle like consistency, add roasted and powdered items(fenugreek and mustard powder).

After adding this.....do not hold long on stove.(it would change the pickle's taste)

Remove from stove and allow it to cool.

Store them in a ceramic jar/glass jar. Its good to wipe the jars with spirit before popping your pickle in. And it is alway good to use any ceramic/plastic spoon while serving than steal spoon.(as the tamarind will corrode this metal) Again one useful tip, try to use sea salt/rock salt while pickling than regular iodized one.....coz iodized salt will give a kind of metallic taste to the food.

Ingredients:(version 2)

Its my own method, its tasty too. Give a try!

Mango-Ginger 1/4 kilo skinned peeled and chopped
Garlic 150 grams peeled and chopped
Tamarind tennis ball size soaked in water-thick tamarind milk 1 bowl full
Jaggery 150 grams
Sea Salt /Rock salt
Turmeric powder 1 spoon
Dry red chilies 150 grams roasted and powdered
Dry red chilies 50 grams(whole)
Curry leaves 1 cup
Mustard 2 spoons
Cumin 2 spoons
Fenugreek seeds 1/2 spoon
Fenugreek roasted and powdered 100 grams
Asafoetida 1 spoon
Chana dal 1 spoon
Urad dal 1 spoon
Sesame oil/Gingeli oil 3 cups.

Method:

Extract thick tamarind milk/tamarind water and set aside.

In a pan...heat few spoons of oil. Fry garlic and mango-ginger....till raw smell leaves. Make a thick paste out of it(wet grind with limited water). Set aside.

In a non-stick deep pan. Heat oil. Add mustard, cumin, fenugreek, asafoetida, chana and urad dal. Let them pop and splutter well.

Now add curry leaves and red chilies(whole) and fry them for a while.

Then add mago- ginger and garlic paste and fry them too.

Followed by add these = salt, turmeric powder, fenugreek powder (roasted and powdered) chili powder(roasted and powdered), jaggery and tamarind water.

Now cover and cook over medium flame. Once it is done.

Remove the lid and stir-fry them over medium to high flame. One can add little more oil...at this time.

Fry them without any water content and oil shows up on sides.