Aam ka Achaar

Every summer the terrace fills up. Steel trays of salted mango pieces sit under muslin, the cloth lifting in the wind. Nobody is allowed to touch them with wet hands. Three days later the pieces have shrunk and turned deep yellow, sitting in their own brine. The spices go in, then the oil, and the jar goes back into the sun. Weeks later you open it and the smell of mustard and methi hits you before the lid is fully off. One piece with dal and rice and the whole plate changes.

This pickle is really a mustard oil recipe. Cold Pressed Black Mustard Oil is the preservative, the flavour and the reason the mango keeps for a year. Ours is pressed slowly in a wooden ghaani, so the pungency is intact, and that sharpness is exactly what an achaar needs. Alongside it, Stone Ground Red Chilli Powder gives the colour without the harshness of machine-ground chilli.

The whole craft is in one step. Heat the mustard oil until it just starts to smoke, switch it off, and let it cool completely to room temperature before it goes anywhere near the mangoes. Warm oil cooks the spices and ruins the pickle. And everything, the mango, the jar, the spoon and your hands, must be bone dry. One drop of water and you will have fungus in a week.

How to make it

1. Wash the mangoes, then wipe every one dry with a cloth and leave them on a towel for 2 hours until there is no trace of moisture. Cut into 8 pieces each with the hard inner shell left on, discarding only the soft kernel. Wipe the knife and board dry as you go.
2. Toss the pieces with the 90 g salt and 2 tsp turmeric in a large steel or ceramic bowl. Cover with muslin and leave in direct sun for 3 to 4 days, bringing the tray indoors before sunset each evening. Stir once a day with a dry spoon.
3. By day three the pieces will have shrunk, softened at the edges and released a lot of cloudy brine. Drain the brine off completely and keep it. Spread the pieces on a cloth in the sun for 4 to 5 hours until the surfaces are dry to the touch.
4. Dry roast the methi, saunf, rai kuria and kalonji separately in a dry pan on low for 1 to 2 minutes each, only until they smell warm. Do not brown them. Cool completely, then crush the methi and saunf coarsely.
5. Heat the mustard oil in a pan on high until it shimmers and the very first wisp of smoke rises and the raw sting in the smell lifts. Switch off at once. Leave it to cool completely to room temperature, which takes about an hour.
6. Mix all the roasted seeds with the chilli powder, turmeric, hing and 1 tbsp salt. Rub this masala over the dried mango pieces with your hands until every piece is coated.
7. Pack into the dry barni, pressing down gently. Pour in the cooled mustard oil until the pieces are covered by at least 2 cm of oil. Tie muslin over the mouth.
8. Keep the jar in direct sun for 7 to 10 days, shaking it once a day and bringing it in at night. The oil will darken and the mango will soften and take colour.
9. Close with the lid and store in a cool dark cupboard. It is good after 3 weeks and better after two months. Always top the jar up with oil so nothing is exposed.

Tips

• Everything must be dry. Sun the jar before you use it, use a dry spoon every single time, and never let a wet hand near it. This is the only real cause of spoiled pickle.
• The salt is not adjustable. Around 90 g per kilo of mango is what makes it keep for a year at room temperature. A low-salt version must be refrigerated and eaten within three months.
• No strong sun where you live? Keep the jar near a warm window for two weeks and shake it daily. It matures more slowly but it still works.
• Keep the drained brine. It is fiercely salty and sour, and a spoon of it lifts a dal or a chaas. Store it in the fridge and use it within a month.
• If a white film appears, moisture got in. Lift out the affected pieces, add a fresh layer of cooled smoked mustard oil so everything is submerged, and put the jar back in the sun for two days.