Pickles are not all the same. An Indian pickle is not just vinegar and seasoning, it’s a whole lot more.
Indian Mixed Vegetable Pickle
In South Africa everything us Indians make is different to India, even our pickles. We have a spice mix for it all, for a pickle we have a special pickle masala. I’ve had many requests for pickles made from scratch without the use of pickle masala. Everywhere else in the world you don’t get pickle masala. So I guess posting a recipe with pickle masala wouldn’t work for everyone.
Simple Ingredients
I love keeping things simple, as long as it tastes delicious. I made this Indian Mixed Vegetable Pickle with very basic ingredients and I kept is as easy as I could. I also tried to use basic everyday spices. You do need to use veggies that won’t turn mushy and still remains crunchy for a while. Therefore I used green beans, carrots and cabbage with some chillies. You can add some cauliflower if you prefer and you can also omit the chilli. The recipe can be doubled.
Two Methods to make Veg Pickle
My mum makes this Indian Mixed Vegetable Pickle a little differently. She steams her veggies just for a minute with some vinegar, water and sugar. Just enough so that the veggies are still crunchy. A pickle can’t have soft, mushy vegetable. She then heats her oil, just until warm and adds the spices to that and adds it to the drained veggies. This method makes an instant pickle. The method I used was were I soaked my veggies for 2 days in vinegar and salt. I then drained the vinegar and dried my veggies with some paper towels. I then heated my oil, mixed in my spices and added it to the veggies.
Less Acidic
If you use method one, which is my mum’s method you will have a less acidic pickle. You an control the amount of vinegar you add and you can have an instant pickle. With my second method the pickle is a little more acidic. It is therefore advised to wait a couple of days before eating. That way the veggies will develop more flavor and the veggies will soften a little. You can also adjust the amount of vinegar for this pickle. If the vinegar is too intense you can add a cup of water and use just one cup of vinegar.
You definitely don’t need a whole lot of oil for this pickle. The vinegar and salt is what preserves it so in my view you don’t need tons of oil. You can use Canola Oil or Olive oil. Olive oil has a flavor to it but I don’t think it makes a huge difference to the pickles, the spices definitely overpowers any flavor from the olive oil. I hope you enjoy this quick and easy pickle. If you do try my recipe please drop a comment and leave a rating, it is always appreciated.
More Condiment Recipes to try: Mint Chutney Mint Chutney with Peanuts : Pudina Chutney If you loved this, please share!
