Handmade in Darbhanga, Mithila
Share This Achar. Share A Little Home
Five traditional Bihari pickles, the kind you'd want someone new to your table to actually taste.
The offer
5 Traditional Pickles Sample Pack (With Garlic)
5 x 150g Jars · 750g total
Optional: add Makhana Kheer Mix (2 x 50g) for ₹799
Five different flavours in one pack, so you find your favourite before committing to a full-size jar.
- ✓ Free shipping, 3–7 days, across India
- ✓ Easy refunds or replacements
- ⚠ Pickles keep 18 months · Tomato Chutney keeps 12 months (cooked with vinegar, not sun-cured — see FAQ)
How we actually make this
Made The Way You'd Want To Pass It On
Most pickles sold today is built to be sold, not shared, generic enough that it doesn't say much about where it's from. This one's the opposite. Every jar in this pack follows a method specific enough that it's worth explaining to someone tasting it for the first time.
Oal, ginger, and green chilli are washed, then grated finely and combined in genuinely equal parts, which is what gives Oal Barobara its name, barobara meaning equal. Salt, turmeric, and lemon go in next, rested 24 hours, the lemon cutting Oal's natural bitterness before the spice mix and mustard oil are folded through and it sun-cures about 10 days.
Mithila Special Mango is cut skin-on, kernel in, salted for 48 hours to draw the moisture out, then finished with a bold masala built around fennel and ajwain and sun-cured 8 to 10 days.
Lal Mirch Bharua's chillies are deseeded by hand, one at a time, stuffed so the skin stays intact, and sun-matured 7 to 10 days.
Garlic Ginger Green Chilli Mix keeps its three ingredients in close to equal parts, balanced with lemon so no single note takes over.
Tomato Garlic Chilli Chutney is the one exception, cooked down in a day with a small amount of vinegar, since tomato carries too much water to cure the same way as the rest.
No preservatives, no shortcuts, across all five.
Five jars, five flavours
What's actually in the pack
Garlic, Ginger & Green Chilli Mix Pickle
Medium spicy · Salty · Tangy · Chatpata
Garlic, ginger, and green chilli in close to equal parts, sun-dried and matured in mustard oil. Garlic carries the depth, ginger the warmth, green chilli the heat, balanced with lemon juice so no one note takes over.
Best with: dal-chawal, roti, paratha, khichdi
18 mo shelf
Lal Mirch Bharua (Stuffed Red Chilli Pickle)
Tangy · Spicy · Sour · Salty
Thick-skinned chillies, often called Banarasi Lal Mirch, carefully deseeded by hand so the skin holds together for stuffing. The seeds go back into the masala. Sun-matured 7–10 days on bamboo trays.
Best with: dal-chawal, dahi-choora, poori-bhujia
18 mo shelf
Mithila Special Mango Pickle (Bihari Aam ka Achar)
Tangy · Spicy · Robust
Made from raw mango sourced from Darbhanga district — Malda, Bijju, Kalkatiya, or Sukul varieties. Cut skin-on, salted for 48 hours, then matured in the sun for 8–10 days under a protective layer of oil.
Best with: dal-chawal, roti-sabzi, khichdi
18 mo shelf
Tomato Garlic Chilli Mix Chutney
Chunky · Spicy · Smoky · Tangy
Garlic is fried in mustard oil first, then ginger and curry leaves, then tomato, turmeric, yellow mustard, and fenugreek cook down until thick. A small amount of vinegar is part of the recipe. Cooked in a day rather than sun-dried.
Best with: paratha, khichdi, dal-chawal
12 mo shelf — shorter, vinegar-cooked
Grated Oal (Suran/Jimikand) Pickle — Oal Barobara
Tangy · Spicy · Gingery
Equal quantities of grated oal (elephant foot yam), ginger, and green chilli — "barobar" means equal. Lemon juice neutralises oal's natural itch-causing compounds, and it's matured slowly so the flavours settle without any raw bite.
Best with: roti, dal-chawal, poori, dahi-choora
18 mo shelf
Who makes it
They Didn't Just Want To Keep The Recipe. They Wanted Someone To Taste It.
Kalpana Jha learned these recipes from her own mother and mausi, the kind of cooking that usually stays inside one family's kitchen and eventually disappears with it. Turning it into JhaJi Store wasn't about preserving something at risk of being lost, it was about making sure someone outside that kitchen could actually taste it. Uma Jha runs the winter batches, timed against when each ingredient is actually ready.
