Achaar

Achaar, also known as South Asian pickles or Indian subcontinent pickles, are made from certain individual varieties of vegetables and fruits that are chopped into small pieces and cooked in edible oils like sesame oil or brine with many different Indian spices like asafoetida, red chili powder, turmeric, fenugreek, and plenty of salt. Some regions also specialize in pickling meats and fish. Vegetables can also be combined in pickles to make mixed vegetable pickle. Some varieties of fruits and vegetables are small enough to be used whole.

The most common South Asian-style pickles are made from mango and lime. Others include cauliflower, carrot, radish, tomato, onion, pumpkin, palm heart, lotus stem, rose petals, ginger, Amla, garlic, green or red chili peppers, kohlrabi, gunda (cordia), kerda, zimikand (purple yam), karonda, karela (bitter gourd), jackfruit, mushroom, eggplant, cucumber, turnip and lapsi.

Homemade pickles are prepared in the summer and kept in the sun while stored in porcelain or glass jars with airtight lids. The high concentrations of salt, oil, and spices act as preservatives. Many commercially produced pickles use preservatives like citric acid and sodium benzoate.

Even using the same main ingredients, South Asian pickles come in a wide variety of flavors due to differences in spices and process. A mango pickle from South India may taste very different from one made in North India. In the southern states, sesame oil is preferred, while mustard oil is preferred in northern states for making pickles.

The term for pickles in Hindi, Urdu, Assamese, and Bengali is pronounced as achar.

In South India, most vegetables are sun-dried with spices into a thokku or pickle, taking advantage of immensely hot and sunny days throughout the year, thus making pickles an everyday staple. The sun-drying naturally preserves the vegetable, along with the spices. Vegetables that may be sun-dried and pickled include amla (gooseberry), unripe mango, lime, lemon, citron, garlic, ginger, chillies, tomatoes, onions, gongura, combinations of these, and less commonly unripe black pepper, coriander, brinjal (eggplant), bitter gourd and any other vegetable in plentiful harvest. Commonly used spices include mustard, methi or the seeds of fenugreek, chilli powder, salt, asafoetida and turmeric. To prepare quickly however, vegetables may be cooked on stove top and additional preservatives like vinegar, sodium benzoate or citric acid may be used.

Tamil Nadu State has a typical mango pickle, maavadu, which is usually made early in the summer season when mangoes are barely an inch long. The preservation process uses castor oil giving the pickle its unique taste. Another pickle from Tamil Nadu is narthangai consisting of unripe citrons cut into spirals and stuffed with salt. Tamilians also sun-dry chillies stuffed with salted yogurt, making a dry condiment called mor molagai that is typically eaten with rice.

Tender whole mango pickle is a traditional pickle recipes of Karnataka. This is preserved entirely by dehydrating tender whole mango with salt and is very salty and sour. A special type of this is jeerige midi prepared using special tender mango with a refreshing aroma.

South Indians also pickle a variety of fish or meen achar, which they have access to along the country's long coasts and rivers.

Unripe mangoes, lemon, green chilis, gunda (cordia) and kerda are commonly used as key ingredients in Gujarati cuisine. Varieties of pickled mango commonly found in Gujarati households include salted mango pickle made with groundnut oil and spiced with fenugreek seeds, and red chili powder; hot and sweet mango pickle made with groundnut oil and jaggery, fennel seeds, dry dates (kharek), mustard and red chili powder; and hot and sweet mango pickle made with sugar syrup, cumin and chili powder.

In South Africa, Indian pickles are called atchar, and are sometimes eaten with bread. Mango pickle is commonly used as a condiment alongside curries and biryani in Burmese cuisine. In Mozambique, lemon and mango achar is widely eaten and is used on the side for many dishes. Brought over from the Indo-Portuguese cuisine it infused with the local dishes.

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