Vadu Manga Pickle

Nothing has made me this happy in a long time - I made my very first pickle, and that too my favourite - and it turned out all right! Thanks to Satya Sadasivan, who shared this super-simple Kerala Tamil Iyer recipe for tender mango pickle with me, answered all my many questions, and guided me through the whole process with a lot of patience. :) 

You get these baby mangoes only in summer, in some of the older markets. So March-April is a good time. I just about managed to get the last ones from Malleswaram 8th Main market in Bangalore. Make sure they look freshly plucked and not picked from the ground - those may go bad. I bought 3 kilos - they fitted into those two jars in the picture.

Things you will need, other than ingredients:

• A big towel to dry the mangoes on.
• A measuring cup for the mangoes and later spices. I just used a big coffee mug.
• A plastic bucket with lid to soak the mangoes in salt
• A wooden ladle to stir
• Glass jars or the bharanis like I have used, see picture - I got them from a footpath shop that sells flower pots and stuff.

Important: Everything that you use for this recipe has to be dry - no moisture anywhere - on the mangoes or any of the utensils and vessels. So before you start on each step, ensure all utensils are completely dry - including the mixie jar you grind the mustard seeds in. :)

 
Ingredients 

It has no oil, can you beat that? :)

• Tender mangoes, 5 cups - choose any measure, I chose a big coffee mug. I bought 3 kilos and that came up to 5 cups for me. Any measure is okay, you just need to adjust the other ingredients accordingly.
• Salt, 1 cup
• Red chilly powder, 1 cup
• Dry-roasted and powdered mustard, 3/4th cup

So the ratio is: For each 5 measures of mango, add 1 measure salt, 1 measure chilly powder, 3/4th measure mustard powder. That's it. :)

Process

1. Wash mangoes.
2. Now dry each mango with a towel one by one. Then spread them out on a towel on a table and leave them under the fan overnight, so all traces of moisture are gone.
3. Once you are sure they are dry, check again and throw off any mangos that don't look good. One single bad mango could spoil the whole pickle.
4. Now measure the mangoes in your cup and add them to the dry bucket. My 3 kilos fitted into 5 cups, heaped.
5. For each 5 measures of mango, add 1 measure of salt. I used regular salt. Mix well with the dry wooden ladle.
6. Close the lid and leave for 7 days. Open and stir with the dry ladle twice a day. Water starts coming out of the mango by the third day.The mangoes would have started to shrink and shrivel.
7. On the 8th day,  add one measure red chilly powder and 3/4th measure mustard powder for each 5 cups of mango. Mix well.
8. Now transfer to a glass jar or porcelain jar like in the photo.
9. Close with lid, wrap a cloth around and tie tightly. Leave for another week. The mangoes should have become softer. Your pickle is ready. :)

 

 

Note: I have been greedy and already ate one, it's not yet a week. :)  It tasted nice and crisp and salty-yummy.