Home recipe to make red chili pickle

Chilli has several medicinal uses. It is believed that chilli helps in bile and blood formation. For Cholera patients, it is considered to eliminate worms in the intestine.

Chilli is also believed to destroy phlegm and provide relief from pain. It has other medicinal uses in diarrhea and flatulence.

Both green and red chilli are used to make variety of pickles. In stuffed pickles, ingredients are filled inside the chilli while other types of pickle are prepared after chilli is cut either in fine or small pieces.

Here procedure is detailed about the sweet red chilli pickle. It can be used along with breakfast, lunch and dinner dishes

Ingredients: 

Quantity of different ingredients shown blow is required to make 500 g red Chilli (big size) sweet achar (Khatta- Meetha):

       Red Chilli ( Lal Mircha, big size): 500 g

       Garlic (Lahsun)  150 g

       Tamarind (Imli ): 50 g

       Yellow mustard (Sarson): 50 g

       Fenugreek seeds (Methi): 2 teaspoonfull

       Vinegar (Sirka) : 1 cup 200 g (used to soak imli & methi)

       Sugar: 50 g 

       Mustard oil: 100 ml 

       Salt as per taste

       Turmeric (Haldi ) powder: tea spoon

       Black Indian Salt (Kala namak ):teaspoon

       Curry leaf (Kari Patta/Meetha Neem Patta)

       Preparation of material:

       Cut the red chilli into small pieces.

       Soak tamarind and mustard (sarson) overnight in vinegar

       Grind coarsely the fenugreek seeds

       Remove the seeds of tamarind and mesh it.

Procedure:

o    Heat mustard oil in a pan for a minute.

o     Add all the ingredients, mix well and heat for five minutes

o    Allow it to cool for 15-20 minutes and fill in the clean glass jar. now ready for use. However, it is always better to use it after 1 or 2 days.

Home recipe to make green chili pickle (Hari Mirch Ka Achar)

Pickles are considered as taste changers. After experiencing an attack of cold, or recovering from a long illness, patients find pickles as a great help since prolong use of medicines and antibiotics leave a bad taste in their mouth. USDA is cited by CNN site to report that average American annually eats about 8.5 pounds of pickles.

Pickles are used in almost all the households in India and neighboring countries of South Asia and common pickles in the subcontinent include mango, chilli, mixed and yam pickle. Capsicum annum belongs to Solanaceae family and it is grown for vegetables, spices, condiments, sauces, pickles etc. Chillies are known from pre-historic times in Peru and beleived to be originated from America.An alkaloid, capsaicin, attributes pungency to the chilli.

Chilli is a good source of protein, minerals and fiber. Calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and oxalic acid are found in abundance in the green chillies. Chillies are rich in Vitamin A & C. Riboflavin and thiamine are also present in chillies. Sulphur is found in good quantities and sodium, potassium and copper are also present in small quantities.

The process is illustrated with suitable photographs stepwise. 

·         Cut green chillies into thin slices lengthwise (preferably 2 pieces of each

·         Add the turmeric powder 1-2 tablespoonful as per your taste

·         Add mustard and fenugreek seeds in the quantities shown in ingredients

·         Add 1 or 2 tablespoonful red chilli powder

·         Add dried mango powder and mix it by stirring

      
      ·         Add one cup salt and mix it well

·         Add the cumin powder

·         Add mustard oil and vinegar and stir with spoon

Fill the pickle in a jar and pickle is ready to serve.

Step I: slicing the chilli and mixing with spices

Step II: Mixing mustard oil and vinegar

Species of chilli used for pickles

Many species of chilli are used for making pickles. Green chilli, red chilli and Shimla mirch etc. are used for preparing chilli pickle. Chilli is hot in taste and eaten either as raw or cooked for its hot flavor.

Chilli or peppers are used to make variety of sauces and chilli pickles. There are several superstitions associated with the use of chilli. It is used along with lemon to ward off evil spirits from home.

From nutritional view point, red chili are rich source of vitamin C and carotene. On the other hand, yellow and green chillis contain a considerably lower amount of both these substances.

Peppers contain fair amount of most of the B vitamins, potassium, magnesium and iron. Green chilli pickle is served along with other Indian dishes and can be easily prepared at home.

Top Pickle Brands: American Garden (US) Fragata (UK) Olicoop (Spain) Verdu Canto (Spain) Italian Sacla (Italy) Jamie Oliver (UK) Goldyna (Australia) Priya (India) Nilon's (India) Ruchi (India)

Home recipe to make mixed fruit jam and orange fruit squash

Although fruit jam is liked by all age group, fruit jam spread over bread is most liked by children. Process of making jam at home is very simple. Mixed fruit jam is less expensive to prepare since some of the seasonal fruits may be used for its preparation. Good quality, fresh and juicy fruits are easily available during their fruiting season. Apple, grapes, peaches, plums, mangoes, strawberries and apricots are commonly used fruits to make jams. 

Mixed Fruit Jam:  It is prepared using pulp of apples, papaya, banana, pineapple, oranges, grapes, guava and other locally available fruits during the season.  One or two pieces (units) of large sized fruits such as papaya, banana and oranges etc. and about 300-400 g of grapes of black and green color are used. All fruits should be fully ripe and have less fiber for jam making. They should possess good color and aroma. 

