Narthangai Pickle/citron pickle

                                                                   Narthangai is a variety of lemon with a a thick skin and green colour. There are two types of pickles my mom used to make with this.One is the regular citron pickle with chilly powder and the other is the dried version only with salt.The dried version is more popular and is available in stores like ambika appalam etc.
My grand mom used to eat the dried narthangai daily with her curd rice in the evening.Whenever we used to fall sick or have a stomach upset we were allowed to eat only this dried narthangai with curd rice because it did not have any chilies in it and it would not do any harm to the stomach.I will post the recipe for the dried version soon......

Sweet Mango Pickle/Gujarathi Pickles

                                                                    This sweet mango pickle is a very tasty sweet and sour pickle made with small chunky pieces of mango.I got introduced to this kind of sweet pickle through my Gujarathi friend from school days.She used to bring these sweet and sour pickle to school along with her Teplas and i used to take my sambar sadam  with   vegetable,invariably we used to grab each others tiffin box and enjoy the food!!!!

My kids are also fond of these sweet and sour pickle, so i make it often and enjoy it with some hot methi teplas and palak rotis.

Puli Ingi/Ginger in tamarind Sauce

                                                                        Puli ingi is nothing but ginger and chillies in tamarind sauce.You can call it a instant pickle because you can prepare immediately and there is no soaking or settling time like in many other pickles."Puli Ingi"is a part of of the Onam festival menu.
My mother used to make it often and we use to enjoy it with curd rice and sometimes even with dosas.

Kadarangai Pickle

                                                                 I got some kadarangai from Pattukkottai my sister's MIL bought it from her house.Kadarangai is another type of large sized ripe lemon.Its unique bitter taste makes it special.My mother used to make pickle out of it in the traditional way.I checked out meenakshi ammal's cook book and it is similar to the traditional one.
There are two ways of preparing this pickle.One is the way i have explained below and the other is if you want to prepare instantly then you  roast the whole fruit in a pan with a little bit oil,cool,chop and add chilli powder,salt,turmeric powder,asafoetida and season with gingelly oil and mustard seeds.

Green Chilli Pickle/Pachai Milagai Thokku

                                                                    My daughter has been after me to make this pickle.I have been avoiding since it is too spicy and there is nothing healthy about it.I finally gave up and made this just for her to have a taste of it since she is at home studying for exams.It is really spicy and you can only have a pinch of it especially with curd rice.Of course you can have it with dosa or adai depending upon how much spice you can tolerate!!!good luck!!

Tomato Pickle

                                                                      Tomato Pickle or Tomato Thokku as we call it is the Indian form of jam.We spread it on bread,idli dosa,chappati and of course it tastes great with curd rice(comfort food of south India).It has been a long pending to make this pickle which is more like a spread for my kids.They find jam too boring!!!So i keep making Tomato,onion and mango pickles in turn.
                                                                   Coming to the Recipe it is quiet easy.Drop about six tomatoes in boiling water and close it and switch off the stove.Allow it to cool blend it in to a puree boil it till it thickens with some salt,chilli powder and jaggery.And it is is ready!!!

Mango Thokku

                                                                 I have already posted one recipe for Mango thokku.This is another way of making it.I keep making this often in our house.It is an all time favourite and all of us love it. we eat it with bread,dosa and of course with curd rice.

ONION PICKLE/VENGAYA THOKKU

This yummy thokku is all time favourite in my house.It goes well with hot rice,chapatti,idlis,dosas and bread too.It can be stored in the refrigerator for a month.

You will Need

• 250gms of sambar onions
• 10 to 12 Red chillies
• Marble sized ball of Tamarind
• Half a cup of Gingelly oil
• One tsp of Mustard seeds
• Salt to taste

How To

1. Heat one tbs of of oil in a thick pan and saute the onions(peeled).
2. Cool it.Grind it along with the chillies,tamarind and salt into a paste.
3. Heat the rest of the oil in the same pan crackle mustard seeds.
4. Add the ground paste and heat it till oil separates stirring on and off.

Tips

• The more you cook it stays longer.
• Adjust chillies according to your taste.
• It stays for one month if refrigerated.

Aavakkai Pickle

You will Need

• Five round and sour mangoes
• One cup chili Powder
• One cup Salt
• 1/4 cup Mustard seeds powder
• 1/4 cup Turmeric powder
• Two tbs of Kabuli Channa
• One cup of Gingelly Oil

How To Make It

1.Wash and Clean the Mangoes.Cut it with a Real big knife so that it cuts through the Seeds.
Cut it like shown in the picture with part of the seed with the mango.Allow the pieces to dry for an hour.

