Ingredients:

• 5-6 raw mangoes
• 1 tbsp asafoetida
• ½ cup refined oil
• 3 tbsp salt
• ½ cup pickle mustard powder (available at grocery stores at Dadar & Lalbaug)
• ½ cup red chilli powder grinded with 10-12 flakes of garlic
• ½ cup mustard seeds
• 1 tbsp turmeric powder
• 3 tbsp fenugreek seeds
• 3 tbsp mace
• coarsely powdered 2-3 cinnamon & cloves
• 1 cup jaggery

Method:

1. Cut raw mangoes in small pieces & rub specified amount of salt and turmeric to it.
2. Leave it aside for 20 minutes.
3. Heat oil till it smokes.
4. Switch off the flame.
5. Add asafoetida, mace & powdered mix of cinnamon and clove along with red chilli & garlic paste.
6. Gently stir.
7. Add jaggery.
8. When the oil hits room temperature, add pickle mustard seeds, mustard powder & fenugreek seeds.
9. Make sure that the oil is not too hot when you add mustard & fenugreek seeds as the burnt taste spoils the flavour.
10. Pour the ingredient-mixed oil over raw mango marinade.
11. Mix it well with your hands for 15 minutes.
12. Transfer into a porcelain jar.
13. This pickle needs sufficient mount of oil, so if you feel the proportion of oil is less or equal to raw mangoes, add more oil.
14. Never add raw oil directly to the pickle, heat it up first & then leave to cool before pouring over raw mangoes.

Goes best with: Piping hot Varan-Bhaat.

Tips:

• Ratnagiri Alphonso is the mango type for this pickle.
• Before transferring pickle into a porcelain jar, layer it with 2/3 tbsp salt. This works as a natural preservative & prolongs the shelf life of the pickle.