Handing someone a jar of this isn't so different from what happens at their own table, it's the same instinct, just extended to someone new.
JhaJi Store runs out of Mithila Pickles and Chutneys Private Limited in Darbhanga — not a contract kitchen making someone else's recipe at scale.
This is JhaJi Store — Handmade in Mithila. Just like home.
What people are saying
Real reviews, this pack
"The flavor is absolutely amazing, and the quality is exceptional."
— Gerald Gutman
"Authentic and good, like home made pickles."
— Avishek Upadhyay
"I was a bit skeptical about ordering… the pickles have met my expectations."
— Sanjeev Kumar Borah
Frequently asked questions
Before you add to cart
Ingredients & Recipe
What's actually inside this pack?
Five jars, 150g each: Garlic Ginger Green Chilli Mix, Lal Mirch Bharua (stuffed red chilli), Mithila Special Mango, Tomato Garlic Chilli Chutney, and Oal Barobara (grated yam pickle). All five are made with mustard oil and hand-ground spices, with no preservatives.
Does this pack contain garlic?
Two of the five do: Garlic Ginger Green Chilli Mix and Tomato Garlic Chilli Chutney. The other three — Lal Mirch Bharua, Mithila Special Mango, and Oal Barobara — are garlic-free.
Is anything added for shelf life — preservatives, vinegar, artificial colour?
No preservatives or artificial colour in any of the five. Only the Tomato Garlic Chilli Chutney uses a small amount of vinegar, as part of the traditional recipe — tomato's high water content means it can't be preserved with oil and salt alone the way the other pickles are. The other four jars use no vinegar at all.
Is this vegetarian / vegan?
Yes, all five pickles are fully plant-based.
Spice Level & Taste
How spicy is this pack overall?
It's a mixed range, not uniformly hot. Tomato Garlic Chutney is the gentlest. Garlic Ginger Green Chilli Mix is medium. Lal Mirch Bharua and Oal Barobara run spicier. This is deliberate — the pack is built so you can figure out your own tolerance rather than guessing from one large jar.
Which one should a first-time or spice-sensitive person start with?
Tomato Garlic Chutney, followed by Mithila Special Mango. Both are more tangy-savoury than aggressively hot.
Sourcing & Process
Where are these actually made?
In Darbhanga, Bihar, by Kalpana Jha and Uma Jha, following their family's recipes.
How long does the sun-curing take?
It varies by pickle — Mango cures 8–10 days, Lal Mirch Bharua 7–10 days, others run a similar multi-day window. The Tomato Chutney is the exception — it's cooked, not sun-cured, and ready in a day.
Why is there a layer of oil on top when I open the jar? Is that normal?
Yes, completely normal with real mustard-oil pickling. Give it a gentle stir before serving — the oil layer is part of how the pickle stays preserved without refrigeration.
Does the pickle darken over time?
Yes, slight darkening is expected and natural — a result of the mustard oil, spices, and sun-maturation, not spoilage or additives.
Shipping & Storage
How long does delivery take?
3–7 days, and shipping is free across India.
Are the jars safe for shipping and travel?
Yes — these come in sturdy plastic jars rather than glass, specifically for the sample pack, to reduce breakage risk in transit.
What's the shelf life?
18 months from manufacturing for four of the five pickles (Garlic Ginger Green Chilli Mix, Lal Mirch Bharua, Mithila Special Mango, Oal Barobara). The Tomato Garlic Chilli Chutney is 12 months, because it's cooked with vinegar rather than sun-cured. The Makhana Kheer Mix, if added, keeps for 6 months.
Does this need refrigeration?
No, not under normal conditions. In very humid climates, refrigerating after opening can help, but it isn't required.
What if my jar arrives damaged, leaking, or with the wrong flavour?
Contact us and we'll sort out a replacement or refund — no back and forth required.
Buying Decision
Is this good for someone who's never tried JhaJi before?
Yes — this is specifically why the pack exists. Five flavours, smaller jars, lower commitment than buying a full-size jar of something you haven't tasted yet.
What's the difference between this and buying the individual jars?
Same recipes, same process, smaller 150g format instead of the standard 250g/500g sizes. Once you know your favourites, the full-size jars work out better value per gram.
Can I gift this?
Yes — it's one of our most-gifted items, especially to people who've moved away from Bihar or are curious about the region's food. You can add a note with your order.
