5 Mango Pickle Recipes That Are Aam-Azing

Summers without seasonal fruits and the whiff of mango pickles wafting through the air? Naah! With the excitement of being able to gorge on ripe mangoes after one whole year, there is also the enthusiasm of helping yourselves to freshly prepared pickles of the King of fruits in its raw form. In case you weren’t aware, every other state in India has its own recipe of aam ka achar and its own name for it. For instance, keri ka achar in the Hindi-speaking states of India, mango thokku in Tamil Nadu, avakaya pachadi in Andhra Pradesh, chunda recipe of Gujarat and so on. And with that, the variety of aam ka achar varies further in terms of its taste – some savoury and sour while others are sugar sweet like the sweet mango pickle. 

Although, nowadays, a lot of us bank on store-bought pickles to assuage our love for pickles, here are 5 simple recipes of mango pickles that you can prepare without hassle and keep our childhood memories alive. 

5 Mango Pickle Recipes You Can Try Your Hands On

1. Traditional Aam Ka Achar

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 kg raw mango
• 1 tbsp haldi (turmeric powder)
• 2 tbsp salt
• ½ tsp cloves
• ½ tsp Black peppercorns
• 1 tsp fenugreek seeds
• ½ tsp hing (asafoetida)
• 50 gm split mustard seeds
• 4 tsp red chilli powder

Technique

1. Wash the raw mangoes thoroughly and dry them completely with a dry, clean cloth.
2. Cut them into small pieces of 1 inch each.
3. Add salt and turmeric powder, and coat the mangoes piece evenly.
4. Cover and let it rest overnight.
5. Pour this onto a dish and keep it under the sun for about 5 to 6 hours.
6. To prepare the masala, add fenugreek seeds, cloves, and mustard seeds into a blender and grind it into a powder.
7. Next, add red chilli powder asafoetida, and mohrichi dal into the blender and grind it well.
8. Add the masala onto the mango pieces and mix well.
9. Heat up mustard oil and then let it cool down.
10. Add most of the oil onto the mangoes, keeping a little aside.
11. Pour the pickle into a jar and then add the remaining oil on top.
12. Let the pickle rest for a week for it to be ready or start having it as an instant mango pickle.

2. Kerala-Style Mango Pickle

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 500gm raw green mangoes
• 2 tsp salt
• 4 tbsp sesame oil (gingelly oil)
• 1 tsp brown mustard seeds
• 1 tsp fenugreek seeds (methi dana)
• ¼ tsp asafetida (hing) (skip for gluten-free)
• 8-10 cloves whole peeled garlic cloves
• 15-20 curry leaves
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 3 tbsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
• 2 tsp white vinegar

Technique

1. For this mango pickle recipe, wash the mangoes and pat them dry with a clean cloth.
2. Cut them into 1-inch pieces.
3. Cover the pieces evenly with salt and keep aside for about 30 minutes.
4. Add fenugreek seeds and mustard seeds into a mortar and pestle or into a blender, and grind them into a fine powder.
5. Take a pan and heat sesame oil over medium heat.
6. Add mustard and fenugreek seed powder into hot oil, and fry for 4 to 5 seconds.
7. Add garlic cloves, asafoetida, and curry leaves and fry for 4 to 5 seconds.
8. Next, add red chilli powder, turmeric powder, and vinegar, and fry for another 3 to 4 seconds.
9. Add the mango pieces and mix well.
10. Remove the pan from the heat and let it cool down completely.
11. Transfer to a clear jar and, ta-da, Kerala-style mango pickle is ready to be served. 

3. Punjabi Mango Pickle

Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Cooking Time: Nil

Ingredients

• 2 kg raw mango
• ½ cup salt
• 3 tbsp haldi (turmeric powder)
• ½ cup Kashmiri red chilli powder
• ¼ cup methi seeds (fenugreek seeds)
• ¼ cup mustard seeds
• 3 tbsp Red Chilli powder
• ¼ cup kalonji (Onion Nigella Seeds)
• ¼ cup saunf (fennel seeds)
• ¼ cup dhania (coriander)
• 3 cups mustard oil

