A must-have for every family, this uniquely Bihari Mango Pickle is a mouth-watering blend of raw green mangoes, spices, and mustard oil. Delightful with Dal-Chawal, Paranthas, and all your favorite curries.

Ingredients used in this Bihari Aam Ka Achar

Raw Mango, Mustard Oil, Turmeric, Red Chilli Powder, Coriander Powder, Cumin, Nigella Seeds, Carom Seeds, Fenugreek, Fennel Seeds, Yellow Mustard, Black Cumin Seeds, Asafoetida, Salt, Black Salt.

RECIPE: The Process of Preparation

starts with the mangoes arriving early 6 AM from the farms to our kitchen-factory. They are mostly plucked the last evening. The first step is sort out the mangoes for any pieces that are damaged, or have ripened, and not good for pickling.

After sorting, the mangoes are cut into small pieces, typically 1 inch in size. And immediately dipped into water at normal temperature. Moreover, it’s washed 2-3 times in fresh water before being kept out in the sun to dry for 3 hours.

After a few hours, the cut mango pieces are moved into the pickling vessel, and 2 spices are added – Salt & Turmeric. This mixture is left untouched for 24 hours till the moisture from within the mango pickle seeps out. The cut pieces are now ready for the actual process of pickling. 

A batch of masala is prepared, mixing all the spices in their appropriate proportions. And added to these cut pieces covered in salt & turmeric, along with mustard oil. Everything is mixed well.

The pickle now needs to be sun-dried for 8-10 days before it’s ready to be stored in martabans. It’s made sure that the top of pickle, when it’s inside in the martabaan, has an inch thick layer of oil to protect it.

Some of the traditional ways this pickle is enjoyed in Mithila includes with Khichdi, Choora Dahi (Flattened Rice with Curd), Dal-Chawal, Poha, Paratha, Poori Sabzi, and with most Indian dishes.

A perfect pickle to go along with all your evening snacks - with samosas, namkeen matri, you name it. Khatta & Meetha, this pickle is a delightful surprise with every bite.

Mango Pickle Ingredients

Raw Mango, Sugar, Red Chilli Powder, Cumin, Fennel Seeds, Carom Seeds, Nigella Seeds, Fenugreek, Cardamon, Cloves, Pepper, Salt.

How we make the Mango Pickle:

Mango varieties used for production of this pickle includes Malda and Kalkatiya. They are all tangy & juicy varieties grown in Darbhanga district.

Spices are mostly sourced locally from farmers, and bazar samitis in Samastipur. We buy whole spices and clean, roast, ground them in our kitchen-factory.

The production process begins with raw green mangoes arriving early morning. As soon as they arrive, sorting begins. We normally select mangoes as long as they are not completely ripened.

The mangoes are peeled, and washed a couple of times. After it has been left in the sun for a couple of hours to dry after washing, the whole peeled mango is cut into small pieces. And salt is added to it. The salted cut mangoes are left untouched for a couple of mangoes, and thereafter sugar is added. The quantity of sugar is about equal to the weight of the mangoes.

After a couple of hours, the mixture of salt, sugar, and mango moisture turns thin.

Now, this mixture 10 KG at a time is cooked for around 30 minutes on low flame. We also add the spices to the mix while cooking. In about half an hour, the mangoes turn soft, and the चासनी thickens.

This is a very tricky pickle to store. The martabaans used to store this pickle are washed twice, left in the sun for 3 days, and then heated over a slow flame for 30 secs before being used for storage.

In Mithila, Mango Khatta-Meetha is the go-to chutni / pickle to eat with Samosas in the evening. Kids love this pickle with poori, paranthas, and almost everything else.

Relive Old Memories with this traditional Bihari preparation, also known by the name of Oal Barobar locally. Made with three key ingredients, Oal, Ginger and Green Chili – this Oal mixed pickle is a tangy, spicy & gingery delight for your tastebuds. 

Ingredients used in JhaJi Store’s Oal Ginger Green Chili Mixed Pickle

Oal (Jimikand/ Suran), Crushed Green Chilli, Ginger, Lemon Juice, Amchoor, Mustard Oil, Mustard, Coriander Powder, Cumin, Carom Seed, Fenugreek, Fennel Seeds, Black Cumin Seeds. Nigella Seeds. Turmeric, Asafoetida, Black Salt, and Salt.

On Ingredients:

The first key step is selecting the right variety of ingredients for the pickle, specially the three vegetables, Oal, Ginger and Green Chilies. 

We use Desi Oal varieties grown locally in Darbhanga. Oal, or Suran, or Jimikand, or elephant yam – grows below the soil. Even after harvesting Oal can be stored in your aagan, or bagicha for weeks.

It’s important to select the ginger that have thin skin. Otherwise, it takes too long for the ginger to soften up. And it overpowers the other flavours in the pickle. While choosing the green chili we make sure it’s a variety with less seeds inside. Mostly, we make this pickle using bullet/longia mirchi varieties as they are hot, with thin skin, and have few if any seeds. 

Juice from the local jamiri lemons also is an essential ingredient in this pickle. Jamiri Lemons have a very distinct aroma, and has always been preferred over other varieties for adding tanginess in the pickle.

The spices are sourced locally from the Samastipur Mandi about 40 Kms from our kitchen-factory. Sorting, Cleaning, Roasting, and Grounding of spices is carried out in-house. Roasting & Grounding is done for most spices to enhance their flavours, aroma, and the texture of the pickle once ready.

The Pickling Process:

We follow the local processes of pickling passed onto Kalpana and Uma through their mothers, and mothers-in-law. All begins by cleaning the Oal, Ginger, and Green Chili in water, for 2-3 rounds. The tail of the green chili is removed.

Once thoroughly washed, they are left in the sun for a couple of hours. And then chopped into smaller pieces for grating. Traditionally, this pickle has been prepared by mixing all these 3 ingredients in equal quantities. That’s why the name Oal Barabar is also used to address this pickle here in Darbhanga and nearby. Note that there are no pieces of any of these 3 ingredients as they are all grated, कद्दूकश करे हुए तीनो ही। 

We make 30 Kg batches at a time, by mixing equal quantities of कद्दूकश करे हुए oal, ginger, and green chili.

Once the three ingredients are added in the pickling vessel, salt, turmeric and lemon juice is added to marinate the mixture. It’s left untouched for 12-24 hours, as the moisture in the ingredients is drained and settles around it in the mixing vessel. Note that this moisture is extremely important for the final flavour and is not separated out.

After 24 hours, oil and spices are added as per the batch size in appropriate proportions.



And the mixture is ready for sun-drying to run into the final pickle. Oal pickle takes about 10 days of sun-light for the spices to mix well. Once ready, it’s stored in glass martabans to be used when customers order.



We make this pickle mostly in the period October-December. This is the time of year when all the main ingredients are harvested and are available in abundance. 

How we relish this pickle in Mithila: 

Oal is a vegetable that’s relished a sabzi through many months, specially in winters. Naturally, the pickle is a also a household favourite, and is prepared by most families in Mithila.  

We love oal ka achar with a variety of dishes, including dal chawal, paratha, poori or dahi choora. However, the most loved away to enjoy Oal pickle among our team-members is with simple roti. Even a plain roti tastes out of this world, with a little touch of our Oal, Ginger, and Green Chili pickle!

Oal Ginger Green Chili Mix Pickle is sold as part of Bihari Pickles, Mixed Pickle and All Pickle Collection on JhaJi Store