Avakaya is undoubtedly the KING of pickles. It is no exaggeration to say that you cannot find a single household in Andhra or Telangana without a jar full of this mouth watering, super spicy concoction. Avakaya is aptly called the Annapoorna, the Goddess with a serving spoon in hand symbolizing the giver of food.
It is a savior for Andhra households when an unexpected guest turns up or the lady of the house wishes to do some light cooking occasionally.
In India, especially in the hot summer, the combination of "chaddannam"( cooked rice soaked in rice starch overnight) and freshly made Avakaya is the combination to die for - super tasty with a super cooling effect.
Now let us get down to business.
Ingredients:
Mangoes 1kg
Chilli powder 200 grams
Mustard powder 200 grams
Rock salt powder 150 grams
Fenugreek (Methi dana) 20 grams
Hing powder 10 grams
Turmeric (Haldi) powder 1/2 teaspoon
Sesame oil 1/2 litre.
Method:
Take one kg of raw mangoes... approximately 6 of medium size. Wash, dry with a clean cloth under the fan.Cut into 6 or 8 pieces, ensuring that each piece gets a portion of the hard shell inside. This helps in preserving the crunchiness of the mango piece through the year.
Make sure to remove the thin membrane covering the stone at the centre.
Pl ensure that all the powders are properly dried beforehand.
Now take a steel or plastic basin and mix together the mirchi powder, the mustard powder, the rock salt powder, hing, turmeric powder and the fenugreek.
Put the cut mango pieces into the mixture, add more than 1/4 litre of the sesame oil and mix well. Put the mango mix into a dry plastic container, portion by portion, pouring some oil every time. After the entire mix is transferred to the container, cover with a lid after ensuring that all the mango pieces are covered with the masala mix (chili, mustard and salt powders)
On the 3rd day, when the mango has oozed the juice with the touch of salt, mix thoroughly, put in an earthen jar, add the remaining oil and store. Take out small quantities in a container for serving.
Sounds simple, isn't it? But the catch is this - if the mirchi powder is not of the best mirchi, if the mustard powder is not pungent enough, and if the salt is not added in the right proportion and the hing is not the best quality, the end product may not be really good.
P.S: If after all this, you don't get the authentic ethnic taste, leave it to the experts. Place an order with avakaya.com.🙂
Get it here -Â https://www.avakaya.com/products/avakaya
