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Pandu mirapakaya pachadi
Ripe red chilli pickle
పండు మిరపకాయ పచ్చడి: fresh ripe Guntur chillies pounded with tamarind and salt, finished with a hot mustard-hing tadka
Guntur is chilli country, and when the fields turn red between January and March, Andhra kitchens buy fresh, fully ripe red chillies by the kilo for this pachadi. The chillies are chopped, salted and packed with tamarind for two days, then ground coarse with roasted fenugreek and sealed under a tempering of gingelly oil, mustard and hing. The result is brick red, fiery and fruity rather than smoky, with a sour backbone from the tamarind and a faint bitterness from the methi. A teaspoon is mashed into hot rice with a spoon of ghee or sesame oil, and it is just as good beside idli, dosa or pesarattu. The big mistake is washing the chillies and grinding them while still damp: water is what makes this pachadi spoil, so wipe them dry and leave them on a cloth for a few hours. It is ready when the paste is thick and glossy and the oil pools on top. Salt here is high on purpose, about 12 g for every 100 g of chillies, and the tamarind makes it acidic; even so, keep it in the fridge, where it lasts up to 6 months. Chef's tip: mix in a few Byadgi or Kashmiri chillies with the hot Guntur ones for a deeper red without extra fire.
- Total time
- 60 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 24
Ingredients
For the chilli paste
- 1 ⅛ lb fresh ripe red chilliesGuntur or any fleshy red chilli; mix in some Kashmiri or Byadgi for colour, or use red Fresno chillies abroad
- 3 ½ oz seedless tamarindpulled into small pieces, fibres and seeds removed
- 2 ⅛ oz coarse saltabout 12 g per 100 g of chillies
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tbsp fenugreek seeds
For the tempering
- ½ cup gingelly (sesame) oil
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp urad dal
- 3 dried red chilliesbroken
- ½ tsp gluten-free asafoetida
- 8 garlic cloves (optional)peeled and lightly crushed; the pachadi must then stay in the fridge
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Method
0/9 doneStep 1: Prepare the jar: wash jar and lid in hot soapy water, rinse well, then stand the jar upside down in a 250°F oven for 10 minutes (or boil jar and lid for 10 minutes and let them dry upside down). Let it cool completely; jar, lid, bowls and spoons must be bone dry, because a single drop of water is the usual reason a pickle goes mouldy.
Step 2: Wipe each of the 1 ⅛ lb fresh ripe red chillies with a dry cloth (wash only if dusty, then dry for at least 3 hours on a towel). Pull off the stalks and chop into 2 cm pieces; keep the seeds. Wear gloves.
15 minStep 3: In a dry steel or glass bowl, mix the chopped chillies with 3 ½ oz seedless tamarind, 2 ⅛ oz coarse salt and 1 tsp ground turmeric. Pack into the dry jar, press down, cover and leave at cool room temperature for 2 days, stirring once a day with a dry spoon. The chillies soften and release a red, salty juice that wets the tamarind.
Step 4: Dry-roast 1 tbsp fenugreek seeds in a small pan over a medium-low heat, shaking, until it turns a shade darker and smells like maple, about 2 minutes. Cool and grind to a powder.
3 minStep 5: Grind the chilli-tamarind mix to a coarse paste in a dry grinder jar in short pulses, without any water. Some flecks of skin and seed should remain. Stir in the fenugreek powder.
8 minStep 6: For the tempering, heat ½ cup gingelly (sesame) oil in a small pan over a medium heat until it shimmers. Add 1 tsp mustard seeds; when it crackles, add 1 tsp urad dal and 3 dried red chillies and stir until the dal is golden, about 1 minute. If using 8 garlic cloves, add it now and fry 1 minute until pale gold.
4 minStep 7: Turn off the heat and stir in ½ tsp gluten-free asafoetida; it should foam briefly. Let the tempering cool completely, about 20 minutes.
2 minStep 8: Pour the cold tempering over the chilli paste and mix with a dry spoon. Spoon into the clean jar and smooth the top; a thin layer of oil should sit over the paste. Top up with a little extra sesame oil if needed.
Step 9: Leave 1 day for the flavours to settle, then keep in the fridge for up to 6 months, using a clean dry spoon every time. Throw it away if you see fuzzy mould, it fizzes or smells rotten, the texture turns slimy, or the lid bulges.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 44 kcal
- Protein
- 1 g
- Carbs
- 5 g
- Fat
- 4 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does pandu mirapakaya pachadi take?
- About 60 minutes in total: 50 minutes to prepare and 10 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 24 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Is it very spicy?
- It has some heat. Use less chilli for a milder version, or more if you like it hot.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of ground turmeric?
- Leave it out (it mostly adds colour).
- What can I use instead of fenugreek seeds?
- Leave them out, or add a little extra mustard seed (you lose the slightly bitter, maple-like note).
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