Easy Gherkin (Kovakkai/ Tindora) Pickle

Printable version here.

Gherkins are not popular with the three of us (though our families seem to love them), so this is one vegetable which is almost never makes it onto my shopping list. This pickle is the only way I will eat them but my husband will not have even this.

I accidentally discovered this pickle a few years back when we had gone to spend the holidays with my parents-in-law and my mother-in-law had made it. Now I love Indian pickles and am willing to give new varieties at least one try. Surprisingly, I liked her gherkin pickle and this is her recipe for it.

Ingredients:
½ kg gherkins (sliced)
1 ½ tsp kashmiri chilli powder
3 tbsp sesame seed oil
1 ½ tsp mustard seeds
¼ tsp turmeric powder
¼ tsp asafetida powder
1 sprig curry leaves
salt to taste

Method:
Heat 2 tbsp of the sesame seed oil and stir fry the sliced gherkins, along with salt, until just cooked but crisp.
In another pan, heat the remaining 1 tbsp oil, add the mustard seeds and allow to splutter. Then add curry leaves, asafetida, turmeric and chilli powders. Stir a couple of times and take off the heat. Add the stir-fried gherkins and stir till everything is well mixed.
Cool and bottle. Serve with rice and yogurt. This pickle does not keep for more than about 4 -5 days and must be refrigerated. So it would be advisable to make in smaller quantities, which is alright as this pickle doesn’t take much time to make.