Drumstick Pickle | Andhra Style

Drumstick Pickle | Andhra Style

Drumstick Pickle | Andhra Style ~ Mulakkada Pachadi

            Making pickles at home is not difficult; it is easier than making a curry and it can be prepared within 30 mins and you can enjoy it for more than a month. I had prepared this pickle for a guest sometime back, and got to post it now. 

Ingredients

1 fresh tender drumstick chopped to 1 or 2 “ length

2 ½ cups of chopped tomatoes

4 ½ tbsps. red chili powder (I use Kashmiri  red chili powder or byadgi, if you are using Guntur chili powder, reduce the quantity)

2 tsps methi seeds

big lemon sized ball of tamarind

salt to taste

oil as needed (I prefer using mustard oil, if you do not have, peanut or sunflower oil is best. or you can use mustard and half peanut) I suggest you to use atleast 90 ml oil, otherwise it doesn’t taste good.

Tempering

1 sprig of curry leaves

1 red chili (remove the seeds and break)

¼ tsp mustard

½ tsp channa dal,

½ tsp split urad dal

oil as needed

Method

1.   Dry roast 2 tsps of methi seeds . cool and then make a fine powder

2.   Deep fry drumsticks till almost cooked .takes around 8 to 12 mins on medium flame. I do not deep fry as iam little worried with kids clinging on to me. you can shallow fry too but takes long. set the drumstick pieces aside

3.   In the same pan and oil, add tomatoes, turmeric and salt

4.   Fry the tomatoes till completely mushy. mine looks juicy, don’t worry if yours do not look like mine. it all depends on the kind of tomatoes you use.

5.   Add the fried drumsticks and cook for 3 to 4 mins or until drumsticks are fully cooked. This step is very important. otherwise the pickle smells like raw drumstick

6.   soak tamarind in hot water for some time and squeeze well

7.   filter this in the tomato mixture to remove dirt  or sand  (most of the times this is present)

8.   add chili powder, salt, methi powder to this and mix well

9.   Taste it and check the sour and salt. if needed adjust now, after you temper,  it doesn’t taste good

10.                Temper with tempering ingredients  pour the hot tempering over the pickle

11.                Add in more oil (you can use up the oil you used for frying drumsticks), if you wish. Mix well and store it in a clean, moist free, airtight glass bottles.

Notes:

1.   Make sure your drumstick is cooked well before you add chili powder and tamarind

2.   In India my Mom and MIL keep this for a couple of months without refrigeration and stays good. But I have personally never tried it without refrigeration as iam doubtful since Singapore is very humid and the weather is not stable. So I suggest you refrigerate and use up within 3 months.

3.   Always handle the pickle with moist free spoons and hands,  otherwise fungus can grow on it.

4. Pickles spoil faster if there is not enough salt and oil in it. so add enough oil and salt.