Adding too many bananas may spoil the taste.  Wash fruits thoroughly and remove seeds, skin, core and other non-desired parts.  Cook grapes and guava pieces separately in a thick bottomed vessel with a little water.  Mash, sieve and filter to remove seeds and keep the pulp aside.

Remove skin and seeds of oranges and cut all fruits into fairly large pieces. Put them in a thick bottomed vessel with a little water and cook for 8-10 minutes.

Mash all fruits to form even consistency pulp and sieve to re\u00acmove skin, seeds etc.

Mix guava, grapes and other fruit pulp together. The black grapes are used to provide the pulp a deep pink color. (If your liking is for deep red color, add a little raspberry red color).

Process: Sugar and pulp are used in 1:1 ratio. Add one cup of sugar for one cup of pulp. Cook the mixture on a slow fire, stirring regularly to ensure that the bottom does not scald or burn so that the Jam does not boil. When jam is nearly thick, add 2 g citric acid or two spoons lime juice per kg of pulp. Citric acid should be added only after cooking the pulp for some time. Cook till jam reaches thick consistency. Remove from fire and add a pinch of potassium meta bisulphate ( preservative) and mix it well. 

Orange Squash:  With the onset of summer, desire grows for some kind of cold drinks. However, health conscious people avoid use of cold drinks for fear of adulteration in these drinks. Testing of different brands of cold drinks has shown either contamination of these drinks with chemicals harmful to human health or unhygienic water used in preparation of these drinks. Under these circumstances best idea is to prepare squash at home using juices of different fruits.

Home Made Orange Squash:  The ingredients needed to prepare orange squash are listed below.

1. Orange fruit juice: a cup of orange juice

2. Sugar: One and half times more quantity than the orange juice i.e. 1+1/2 cup of sugar 

3. Approx. one teaspoon or less water

4. Preservative: One pinch KMS for 1 liter of finish product

Method of preparation: Extract the juice of fully ripe oranges and remove the fiber and seeds from the fruits. Mix the required proportions of water, sugar and citric acid and heat it on slow fire and keep it stirring till the sugar dissolves.After doing the needful take it away from fire and filter the syrup; cool it to 25 to 28 0C temperature and mix sugar syrup, fruit juice, color, essence and preservative. Now your Orange squash is ready to fill in the bottles and for storage. 

Squash can be prepared using different fruit juice. No color or essence is used for Mango squash. Quantity of sugar should be adjusted according to taste and kind of fruit juice used. Citric acid is not needed for preparing lime squash.

Home recipe to make the Yam or Jimikand Pickle (Ool ka Achar )

Jimikand(Elephant foot, Indian Yam) is cultivated all over the India for consumption of its tuber(corm) mainly as a vegetable. It is also known by various other names in different parts of country such as Jimi Kand in North India; Ool in eastern parts of Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar; Suran or Sooran in Gujarat and Maharashtra; Suwarnagatti in Karnataka; Karnai Kilangu in Tamil Nadu; and Kand in Andhra Pradesh. 

Ool or Jimi Kand is scientifically known as  Amorphophallus campanulatus  (syn.  Arum campanulatus).  Yam (Jimikand) is believed to have numerous medicinal uses. It is believed that wild yam is useful in treating problems of menstrual cramp, nausea, morning sickness, inflammation, osteoporosis, muscle spasms and childbirth. However, several studies carried out to gather supporting evidences to validate its usefulness in treatment of above indications failed to produce expected results.  

Tribes of Chhattisgarh and Santhal Pargana (Jharkhand) use corms of Jimi Kand or Ool for treatment of Piles. However, patients having leprosy and leucoderma are advised to avoid use of Jimi Kand. Jimi Kand or Ool is also used for making pickle and is so tasty that it is difficult to omit from the dish after tasted once.  It may be served like other pickles with Parontha. Interesting part is short time required for preparing Jimikand pickle at home. It does not require many ingredients or cooking as common for other pickles.  

Ingredients &  Materials 

500 g Ool or Jimi Kand,   

25 g ginger,

25 g green chili, 

250 ml mustard oil,

Turmeric powder (one teaspoonful),

Salt as per taste,

Mortar &pastel,

Grater

Method

The process of making Jimikand pickle is illustrated stepwise with suitable photographs. 

- Wash Jimikand, dry on a towel and grate into small pieces Use hand gloves for grating and squeezing grated Jimikand to avoid contact with skin 

- Squeeze grated Jimikand with both hands and remove the water to the extent possible  

- Cut green chilies into small pieces

- Peel the thin skin (membrane) cover of garlic

- Grate garlic and ginger separately, grinding is not favored

- Add garlic, ginger and chilies to Jimikand and mix all the ingredients thoroughly

- Add the turmeric powder 1-2 tablespoonful as per your taste

- Add mustard oil in the quantities shown in ingredients and stir with spoon 

- Add salt as per individual taste

- Fill the pickle in a jar

 - Pickle is ready to serve with chapatti or  parantha