Hi Mamta,

Does this pickle need to mature in any way before it is ideal for consumption?

Regards,

Martin

Yes, step 8, you'd normally leave it on the windowsill in the sun for a couple of weeks. In the winter, perhaps needs longer still.

When I made this, I left it a month before opening, but the longer the better.

Thanks Kavey.

This year i have grown world's hottest chilli -- Dorset naga (bhut jalokia). i shall be making pickle out of it. I wonder if chillies can be frozen?

Hi,

In the recipe it calls for chillies & ginger to be 'free from water'. Do they need to be dessicated, approaching crackly dry?

My experience has been that you can freeze chillies but their texture deteriorates. Don't know what the others suggest.

Regards,

Martin

Hello Martin

What 'free from water' means is that they should be dry on the outside, no water remaining from washing them. They should not be crackling dry as in 'dried chillies'.

Frozen green chillies should be okay for cooking, making chutneys etc, but they will not taste as good where they are needed fresh and crisp.

Thanks for the information concerning how dried the chillies should be.

I've seen that Mustard Oil comes in different shades of yellow. Does that reflect a different shade of concentration? If so, do the different shades need a different time to make them smoke before using them for your recipe?

Regards,

Martin

Martin, I am not sure of the scientific answer to this but this is what I do; take a whiff of the oil in the bottle. If it is very pungent/strong, I heat it and cool it. If it smells mild, a I use it as it is. In my experience the darker the colour and more viscous the oil, stronger it is, generally.

While talking about chilli pickles, I learnt a new thing this week; my SIL had some spice mix left at the bottom of her large mango pickle jar. What she did was this; she prepared the chillies-washed, dried and slit them on the sides. Then put the spice mix from the jar in a wok, heated it through and added the chillies to it. Stir fried for 5-6 minutes on hot. The pickle was ready to eat. She put it in a jar as soon as it was cool. With a lot of people eating it here, it only lasted a week or so, but was was delicious. I will write it down later on.

I expect you could do this with other left over pickle spices too.

That is an interesting way to make pickle. I wonder how long it would have lasted if not devoured so quickly?

If I need to buy a Kilo of fresh green chillies and dry them to the point of being dry & crackly, why shouldn't I take the easy route and buy dried red chillies and do the same recipe with about a half (?) the weight of fresh chillies?

Interested & keen as ever,

Martin

PS I made this pickle last weekend. The pickle is sunning itself on a window ledge. However, I dried the chillies & ginger until they were semi dried and fairly flaccid. Will my pickle have much of a shelf life?

Martin

I don't see why not

Hi Mamta,

I've had some feedback about the pickle recipe which you might be interested in:

1. The blend between the mustard seeds and the mustard oil wants to be balanced.

The yellow mustard seeds, the black mustard seeds and the mustard oil need to be balanced.

The verdict on this recipe from people I've given it to is that it is great. Some wanted the recipe and of course I was happy to direct them to your website.

Thanks,

Martin

Hello Martin

I am glad that your friends liked this recipe. I will let the lady whose recipe it is, know. She is now 94, not in too good a health and am sure will be happy to hear about people liking it.

I don't follow the comment in your preceding post

"1. The blend between the mustard seeds and the mustard oil wants to be balanced.

The yellow mustard seeds, the black mustard seeds and the mustard oil need to be balanced. "

It comes out very good every time I make it.

Mamta