Pickling is a traditional process famous all over the world. We can preserve different kinds of fruits and vegetables with pickling to store them for more than six months or over a year. Pickling is a strict process, giving the pickles a sour and tangy taste. Heavy and concentrated species act as a preservation barrier to make it fresh all around the year.
All these hard work and tedious steps, if followed correctly, will give you delicious tangy side dishes that you can have with various kinds of dal and rice. Achaar is not just some Indian pickle dish but an emotion. It is a serious alternative which makes anything bland to spicy, real quick.
There are endless pickle options and mixes that you can choose from. But today, we are going to discover some of the uncommon pickling options for you to try. You must try these pickles whenever you get a chance.
1. Bamboo Lemon Pickle: Soft bamboo shoots are hand-picked from the forest, washed, and fermented with different kinds of spices with a mustard oil base, while lemons are sun dried and added to the mixture to make a heavenly goodness. The sour taste from lemon and the crunchy taste from bamboo hit the right spot when someone wants a kick. It takes more than ten days to make, and pickling can take about fifteen days. No matter the time, it is completely worth it to taste, once it is prepared.
2. Ginger Chilli Pickle: Different varieties of garlic pickles are quite common in Indian households, but have you ever heard of ginger chilli pickles? The taste of this pickle is very strong, and it is made up of smashed or grinded ginger paste slandered with the chilli of choice. The coarse kick to ginger with different kinds of spices adds a very aromatic and spicy taste to chilli. It can be used for different kinds of achari dishes to elevate the experience, too.
3. Green Chilli Mustard Pickle: If you like mustard, then we have a perfect pickle for you to try, which is made with green chillies and Sorso bata (mustard paste). This kind of pickle is regularly used in Rajasthani and Bengali households. The mustard sauce that is marinated with chilli is brilliantly combined with different spices that complement the strong taste of mustard. The chillies add a very nice kick to the pickle, making it extremely spicy.
4. Garlic Amla Pickle: Amla is a kind of fruit grown in winter. Amla can be used in various kinds of chutneys and pickles. It is very sweet and sour, making a perfect achar for you to taste. The sweetness of amla is brilliantly complimented with the punch of garlic to make the achar pop into your mouth, cutting the extra sweetness from it. The spices bind the different flavours, making it a sweet and tangy pickle.
5. Jujube (Ber) Pickle: Jujube is a kind of fruit which is extremely sweet when ripened with a very pungent smell to it. It can be eaten raw or it can be fermented into a pickle to make a sweet treat. This pickle is generally made sweet with lots of spices such as chat masala, tumeric and amchur. The pickle can also be garnished with different kinds of dishes to add sweetness to it.
6. Lemon Guava Pickle: Did you know guava can make a great pickle if it is not ripe yet? Guava has a very earthy taste to it, making it a perfect fruit to pickle. The hard texture of unripe guava can be made soft and delicious to eat by pickling it using various spices in the instructed ratios. If you haven't tried a guava pickle yet, make sure you get your hands on it. The lemon juice added to the guava pickle makes it a very delicious combination, ensuring that the sweetness is cut off by sourness.
7. Burmese Grape (Kusum Phal) Pickle: If you are looking for something very unique and delicious to enjoy then you should try kusum phal or burmese grape pickle, which is made from a very sour fruit. The fruit resembles similarity to berries and it is a very good alternative for you to try if you don't like jujube pickle. Lots of salt and sugar are added to the pickle with various species like turmeric, amchur, hing and many more. It can be made as a sweet pickle or a spicy one, according to your preference.