Chili Pickle

# of servings:  Multiple
Preparation Time:  10 mins	Cook Time:  20 mins

This simple but versatile recipe can be stored and used for many months. It can be used as an accompaniment with yogurt rice or to spice up salads. The best way to use it is to make quick and delicious raita by mixing a little paste into yogurt! This pairs wonderfully with chapati, poori, etc. 

Ingredients:

• Chilies (any preferred variety) - 6 cups
• Ginger - 1 cup (optional)
• Oil - 2-3 tbsp
• Turmeric - 1 tsp
• Asafoetida - 2 pinches
• Mustard seeds - 2 tsp (divided)
• Fenugreek seeds - 1 tsp
• Lemon - 2 tbsp
• Salt - 0.25 cup

Method:

• Wash the chilies and remove the stalks
• Clean, and peel the ginger (if using) 
• Pat them both dry on a cloth
• In a blender, pulse ginger coarsely and set aside (if using)
• Pulse chilies and set aside separately
• Heat oil in a wide bottom vessel ('Saute' mode in IP)
• Splutter one tsp of mustard seeds 
• Add asafoetida and turmeric powder
• Add ginger and saute for a couple of minutes (if using)
• Add the coarsely ground chilies 
• Saute and cook until the chilies soften and change color
• Continue cooking further until the chilies start to look shiny and release some oil 
• Add salt and mix well 
• Coarsely powder 1 tsp mustard and 1 tsp fenugreek seeds
• Add this to the cooked pickle and mix
• Turn off the heat after a minute
• Zest (optional) the lemons and squeeze the juice
• Add both zest (if using) and lemon juice to the chilies and mix well 
• After cooling, store it away.  Keeping it in the refrigerator keeps the freshness and color.  It also increases the longevity of the pickle
• This can be used as a pickle with yogurt rice, dosa, or chapati
• Can be used to spice up salad dressings 
• The best use is to mix a quarter spoon of the pickle in a cup of yogurt!  It becomes a delicious instant raita to accompany any pulav, biryani, or even chapati.  (Adjust spice level as preferred.)

Tips and Tricks:

• Be sure to use oil that has a liquid consistency.  Using solidifying oils like coconut oil solidifies the pickle too.  This will make it less handy to use in recipes instantly
• Any type of chilies can be used to make this pickle.  Even a blend of different varieties of chilies can be used to bring in different flavors
• Ginger adds to the flavor tremendously.  But can be used/avoided as per preference
• Pulsing ginger and chilies before cooking expedites the cooking without compromising the texture or end result.  (Alternatively, they can be chopped into large chunks, sauteed, and then coarsely blended with a hand blender lemon juice is added.  But clean up is easier if pulsed before cooking.)

Pictures: 

Final Outcome: