Instant Green Chilli Pickle

Instant Green Chilli Pickle is the perfect accompaniment to any desi meal. Delicious with curry, paratha, daal chaawal or almost any other main dish, it packs a mild but pleasant punch and tastes amazing.

Unlike most traditional Pakistani pickles, Instant Green Chilli Pickle is quick and easy to make as you can prepare it on the side while your main meal is cooking or simmering on the stove – yes, it is that instant.

I love fresh green chillies and I think my fondness for them stems from the time when I was maybe 6 – 7 years old and happened to watch my Dad munch on a big fresh green chilli.

Dad, seeing me watch him, picked up another green chilli and offered it to me assuring me it wasn’t hot at all but very tasty. I was obviously apprehensive but I trusted my Dad much more than I feared the wrath of green chillies so I went ahead and bit into the chilli.

I was pleasantly surprised at how it was nowhere near hot (this was obviously a milder than mild batch of green chillies otherwise my Dad would’ve never offered me any) and had my first appreciative taste of the actual flavour of fresh green chillies. I have been hooked onto fresh green chillies, both the hot and mild varieties, ever since that day.

I have to thank Binjal Pandya of the beautiful blog “Binjal’s Veg Kitchen” for her easy peasy and mouthwatering Instant Green Chilli Pickle recipe. This blog is so gorgeous and it makes me want to cook everything on there!

As a general rule, the smaller the chilli the hotter its strength, though I have come across a few large sized green chillies in life that have literally knocked my socks off with their potent hotness.

Instant Green Chilli Pickle can be enjoyed with a variety of different curries. Even though it can be eaten the whole year, I think it is particularly good during summer, especially with a daal chaawal lunch during a hot summer afternoon. I love having it with a paratha and aaloo ki bhujia, puri and channay ka saalan and even with biryani sometimes!

 

Instant Green Chilli Pickle

Recipe Type: Condiment    Author: Alice In Eatland

Prep Time:  10 Minutes    Cook Time: 5 Minutes   Total Time: 15 Minutes

Serves: 6 – 8

 

Ready in minutes and deliciously spicy, Instant Green Chilli Pickle is a quick and easy accompaniment to any desi curry or rice dish!

 

INGREDIENTS

• 125 grams medium sized fresh green chillies (weighed without stems)
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tbsp mustard oil (sarson ka tael)
• 2 tsp brown mustard seeds (rai)
• 1 tsp fenugreek seeds (methi daana or maithray)
• 1/2 tsp fennel seeds (saunf)‍
• Pinch of turmeric powder

 

METHOD

1. Wash and dry the green chillies with kitchen paper or a tea towel.
2. Make a slit vertically along one side on each chilli, from the top all the way down.
3. Slice each slit green chilli into 2 – 3 pieces, so that each piece is roughly an inch or so long.
4. Mix the turmeric powder, salt and lemon juice together in a bowl. Add the green chilli pieces and stir gently to combine. Set aside.
5. Put the brown mustard seeds, the fenugreek seeds and the fennel seeds in a coffee or spice grinder and grind fine. Or you can pound these three seeds to a powder in a pestle and mortar.
6. Heat mustard oil in a non-stick pan and add the powdered seeds. Stir a few seconds until the mixture seems to bubble and smells fragrant.
7. Add the pinch of turmeric, stir and remove the pan from the heat.
8. Stir in the green chilli pieces until well coated with the spice mixture.
9. Cool completely to room temperature.
10. Instant Green Chilli Pickle is ready to serve.
11. Store the cooled pickle in an airtight jar or container for up to 2 days at room temperature after which store it in the fridge.