2.Keep a suitable size pickle jar washed and dried.Make a paste with the oil and all the powders.
soak mango pieces in the paste one by one and put in into the jar.

3.Throw in the Fenugreek seeds and kabuli Channa(optional)in to the jar mix well keep it air tight for a day.
From then open the jar everyday and keep mixing it well for few days till the mangoes gets soaked and you can refrigerate after few days.

Notes

• If you desire add some Asafoetida Powder.
• You can reduce the amount of Mustard powder if required.
• Now a days pickles do not last for long if kept outside so refrigerate after few days.

Gooseberry Pickle

Ingredients

Gooseberry	250gms
Salt	2-3tsp
Turmeric powder	1/2tsp
Chilli powder	2tsp
Fenugreek powder	1/4tsp
Gingelly oil	3tbs
Mustard seeds	1/2tsp
Asafoetida	1/4tsp

Method

1.Wash the gooseberries and dry them.

2.Boil them with salt until you are able to remove the seed.

3.Heat oil in a pan add mustard seeds.when it crackles add gooseberry pieces and fry them for few minutes.

4.Add turmeric powder,salt,fenugreek powder.switch off the stove and add chilli powder and mix well.

5.Cool and store in a dry glass bottle.

Suggestions

• Dry roast the fenugreek seeds with some red chillies and use them for pickles.
• This pickle does not last for long period so make small quantities.

Vadu Mangai/Maa Vadu Pickle

                                                                          I saw fresh maavadu's in mada street mylapore,got tempted and bought a small quantity.I always refer to meenakshi ammal"cook and see"book for a lot of recipes especially this because it is a traditional recipe and stays for a long time.so tried to do the way she had written,of course i adjusted the salt and chillies according to my quantity.
Vadu mangai or maa vadu is the most popular pickle in tamil homes.It is so easy to prepare and it can be stored even for 6 months or more.It is a perfect companion for curd rice in this hot summer.It is the first pickle prepared in the mango season because we use tender mangoes.

Green chilli pickle(Milagai pachidi)

Ingredients

Green chillies	10nos
Tamarind	Lemon sized ball
Turmeric powder	1/4tsp
Salt	2tsp
Gingelly oil	2tbs
Mustard seeds	1tsp
Jaggery	2tbs
Asafoetida	1/2tsp

Method

1.Chop the green chillies and extract tamarind water from the soaked tamarind.

2.Heat oil in a pan add mustard seeds when it crackles add green chillies and fry for a minute,add the tamarind water and turmeric powder.

3.Allow it to boil till it thickens.while it is boiling add salt,jaggery and towards the end add asafoetida.

4.Let it cool and store.It goes well with curd rice,dosas and appams.

Mango Thokku

 On the request of my friend, i am writing this recipe.Manga thokku is most people's favourite.Now you get mangoes all round the year.Now since summer is approaching mangoes are easily available.I used one big kili mooku manga for this.

Ingredients

Mango(raw)	1
Turmeric powder	1/4tsp
Chilli powder	1tbs
Salt	3tsp
Asafoetida	1/4tsp
Fenugreek powder	1/4tsp
Jaggery	1tsp

To Temper

Gingelly oil	2tbs
Mustard seeds	1tsp

Method

1.Roast the fenugreek seeds in very little gingelly oil,cool and powder it.you cannot powder 1/4tsp so make it more and use later.Peel the skin of the mango and shred it into thin small pieces.

Heat Gingelly  oil in a pan and add mustard seeds when it crackles add the shredded mango and cook for five minutes by then the mango would have become soft.

2.Add Turmeric powder,chilli powder and salt and cook it few more minutes.

3.Add Asafoetida and jaggery and cook till the oil seperates like in the picture.cool and store in a glass bottle.

You can adjust the salt,chilli powder according to your taste.
Adding jaggery is optional some people may not like it.
If kept in the refrigerator it can be used for a month.

Cut mango pickle/Venthaya mangai oorukai

This is the most simple and easy pickle to make .You can use the long mangoe variety (kili mooku) which is not very sour.It is also called milagai manga or venthaya manga pickle because  we add red chillies  and fenugreek seeds(powder)(fenugreek is called vendhayam in Tamil and red chillies are called Milagai in Tamil).It is a perfect combination for curd rice especially in summer when lot of these mangoes are available.