This fiery but addictive Kanthari Chilli Pickle is the result of a trip to Kerala. Those red and green little firebombs in the local vegetable kada (shop) were irresistible; I just had to get my hands on some. Kanthari chillies are Kerala’s bird’s-eye chilies – tiny with a boatload of heat! They came together beautifully with fat and juicy cloves of garlic in this hot, sweet and tangy pickle.
How to prepare the chillies and garlic
The first step in making the Kanthari Chilli Pickle is to wash the chillies in a few changes of water to remove any grit, dry leaves etc. You may remove the stalks if you wish, I prefer to keep them. Spread the chillies out on a large kitchen towel or on newspaper sheets to air dry. Make sure there’s no clumping which may trap water. They may take a few hours to dry; keep them overnight if you need to.
Do the same with a handful of curry leaves after you sort them to remove any damaged or yellowing leaves.
Peel the garlic cloves and wipe with a kitchen towel. Then slice them lengthwise in half. I used large,corpulent cloves because they’re more juicy and sweet rather than pungent. But whichever type you go for, they will turn soft and sweet once cooked. I love garlic so I was generous with them, you can add them according to your preference. They should be crisp, fresh and plump and not old and shrivelled.
How to make Kanthari Chilli Pickle
- This pickle is cooked on the stove and doesn’t need more than 20 – 25 minutes. So have all the ingredients ready before you begin.
- Til / gingelly / black sesame oil gives the Kanthari Chilli Pickle a more authentic flavour. I used cold-pressed black sesame oil (different from the toasted sesame oil used in East Asian recipes). Alternatively, you could go with any neutral-tasting vegetable oil of your choice.
- I recommend taking the trouble to soak dried tamarind and extracting pulp for this recipe. Bottled tamarind pulp, I find,lacks the sharp sourness needed for pickles.
- Cook the pickle on a medium flame. Don’t be tempted to turn your flame too high. It might burn the tamarind-spice-jaggery masala base and make it too dry. You need a thick, saucy, coating consistency that will envelope the chillies and garlic in a hot, sweet and tangy embrace.
- Bottle the cooled pickle in a clean, dry jar and allow it to cure and meld for 2-3 days before you dig in. In hot weather, store it in the fridge or heat about 200 ml gingelly oil to smoking, cool and pour over the pickle, if you want to store it at room temperature.
This is an easy recipe that gives you mouth-watering hot and tangy Kanthari Chilli Pickle that goes perfectly with curd rice or even just dal and rice. Try it.
Kanthari Chilli Pickle
Ingredients
- 200 g Kanthari (bird's eye) chillies, washed and dried
- 20 fat cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced lengthwise into two
- a handful of fresh curry leaves, washed and dried
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and sliced into thin strips
- 1 largish sized ball of tamarind soaked in 150 ml warm water and thick pulp extracted
- 3 tbsp cold pressed til / gingelly / black sesame oil
- 1¼ tsp black mustard seeds
- ¼ tsp methi / fenugreek seeds
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
- ½ tsp hing / asafoetida powder
- ½ tsp methi / fenugreek powder
- 2 tbsp jaggery, powdered
- 1 tbsp white vinegar
Instructions
- Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan on medium flame and gently fry the chillies for 3-4 mins. Remove and set aside
- Heat the remaining oil in the same pan and crackle the fenugreek and mustard seeds followed by the hing (asafoetida). Take care not to burn the fenugreek seeds. Toss in the ginger, garlic and curry leaves and sauté for a couple of mins till the garlic is lightly golden.
- Now keeping the flame low to medium, add the ground turmeric, chilli and fenugreek . Cook the dry spices for 10-15 seconds and pour in the tamarind pulp. Bring this to a simmer and add the chillies and salt. Cook till the raw taste of tamarind disappears and mixture has thickened to a saucy consistency.
- Mix in the jaggery and cook for a couple of minutes more. Check and correct the seasoning if needed, pour in the vinegar, mix well and turn off the heat.
- Cool he pickle before bottling. let it sit at room temperature for 2-3 days before eating. This will help the pickle to cure and develop in flavour. Store in a refrigerator.