Instant Red Chilli Pickle

by Shirleen Sawkmie, Tura, Meghalaya

A Family Recipe

Some recipes are born out of elaborate planning and slow preparation.

And then there are recipes like this one — quick, practical and made lovingly in the middle of busy everyday life.

This instant red chilli pickle has been a part of our family for years, carrying with it memories of my late mother and the warmth of a home where food was always made with love, even when time was short.

My mother worked for the government at a time when most women around her were full-time homemakers. Life for her was busy, demanding and constantly moving between work and family responsibilities. She rarely had the luxury of spending days making traditional pickles that needed endless sunning and preparation.

So she created recipes that were quick, delicious and easy to put together with ingredients always available at home.

And this instant red chilli pickle became one of those treasured family favourites.

Sharp, spicy, tangy and full of flavour, it would be made quickly and stored away in bottles, ready to brighten up any simple meal. Over time, it became a recipe shared and loved by all of us siblings — one of those familiar tastes that instantly brings back memories of home.

What I love most about this pickle is that despite being so simple and quick, it carries the boldness and warmth of traditional homemade achars.

And perhaps that is what family recipes truly are — not perfection, but love preserved in flavour.

So here is our family’s instant red chilli pickle recipe.

Ingredients

• 100 ml mustard oil
  (approximately 10 tbsp)
• 1 tbsp panch phoran seeds (panch puran gota)
• 2–3 tbsp powdered panch phoran
• 10 very small onions
  (or 5 onions halved)
• 20 large red chillies, cut into ½-inch rounds
• 2–3 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
• 3 tomatoes, peeled and each cut into 8 quarters
• ½ cup lemon juice
• Salt, to taste

Method

1. Heat the mustard oil in a heavy-bottomed pan.
2. Add the whole panch phoran seeds and allow them to crackle gently.
3. Add the chopped red chillies and sauté on medium flame until they begin to shine and soften slightly.
4. Add the powdered panch phoran, salt and Kashmiri red chilli powder. Mix well and cook for another minute so the spices blend beautifully.
5. Add the tomato quarters and onions.
6. Cover the pan and cook for a short while until the chillies soften.
7. The tomatoes and onions should become soft but still remain whole and hold their shape.
8. Switch off the flame and allow the pickle mixture to cool completely.
9. Once cooled, pour the lemon juice all over and mix gently.
10. Transfer into a clean bottle or glass jar and refrigerate.

The instant pickle is ready to enjoy.

Tip

If lemon juice is unavailable, you can replace it with about 3 tablespoons of vinegar.

This pickle may not belong to any one particular region.

But like so many family recipes, it belongs deeply to memories, to busy mothers, to shared meals and to the comforting flavours that quietly stay with us for a lifetime.