Technique

1. Wash the mangoes and pat them dry with a clean cloth.
2. Cut them into 1-inch pieces.
3. Add turmeric powder and salt onto the cut mangoes, and mix evenly.
4. Marinate this for about an hour.
5. Heat oil in a pan on medium heat and fry coriander seeds until you get its aroma.
6. Turn off the gas and then allow it to cool completely.
7. Crush the coriander powder coarsely with mortar and pestle.
8. Add the mustard and fenugreek seed powder, along with fennel seeds, coriander seeds, Nigella seeds, red chilli powder, and stir well.
9. Add 1 cup of mustard oil and give it a good stir.
10. Cover this with a clean muslin cloth, which will soak any rescue moisture, if any.
11. After a day, give it  a good stir and cover it back again for another day. 
12. On the third day, pour the remaining 2 cups of mustard oil and give it a stir and set it aside for 2 more days.
13. On the fifth day, the pickle will be ready to eat. 

4. Uttar Pradesh-Style Mango Pickle

Ingredients

• 1 kg mango
• 1 cup kosher salt
• 5 tbsp red chilli powder
• 3 tbsp fennel seeds
• 4½ tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tbsp nigella seeds
• 1 tbsp fenugreek seeds
• 2 tsp turmeric
• 3 cups mustard oil

Technique

1. Wash the mangoes and pat them dry with a clean cloth.
2. Cut them into 1-inch pieces.
3. Add salt to the mango cubes in a jar and then keep it covered tightly.
4. Leave the jar out in the sun for a week to give them enough time to soften.
5. Take a small bowl and add chilli powder, mustard seeds, nigella seeds, aniseed or fennel seeds, fenugreek seeds, and turmeric powder.
6. Drain water from the mangoes and add the above spice mixture.
7. Heat oil in a small pan over medium heat and allow it to cool down completely.
8. Pour this oil over the mangoes in the jar, so that all the pieces get submerged.
9. Keep the pickle jar in the sun for 2 weeks and stir everyday to mix well.

5. Gujarat-Style Mango Pickle

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 1 minute

Ingredients

• 2 cups raw mango cubes
• ½ tbsp haldi (turmeric powder)
• 2 tbsp mustard
• ½ tsp kalonji (nigella seeds)
• ½ cup fenugreek seeds
• 1 tbsp split mustard seeds
• 3½ tsp lemon juice 
• 6 tbsp mustard oil
• 2 tsp chilli powder
• 2 tsp saunf (fennel seeds)
• 4 tsp salt

Technique

1. For preparing the pickle masala for chunda recipe, take the fenugreek seeds, mustard seeds, chilli powder, and lemon juice in a bowl.
2. In a bowl, add salt, turmeric powder, and the raw mango cubes in a deep-bottomed bowl, and mix thoroughly.
3. Cover the bowl with a lid and keep aside for 30 minutes.
4. Drain and discard the excess water.
5. Next, heat the mustard oil in a pan till it is boiling hot and keep aside till the time it becomes warm.
6. Add the nigella seeds and fennel seeds, and mix well and then keep it aside for it to cool completely.
7. Once done, combine the raw mango cubes to the pickle masala and oil. Finally, add the salt and give the mangoes a good mix and voila, the pickle is ready to be devoured!

7 Easy Tips To Store Pickles 

1. Before you start preparing a pickle, sterilise a glass jar – the one in which you want to store the pickle.
2. Make sure the pickle stays submerged in oil to preserve it safely.
3. Ensure that you wash and thoroughly dry the raw mango at the beginning, so that there is no moisture that may get transferred to the pickle, increasing the chances of it becoming mossy.
4. Use a thoroughly cleaned and dried knife while cutting the mangoes for the same reason.
5. Ideally, the jar should be filled till the top, after you’ve prepared the pickle, to eliminate the air present in the jar. This improves the chances of storing the pickle safely for a longer time.
6. Use a wooden spoon to scoop out the pickle and ensure that the jar does not have a metal lid. Metal tends to corrode and alter the flavours of the pickle.
7. Store pickle in a cool and dry place as dampness and humidity can adversely affect its taste and flavour as well as its shelf life.

Indian households are incomplete without a few jars of pickles available at arm’s length whenever we want to complement our meals with a dash of pickle. Try your hand at the above keri ka achar recipes for mango pickles, whether it be avakaya pachadi, chunda recipe, or sweet mango pickle, so that we can keep alive our century-old tradition of pickling.

Open up like never before and participate in conversations about beauty, entrepreneurship, mental health, menstrual & sexual health, and more. Desi women, join our community NOW!