Avakaya or Avakai is a spicy, robust pickle made with green, unripe mangoes. This pickle is a popular pickle variety from the Andhra cuisine.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 30 minutes
  • Cook time: Not specified
  • Total time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 2 · 2 kilograms
  • Category: Condiment, Side Dish
  • Cuisine: Andhra, South Indian

Ingredients

  • 1 kg unripe mangoes (or 8 cups chopped mangoes)
  • 200 grams mustard seeds (or 1 cup + 4 tablespoon mustard seeds)
  • 20 grams fenugreek seeds (or 2 tablespoon fenugreek seeds (methi dana))
  • 200 grams kashmiri chilli powder (or 2 cups kashmiri red chili powder - can use any variety of red chilli powder instead)
  • 200 grams rock salt ((edible and food grade) or 1 cup rock salt or pink salt)
  • 40 grams white chickpeas (or 3 tablespoons)
  • 3 tablespoon turmeric powder ((ground turmeric))
  • 2 cups sesame oil ((gingelly oil) - cold pressed or wood pressed)

Method

Preparation

  1. First, begin by sun drying the mustard seeds for a day or for at least 4 to 5 hours. This is to get rid of any dampness or moisture in them.
  2. Also, sun dry fenugreek seeds and red chili powder for 4 to 5 hours.
  3. Meanwhile, soak the unripe mangoes in water for 1 hour.
  4. Then, rinse them well and if there is any sticky sap which has dried on the mangoes, rub the mangoes in your palms when rinsing to remove the dried sap.
  5. Remove the mangoes. Dry them with a clean kitchen towel or naturally.

Chopping mangoes

  1. Before chopping mangoes, they should be completely dry. There should not be any trace of moisture or water on the mangoes.
  2. Firstly, slice the mango in halves from its center. This is very difficult as the kernel is hard and the knife does not cut it easily. So please avoid, if you cannot do this chopping.
  3. Then, take each halve and remove the seeds carefully with a knife. The kernel part will be intact on the mangoes.
  4. Now, halve the mango vertically from the center first. Then, cut horizontally.
  5. This chopping is also difficult, so avoid if you cannot do this. The mango should be chopped into bite size pieces.
  6. Take the mango pieces and remove the thin paper like covering from the kernel part with a spoon or with your hands. Make sure that your hands are clean.
  7. Take the chopped mangoes in a large pan or bowl. Cover and keep aside.

Making avakaya pachadi

  1. Take the mustard seeds. They should be warm before you grind them.
  2. Add in a mixer or grinder-jar or a spice grinder and grind to a semi fine powder. Remove the mustard powder and add to mango pieces.
  3. In the same jar, add fenugreek seeds.
  4. Grind to a semi fine powder and add to the mango pieces.
  5. Now. add the red chili powder.
  6. Add the white chickpeas.
  7. Add rock salt. You can even use sea salt crystals or Himalayan pink salt. Use salt which is non iodized. If using sea salt crystals, then powder in a mixer and then add.
  8. Mix very well with a large spoon.
  9. Add turmeric powder and mix very well.
  10. Now, add sesame oil or gingelly oil. Use cold pressed sesame oil (kachchi ghani) and not refined sesame oil.
  11. Mix very well and thoroughly with a large spoon.

Storing avakai

  1. Cover with a lid (not tightly) and keep the mango Avakaya in a dry place for 4 to 5 days.
  2. You can also keep in sunlight for a few hours on 4 to 5 days. Alternatively, you can even add the mango mixture in a glass or ceramic jar.
  3. Everyday or alternate day, remove the lid and mix the pickle with a clean spoon. You can sun dry the spoon for some minutes before you mix the pickle.
  4. On the fourth or fifth day, you will see oil floating on top of the pickle and the mango pieces would have already softened. Mix again with a clean spoon.
  5. Add the pickle in a clean jar or bottle. Do wash the glass jar or bottle and then sun dry it for a day before storing the pickle.
  6. Pour some sesame oil in the pickle jars which just covers the pickle on top by 1.5 to 2 inches.
  7. Close the lid and refrigerate. You can even keep the pickle in a dry place for 2 to 3 days more and then refrigerate.

Serving avakaya pachadi

  1. When serving avakai, remove the portion you want in a small jar from the main jar and then serve with your everyday meals. If the oil on top becomes less, then add some more sesame oil, so that the pickle is covered with oil.
  2. Serve Avakaya pachadi with any Indian meal. You can even have it with steamed rice, curd rice and paratha.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.