Preserving Summer: India’s Love for Mango Pickles

🥄Gujarati Chhunda

Chhunda is Gujarat’s ode to sunshine and sweetness — a grated raw mango preserve that gets its golden hue from slow sun-curing and its character from warming spices like cinnamon, cloves, and roasted cumin. This one’s a summer staple with thepla, rotla, or even plain dal-rice.

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Drying Time: 8–10 days in sunlight
Serves: 10–12 people

Ingredients:

• Raw mangoes 500 gm (Totapuri Mangoes)
• Sugar  500 gm
• Salt 1 tsp
• Turmeric 1 tsp
• Red chilli powder 1 to 1.5 tsp
• Roasted cumin powder – 1 tsp
• Cinnamon stick 1 small piece (or 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon)
• Cloves 3 to 4 whole
• Pinch of black salt

Method:

1. Wash, peel and grate the mangoes.
2. In a bowl, mix grated mangoes, sugar and salt.
3. Add a cinnamon stick and cloves directly into the mixture and fill the mixture into a glass jar. The mouth of the jar should be covered with a muslin cloth.
4. Keep in bright sunlight for 8 to 10 days, stirring occasionally with a dry spoon, ensuring the sugar dissolves and the syrup thickens.
5. Once the sugar dissolves completely, add red chilly powder, roasted cumin powder and a pinch of black salt.
6. Store in a dry, clean glass jar and a cool, dry place or refrigerate.

Quick stove method:

1. Mix mango, sugar, salt, cinnamon and cloves in a heavy-bottomed pan.
2. Cook on a very low flame, stirring gently until the sugar melts and the syrup thickens slightly
3. Remove from heat, add red chilli powder and cumin powder.  Cool and store in a sterilised jar.

🥄 Keri ka Achaar with Chickpeas: A Rajasthani Delight

This robust Keri ka achaar combines raw mango chunks and dried black chickpeas, infusing earthy flavours with a hearty bite. It’s a bold blend of spices, heat, and texture — perfect for the dry climate and richer cuisine of Rajasthan.

Prep Time: 30 minutes (plus soaking and drying time)
Cook Time: No cooking required
Serves: 12–14 people

Ingredients:

• Raw mangoes – 500 g
• Black chickpeas ½ cup
• Mustard oil
• Salt
• Turmeric powder
• Red chilli powder
• Fennel seeds
• Fenugreek seeds split 2 tbsp
• Nigella seeds 1 tbsp
• Mustard seeds split 1 tbsp
• Asafoetida ½ tsp
• Cloves
• Cinnamon

Method:

1. Soak the black chickpeas overnight and let them dry on a cotton cloth.
2. Heat mustard oil to the smoke point and let it cool.
3. Mildly roast the spices and roughly grind them.
4. Wash the mangoes and wipe dry.
5. Cut into roughly 1-inch pieces with the hard seed cover. Remove the seeds and the plastic-like film of the mango seed.
6. Spread the mango pieces on a dry cloth in the sun or under the fan for a couple of hours to remove the moisture.
7. Mix all the spices, mango pieces, black chickpeas, cloves and cinnamon powder together in a large bowl. Give it a good mix.
8. Transfer the mixture to a clean and dry ceramic jar. Mix with a dry spoon every day for at least 10 days, until the oil starts floating on the top.
9. The pickle will be ready to eat in 2 weeks.

🥄Vadu Mango Pickle: A Taste of Tamil Nadu

Also called Vadu Mangai Urugai, this pickle celebrates baby mangoes at their most tender. The mangoes are pickled whole, absorbing salt and spice over time — a true embodiment of southern minimalism and boldness in one jar.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: No cooking required
Serves: 10–12 people

Ingredients:

• Baby tender mangoes (vadu mangai)  1 kg
• Salt about 100–120 g 
• Red chilli powder 3–4 tbsp
• Mustard seeds 4 tbsp
• Turmeric powder 1 tsp
• Hing (asafoetida)  1/2 tsp

Method:

1. Select very tender, small mangoes with stems.
2. Wash well and completely dry with a cloth.
3. Trim the stems.
4. In a large bowl, add mangoes whole, turmeric powder and salt.
5. Cover and leave for a day. Mix occasionally with a dry spoon.
6. Dry roast mustard seeds, powder them, and add red chilly powder and asafoetida.
7. After the mangoes soften in about 2 days, add the spice mix of mustard seeds, red chilly powder and asafoetida. Mix well and store in a porcelain or glass jar.
8. It will be ready to eat in about 15 days.

🥄Aam ki Launji: A North Indian Classic

This jam-like mango relish blends the tartness of raw mangoes with the rich sweetness of jaggery. It’s tempered with spices and has a comforting balance of sweet, sour, and spicy — perfect with puris, parathas or a bowl of khichdi.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Serves: 6–8 people

Ingredients:

• Raw mangoes 500 gms
• Jaggery 200 gms
• Oil 2 tbsp
• Cumin seeds ½ tsp
• Fenugreek seeds ½ tsp
• Fennel seeds 1 tsp
• Salt ¾ tsp
• Black salt 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder ½ tsp
• Red chilli powder ½ tsp
• Garam masala ½ tsp

Method:

1. Wash, dry and peel raw mangoes. Remove the seed and cut into horizontal slices.
2. Heat oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, fennel seeds, and turmeric powder, and add the chopped mango chunks.
3. Mix well and cook the mango chunks, stirring well.
4. Add a cup of water, salt, black salt and red chilli powder and cook for 5 minutes. Cook until the mangoes are tender.
5. Add crumbled jaggery and garam masala. Cook until the jaggery melts completely and the mixture gets a little thick.
6. Transfer to a dry glass jar and refrigerate. It keeps for about 15 to 20 days.

🥄Andhra’s Fiery Avakaya Pachadi

Bold and spicy—Avakaya is Andhra’s iconic mango pickle, rich with mustard heat, fenugreek bitterness, and the unmistakable aroma of sesame oil. This pickle is not for the faint-hearted but promises a true Andhra experience of spice, flavour, and tradition.

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: No cooking required
Serves: 12–15 people

Ingredients:

• Raw mangoes 1 kg
• Mustard seeds 100 gm
• Red chilli powder 150 gm
• Rock salt 150 gm
• Turmeric powder 1 tablespoon
• Fenugreek seeds 1 tablespoon
• Sesame oil 240 ml
• Asafoetida ½ tsp
• A few cloves of garlic

Method:

1. Wash the mangoes and wipe dry. Cut the mangoes into medium-sized cubes with the skin on. Remove the inner seed part, but leave the hard shell. Remove the transparent film from the hard shell.
2. Dry roast mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds separately.
3. Cool and grind the mustard seeds into fine powder.
4. Coarsely crush fenugreek seeds.
5. In a bowl, combine mustard powder, red chilli powder, salt, turmeric powder, asafoetida and fenugreek. Mix well.
6. Add mango pieces and mix well until the pieces are well coated.
7. Add heated and cooled sesame oil to the mixture and mix well.
8. Add peeled garlic cloves and transfer the mixture to a clean, dry jar.  Stir the mixture occasionally with a clean, dry spoon.
9. The pickle oil should float on top.
   

Discover truly authentic ready-made pickles.

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