GARLIC AAVAKAYA

A simple, tasty and healthy aavakaya..........yes..........Many say Aavakaya is not good for health, but this special aavakaya is made with healthy ingredient garlic. Garlic is a natural antibiotic, controls blood sugars, decreases blood pressure, good for heart, used as antiseptic and the list goes on and on. Eating garlic everyday keeps you away from health disorders. So why eat it as a medicine, enjoy the taste of garlic with this aavakaya. Having this in rainy and winter seasons helps  the immune system to fight against common cold and cough which are common during these seasons.

INGREDIENTS

Garlic cloves                2 cups
Salt                              2 Tsp
Chilly powder              2 Tsp
Oil                               3/4 cup
Mustard powder           1+1/2 Tsp
Fenugreek powder       1/2 Tsp
Tamarind pulp              2 Tsp

PROCEDURE

Heat oil in a pan and add the garlic cloves. Fry for few seconds. The cloves should not change color or become soft. The cloves should remain hard.
Remove from the oil and let cool.
Boil tamarind in water and extract the pulp. You can also use ready to use pulp.
Once the oil is cooled add the salt, chilly powder, mustard powder and fenugreek powder, tamarind pulp.
Now add the garlic cloves in the mixture.
Let it sit for a whole day.
Now the oil comes to the top and the garlic will absorb all the spices.
Have it with hot steaming rice.  

CAULIFLOWER AAVAKAYA

A delicious aavakaya which can be made throughout the year. Crunchy cauliflower pieces in hot and spicy powder mix makes you crave for more. You can make it for any small party or function.
INGREDIENTS

• Cauliflower florets                2 cups 
• Salt                                         1 Tsp.
• Red chilly powder                2 Tsp.
• Paprika                                  1 Tsp.
• Gingilly oil                            4 Tsp.
• Garlic cloves                         10
• Lemon juice                           2 Tsp.
• Mustard powder                  1 Tsp.
• Fenugreek seeds                  1 tsp.

PROCEDURE
Remove the cauliflower florets. Make them into bite size pieces.
Wash and past them dry with a towel. Dry them in shade so that there are no traces of moisture.
In a bowl add the salt, chilly powder, paprika, mustard powder, fenugreek seeds. Mix well. Add the cauliflower pieces.
Mix till the powder coats all the pieces.
Now add the oil, garlic cloves, lemon juice.
Mix well and keep it in a jar.
Leave for a couple of days on your counter top.
Keep mixing morning and evening.
The third day you will find oil floating on the top of the pickle.
The pickle is ready to have with rice or any tiffin.
TIPS

• Some fry the cauliflower florets, but this makes the cauliflower very soft and the crunch is lost. So do not fry the pieces. I assure, the pickle tastes very yummy even without frying the pieces.
• Adjust the salt and chilly powder the second day.
• Immediately after mixing all the ingredients, the pickle will be dry, but the pickle oozes out liquid once pickled for a couple of hours.
• Use gingilly oil for best taste.

DOSA AAVAKAYA

Next to the mango aavakaya, Dosa aavakaya is another famous traditional delicacy from Andhra. Unlike the traditional mango aavakaya which is pickled for year long this dosa aavakaya can be stored for 1-2 months only, but the taste will be so awesome  and tempting that it will be completed in days. The  deseeded cucumber pieces with the skins on  are combined with the salt, red chilly powder, mustard powder and oil to make a Ghatu Ghatu dosa aavakaya. The skin on the cucumber keeps the pieces crisp for a longer time and the skin is lightly tart which when absorbs the mustard and oil gives a great taste to the dish.   
INGREDIENTS

• Yellow cucumber( dosakaya)             1 large
• Salt                                                    1+1/2 Tsp
• Red chilly powder                              2 Tsp
• Mustard powder                                1/4 Tsp
• Oil                                                      1/4 cup
• Turmeric                                            1/2 tsp

PROCEDURE
Wash and wipe the cucumber. Now remove the seeds and cut it into small pieces. Retain the skin as the pieces remain crunchy for a longer time if the skin is retained.(Note: Here I removed the skin)

Now add the remaining ingredients one after other into the pieces and mix well. The mixture looks like the below figure.

Cover the mixture with a lid and keep it aside for 1 day in a dark and dry place. By the next day you see the oil coming to the top of the bowl. Now the yummy dosa aavakaya is ready to have with hot rice and a spoonful of ghee.
Adjust the salt and chilly powder and store for a month.
TIPS

• If you do not have the mustard powder, dry roast the mustard seeds and grind to a fine powder. Sieve the grind powder to get fine and soft powder.
• You can store the mustard powder in a refrigerator to retain the aroma.
• Add a less oil at first as the cucumber pieces oozes out water by the second day.

GINGER PICKLE

Ginger Pickle

Ginger pickle is one of the simple pickles to make. This pickle has a perfect blend of sweet, sour and spice. The exotic flavored fresh ginger root combines with the Sweet jaggery, tamarind and chilly powder to make a tantalizing pickle. This ginger pickle preparation is different from the ginger chutney preparation. The pickle can be refrigerated for upto 4 months. As this goes well with almost any breakfast and even rice, I am sure your family will finish it with in a month.   
INGREDIENTS

• Ginger root                 100 grams
• Jaggery                        1/4 cup grated
• Tamarind                      big lemon size ball
• Red chilly powder        1/4 cup
• Salt                               3 Tsp
• Oil                                1/2 cup

PROCEDURE
Clean the ginger and cut it into very small pieces. Dry them thoroughly so that moisture is not there. Soak the tamarind and extract juice. Now boil the tamarind juice, the same way as you do for the tamarind rice. Don’t make the tamarind juice too thick.
Now heat oil in a pan and fry the ginger pieces for about two minutes to golden brown color. Now remove the ginger pieces and cool them. Also cool the tamarind juice and oil. In a blender add the ginger pieces, tamarind juice, jaggery, chilly powder, salt. Grind to a fine paste. Add oil little by little while grinding. Now the ginger pickle is ready. If the oil is less, add more of the oil. Make sure the oil is heated and cooled before adding.

