Oil less garlic pickles

Garlic pickles:

Ingredients : 

1 Garlic 200g

2. Tamarind the size of a small lime 2 cm dia.

3 Dry chilles (long type) 12 to 15

4 Mustard  2 ½   tsp

5. Fenugreek  ¾  tsp

6  . Turmeric powder less than ½ tsp

7. Hing powder about 4 pinches.

 8 Salt – about 1 tsp (scoopfull) Actual quantity will be subject to taste.

(one or two green chillies cut in to small pieces is optional)

Method .

Garlic to be split in to individual pearls poured in to the kadai (வாணலி) with boiling water enough to immerse all the pearls fully and let it boil for not more than a minute and then allowed to cool. After that the it can be peeled and kept .

The tamarind ball is to be dissolved a cup of water and filtered through fingers to remove shells and un-dissolved particles and kept ready

The chillies, 2 tsp of mustard (1/2 tsp for seasoning) and fenugreek are to be dry roasted (without oil) –each of them separately -in a very low flame. After the roasted materials are cooled they can be ground together in a mixie.

Now put the kadai on stove without oil and pour the ½ tsp and then light the burner.  (very low flame ) . The moment it starts crackling pour  a little water to avoid the mustard becoming burnt.

Then add the garlic pearls  , add the turmeric powder and  mix it thoroughly.Soon after pour the powder from the mixie and turn it well . Add the tamarind extract and slowly raise the flame. If water is too less to cook ,the tamarind add enough water just to ensure smooth cooking. When the raw smell/taste of tamarind disappears add a portion of the salt ( the rest can be added based tasting later). Now you can taste the gravy and decide if more of chillies or salt is to be added and add accordingly. Dry chillie powder can be added if anyone wants it more hot.

Over heating is to be avoided.  The hing can be added just before stopping the fire and mix it well. The contents are to be cooled and transferred to clean vessel after preheating it both outside and inside to sterilize it. The spoon put in is also to be preheated on naked flame to sterilize it.

Similarly we can make pickles from tomatoes. Tomatoes  are to be cut in to very small pieces and added to kadai after mustard has crackled. No blanching.

Goose berry,  is to be washed and cut to small pieces and seeds removed, No blanching. Instead of tamarind extract lime juice (about 2 tsp can be added at the end before adding hing.

If you choose to add the green chilles it can be added at the beginning along with tomatoes or goose berries.
The combination of chilli,mustard fenugreek powder can be used to prepare vegetable curry as well relacing the usual sambar podi.