Recipe: PICKLED GREEN CHILLIES

This is one of my own creations and tastes awesome, even if I say so myself! Do try it out and I promise you that you will not be disappointed.

Ingredients:

Green chillies – ½ kg (Choose those that are large, not spicy and generally used for making bhajias and cut them lengthwise into two)
White Til (Sesame seeds) – ½ cup
Methi seeds – 3 tsp
Red chillies – 6-8
Hing (Asafoetida) – ¾ tsp
Haldi (turmeric powder) – ½ tsp
Salt – 3 tsp
Til Oil – 1 cup (Idhayam Sesame Oil should be ideal)
Rai – 1 tsp
Juice from four lemons

Method:

Take a saucepan and roast the sesame seeds till they crackle. Keep them on a plate to cool. Next, roast the methi seeds till brown in colour and add the red chillies to them. Turn around a few times and add to the cooling sesame seeds. Once they are cool, grind them to the consistency of rava in the mixer.

Add the oil to the pan and heat it. Add rai and allow it to crackle before adding the cut green chillies. Keep the flame low and fry the chillies adding salt, hing and haldi. When the chillies are half-fried, switch the gas off and add the powdered masala and mix well. Add the lemon juice and mix again. The delicious Green Chilly Pickle is ready to eat.

Why use Sesame oil and none other?

Sesame (Til) oil tends to cool the system. I have noticed one thing about traditional recipes. They have ingredients that balance one another. I have tried to adopt this method to make this pickle. Chillies are heating while sesame seeds, sesame oil and methi seeds are cooling. Rai and hing take care of the digestion while turmeric and salt act as preservatives. Red chillies and lemon juice add to the flavour.