Made with comparatively less spices and oil, the perfect grated mango pickle from Mithilanchal, Bihar. Mildly spicy & heat, and a lot of tanginess. In one word, KHATTA!
Ingredients used in Grated Mango Pickle
Include Raw Mango, Mustard Oil, Turmeric, Red Chilli Powder, Coriander Powder, Cumin, Nigella Seeds, Carom Seeds, Fenugreek, Fennel Seeds, Yellow Mustard, Asafoetida, Black Salt, Salt.
Mango varieties used for production of this pickle includes Malda, and Kalkatiya. These two varieties are specially chosen as they have significant amount of pulp, and tanginess. 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 Process of Preparation, starts with the mangoes arriving to our kitchen-factory, freshly plucked from the tree on last evening. The first step is sort out the mangoes for any pieces that are damaged, or have ripened, and not good for pickling.
Once sorted, the mangoes are peeled completely. It is washed a couple of times in the water, and left in the sun for a few hours. Thereafter, the mangoes are grated completely in a grinder, and kept in a mixing vessel. Immediately the grated mangoes leave their moisture which is separated and discarded.
After a few hours, the grated mango is ready for adding Salt & Turmeric. This mixture is left untouched for 24 hours. Parallelly, a batch of masala is prepared, with the spices in the right proportions.
Once the 24 hours have passed, the masala is mixed with the grated mangoes, and oil. The mixture is left out in the sun for 7-10 days. It’s tasted for perfection, and is thereafter stored in the martabans.
In Mithila, we enjoy this pickle with dal-roti, khichdi, poori-bhujia, chawal-dal, jhaal murhi, and most of the daily meals.