Pick-kal

Pickle is actually a Pick-Kal (Tomorrow) as it is a pick for tomorrow. They are prepared in present for a tastier future. Neither a starter nor a main course and not even a dessert, but the meal is incomplete without it. Finds no place even in menu of a high-end restaurant, however the table is incomplete without it. It is impossible to find a restaurant table without salt and pepper, tissue and of course a jar of pickle. I have once noticed, someone demanding it at Pizza Hut, such is the level of obsession of some in the country.

In layman terms Pickle is a combination of salt, sugar, spices, oils and vegetables or fruits. The ingredients chemically work so beautifully in conjunction that a nutritious food product is created. Many people will raise eyebrows on nutrition. But, yes pickles are nutritious. They are very good appetizers, probiotic and source of antioxidants and nutrients. The salt and sugar apart from adding taste are responsible for the preservation of the vegetables. Salts exude out sugars from fruits and destroy spoilage bacteria and these sugars are then fermented which add taste and life to the pickle.

Just Google quotes on pickle and there is no dearth of people’s experiences with it. Pickles are legacy example of preservation. In an Indian household, the average pickle is 2-3 years old and do not be surprised if one gets to taste to even older. 20 years is the oldest I have tasted until date. A common adage in Hindi “Kos kos per badle pani, bees kos per vani” well defines pickles of India. Start moving across the country and the pickle of the same vegetable will come in all different variables of color, taste, texture, process of making.

Pickle making is not just a process instead an art. Pickle from each Indian household has its own unique touch. A household usually makes their pickle and has a secret legacy recipe. The legacy is passed on to younger generation usually adolescent girls in the family by older generation usuallyDadi or Nani (granny)and is still alive in the rural India. The urban has missed onto this and they usually grab factory made available in the stores. However, many variants are available but the factory made pickles have yet to capture the respect of seniors, it is uncommon to hear “yeh bazaar wala achaar bekar hota hai” (This pickle from Market is bad) from the elders in family and they always suspect the ingredients. However, with advancements in technology and research in the fields of Food science these factory made pickles have come a long way and are able to touch lot of lives. Punjab tastes an Andhra Mango pickle now. People are getting to know Indian Pickle Culture and loving it. These exclusive pickles are now just a click away. You can order your pickle online and is at your doorstep in a day or two. It is history when one has to wait from 10 days to 6 months to eat a pickle.

Pickles are not just of aam (mango) or nimbu (lemon) or any other fruit. There is lot of variants available for each fruit as well. For example, mango pickle is dry wala (no traces of oil), tel wala (loads of oil), masala (spicy), punjabi, hyderabadi, sweet and sour, gujarati and lot more. I was reading one book and came across a recipe of Hindustani aam ka acchar, and I was wondering that how Hindustan is different from Punjab, Hyderabad, Gujarat and other states or vice versa. It is with other fruits as well; ten variants of lemon pickle are not tough to find in an Old Delhi pickle shop. 

In India, you think of a fruit or a vegetable and there is a pickle for it. Common ones are of onion, jackfruit, lemon, chickpeas, garlic, reddish, carrot, cauliflower, turnip, mango, gooseberry (amla), green chilli, red chilli, coconut, tomato, bamboo, pumpkin, cucumber, drumstick and and and. These are just fruits and vegetables; however animals are also not spared when it comes to pickles. Chicken, prawn, fish and meat pickles are a connoisseur’s treat. These not so common non-veg pickles are from all over India, from north to south and from east to west.  

Pickles of India advocate its diversity. One may pick a same pickle from different state and each has its exclusive taste. Keep exploring the elite viand and make your life tastier and merrier. Happy Eating !!!