TOMATO PICKLE

  A simple and easy pickle which can be made even by a beginner in cooking is tomato pickle. As a child I remember my mom preparing two varieties of tomato pickle(store and use). One is so elaborate and the other one is the one which I am going to present now. In both the versions fresh  firm red tomatoes are used.
In the first kind the tomatoes are cut and marinated in salt and turmeric and then sundried and the pickled in oil, chilly powder and fenugreek powder mixture. This pickle has a longer shelf life and remains for months together. The procedure used to prepare maagai is used for this pickle also.
The second version is so simple but this needs to be refrigerated to remain fresh for a longer time. Leave behind the time and shelf life, this tangy and spicy preparation is sure to be completed in a week by your family.
INGREDIENTS

• Tomatoes                      2 kg
• Salt                                1/4 cup
• Red chilly powder          1/4 cup
• Mustard seeds               3 Tsp
• Hing                               1/4 Tsp
• Fenugreek powder         2 Tsp
• Sugar                              2 Tsp
• Tamarind paste              3 Tsp(thick)
• Oil                                  1 cup
• Turmeric                        1 Tsp

PROCEDURE
Heat half of the oil in a pan , add the mustard seeds and once they splutter add hing and turmeric powder. Cut tomatoes into as small pieces as possible and add to the oil. Cook on a slow flame while stirring in between. When all the water evaporates from the tomatoes add the salt ,sugar, tamarind paste and fenugreek powder(Dry roast methi seeds and grind to fine powder). Cook for another 5 to 7 minutes till all the mixture is dry. Now add the remaining oil and red chilly powder and stir again. Adjust salt and chilly powder if required. Switch off the flame, cool and transfer into a dry bottle and refrigerate.
TIPS AND SERVING IDEAS

• Choose ripe yet firm tomatoes for the pickle to last longer.
• Be sure to use a dry spoon every time.
• Serve with rice or idli or dosa or even chapathi.

MAAGAI (SLICED MANGO PICKLE)

  

Another famous pickle from Andhra made with mangoes is maagai (sliced mangoes pickle). While Aavakai is made with mustard powder maagai is made with fenugreek powder.

INGREDIENTS

• Mangoes(small)                        25
• Salt                                          1 kg
• Red chilly powder                    1/2 kg
• Paprika                                    1/4 kg
• Fenugreek seeds                     150 gms
• Turmeric                                  5 Tsp
• Mustard seeds                         3Tsp
• Asafetida                                 1tsp
• Sesame oil                               1kg
• dry red chilies                          25

PROCEDURE
Wash the mangoes, pat them dry and slice the into pieces of 2 inch long pieces. Add salt and turmeric , mix well and store in a dry jar. Let marinate for 2 days.
On the third day open the jar containing mango slices, squeeze the juice and put  the pieces in hot sun and dry the pieces (see that the pieces don't become hard). If the sun is very hot dry the pieces for about 5 hours or else 7 hours.
Roast the fenugreek seeds on a slow flame until u feel the nice aroma ,let them cool and then grind to fine powder. Sieve the powder if required.
Combine the chilly powder, fenugreek powder, squeezed out juice of mangoes, dried out mango pieces. Heat oil in the pan on a slow flame add the mustard seeds , red chilies and once smoking point is reached add hing. Cool the oil completely and pour into the mango  mixture. Mix well and check for salt. Now the pickle is ready to serve.
TIPS

• The mangoes should be sour so that they ooze out more juice.
• The oil should be completely cooled before poring into the mango pieces.
• Go for non iodized salt so that pickle has longer shelf life.
• When you are in hurry and don't have time to prepare curry for roti or chapathi add a spoonful of maagai ,1 cup curd and finely chopped onions and ur chutney is ready for roti.

AAVAKAYA

  

Aavakaya,the very name itself tantalizes every Andhrite. This is a very famous pickle from andhra. Pickles are generally prepared once or twice in a year and are stored yearlong. Aavakay is one such pickle prepared in the hot summer when raw mangoes are available abundantly. Since raw mangoes are available in market throughout the year we can prepare the pickle when ever we want to. But the mangoes pickled in summer tastes awesome and retain all through the year.So if u want to prepare larger amount of pickle do it in summer.

INGREDIENTS

• mangoes(big)               25
• salt                              3/4 kg
• chilly powder               1/2 kg
• paprika                        100gms
• gingilly oil(sesame)      1.75 liter
• mustard powder          1.5 cups
• garlic cloves                100 gms
• turmeric                      50 gms

PROCEDURE
Wash the mangoes and wipe them thoroughly and let dry completely.Now cut them into 1 inch pieces and keep them aside. Now mix all the dry ingredients salt,red chilly powder, paprika, mustard powder and turmeric in a large bowl. Add the mango pieces and mix well. Now slowly add 1 1/2litre of gingilly oil and mix thoroughly. Close with the lid and let sit for 1 to 2 days. By now oil should come on the top.Oil coming to the top depend on how sour the mangoes are. At this point add the remaining oil if needed and then add garlic cloves.Also check for salt and add it if required. Again marinate for one more day and now ur aavakaya is ready to have with pappu and ghee.......andhra style.
TIPS

• The more the pickle is marinated the more it tastes.
• Use salt without iodine so that the pickle lasts longer.
• Never store pickles (even for days) in steel containers. Use glass or porcelain jars.
• The harder the mangoes the more is the retain ability of pickle.