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otatop

Joined: 01 Jun 2005
Posts: 1425
Location: North London

Posted: Wed Nov 04, 15 12:13 pm Post subject: chillies
Does anyone have a good Indian type chilli pickle recipe that will keep well? I have a couple of lbs that need using up.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46313
Location: yes

Posted: Wed Nov 04, 15 1:26 pm Post subject:

i make a hot garam which might adapt but for a whole chilli pickle

wash chillis,put in jars with whole black pepper,garlic cloves,cinamon stick,cumin seed,coriander seed,sliced root ginger,salt

boil cider vinegar and cover chillis.lid.will store cool until opened then keep in fridge several months.

the hot garam (basic recipe other spices can be added but avoid garlic as it goes off in flavour after a couple of years)

equal volumes of dried whitebait and fresh chillis the more varieties the better but plenty of super hot like nagas scotch bonnets etc ,blend to paste,add salt whole peppercorns cover in boiling vinegar.lid ,keep 12 months,top up vinegar as fish absorb liquid.

blend again,re jar,store at least 2 yrs topping up vinegar if necessary.

improves over a couple of years then starts losing flavour.

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45695
Location: Essex

Posted: Wed Nov 04, 15 1:36 pm Post subject:

Chilli Achar

None of the recipes I can find online are like my mum's, unfortunately she's dead so I can't check with her but this is what I remember:

Chillies
Salt (plenty of)
Fennel Seed
Mustard Seed
cumin seed

Throw the chillies into a jar with the salt, enough to see that all the chillies have visible salt on them. After a few days of occasional shaking (vigorous) the salt will have extracted quite a lot of water at the bottom of the jar, pour this away. Leave for another couple of days to ensure all water is removed, drain thoroughly in a colander (maybe leave draining for a couple of hours).

Put back into a clean, dry jar with the spices (above is a basic mix, you can add all sorts of stuff) shake vigorously every few hours for a day or so and then cover with a veg oil.

Some people like to start using straight away, others leave to mature for anything from a few months to the following year. As time goes by the chillies will become mushier and the flavours will merge.

Mum used to use a mix of mustard oil (not recommended, a known carcinogen and illegal to sell for human consumption in the UK) and olive oil, but pretty much any veg oil will do.

If your pickle goes mouldy the either you didn't use enough salt, or didn't extract enough moisture.

Chilli achar fresh
You can do a completely different achar using the same ingredients that doesn't require you to (in effect) brine with just the addition of lemon juice:

Bung all your ingredients in a jar with lemon juice (I guess probably 1 lemon per pound of chillies), shake, leave to marinade for a few hours (overnight maybe) then add oil.

This will not keep for very long.

OtleyLad

Joined: 13 Jan 2007
Posts: 2737
Location: Otley, West Yorkshire

Posted: Thu Nov 05, 15 6:45 am Post subject: Re: chillies

otatop wrote:

Does anyone have a good Indian type chilli pickle recipe that will keep well? I have a couple of lbs that need using up.

Rinse off the chillis and put them whole in the freezer - they last for a very long time and keep their flavour/power too.

sgt.colon

Joined: 27 Jul 2009
Posts: 7380
Location: Just south of north.

Posted: Thu Nov 05, 15 10:56 am Post subject:
I like the sound of your Chilli Achar, Tahir. I'll be giving that a go.

otatop

Joined: 01 Jun 2005
Posts: 1425
Location: North London

Posted: Thu Nov 05, 15 12:44 pm Post subject:

Thanks all. I lost the recipe for a great chilli pickle that I made a couple of years ago and was going to try to re-create it from memory, but Tahir's is very similar - so I'll follow that. I bought some mustard oil yesterday (small print on label said 'external use only' but I think they have to say that in order to export). I was thinking of using it 1 part to 4 with veg oil.

Interestingly, they were cooking with mustard oil on The Food Programme this week and didn't seem to be at all worried - although dripping won the taste trial.

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45695
Location: Essex

Posted: Thu Nov 05, 15 12:50 pm Post subject:

otatop wrote:

I bought some mustard oil yesterday (small print on label said 'external use only' but I think they have to say that in order to export). I was thinking of using it 1 part to 4 with veg oil.

I was amazed when I first found out, as my mum had always used it. There's plenty of research that say's it's unsafe so I wouldn't use it, just (very) lightly toast and crush the mustard seeds that you use in the pickle and you'll get all the flavour with (I assume) no risk to your health.

Nick

Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 34535
Location: Hereford

Posted: Thu Nov 05, 15 1:14 pm Post subject:

tahir wrote:

otatop wrote:

I bought some mustard oil yesterday (small print on label said 'external use only' but I think they have to say that in order to export). I was thinking of using it 1 part to 4 with veg oil.

Really?

https://www.schwartz.co.uk/products/herbs-and-spices/spices/mustard-seed These?

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45695
Location: Essex

Posted: Thu Nov 05, 15 1:23 pm Post subject:

Nick wrote:

Really?

https://www.schwartz.co.uk/products/herbs-and-spices/spices/mustard-seed These?

Really what? As far as I know mustard seeds are safe, it's something to do with the way the oil is extracted that makes the oil risky.

It was a few years ago but there was plenty of stuff out there about it, and even though all ethnic shops sell mustard seed oil next to all the other veg oils it is labelled "not for internal consumption" or similar.

Nick

Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 34535
Location: Hereford

Posted: Thu Nov 05, 15 1:34 pm Post subject:
Oh. Didn't know that.

Pilsbury

Joined: 13 Dec 2004
Posts: 5645
Location: East london/Essex

Posted: Thu Nov 05, 15 5:47 pm Post subject:
Tahir, I your recipe post you have 'mustard seeds (not reccomended) ' I think you ment mustard oil, it would make more sense

otatop

Joined: 01 Jun 2005
Posts: 1425
Location: North London

Posted: Thu Nov 05, 15 6:00 pm Post subject:
I'm inclined to think that, in moderation, mustard oil is ok. It's so strongly flavoured that you wouldn't want to use too much anyway. And after all, not so very long ago we were told that animal fats were the food of the devil, and that we should all be eating odd 'spreads' with iffy ingredients. Butter and/or dripping for me every time!

otatop

Joined: 01 Jun 2005
Posts: 1425
Location: North London

Posted: Thu Nov 05, 15 6:12 pm Post subject:
Incidentally, did anyone listen to The Food Programme? About oils and fats. Very interesting.

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45695
Location: Essex

Posted: Thu Nov 05, 15 6:38 pm Post subject:

otatop wrote:

I'm inclined to think that, in moderation, mustard oil is ok. It's so strongly flavoured that you wouldn't want to use too much anyway. And after all, not so very long ago we were told that animal fats were the food of the devil, and that we should all be eating odd 'spreads' with iffy ingredients.
Butter and/or dripping for me every time!

I'm with you all the way, we don't do artificial sweeteners or low aft anything but trust me, there's a reason why they have to mark mustard seed oil as "not for human consumption"

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45695
Location: Essex

Posted: Thu Nov 05, 15 6:41 pm Post subject:
Although I can't find anything now that says so, and I'm sure I've eaten plenty of it in my life... However as explained above the flavour can be replaced by toasted crushed mustard seed so why take the risk?

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