Carrot Pickles (Gajar ka Achar)

A slightly spicy but mostly tangy and crunchy carrot pickles, steeped in oil and flavorful spices can be a great accompaniement to any meal. You can easily increase the heat by adding a few green chilies or chili powder to the recipe if you’d like. It takes around 5 days for the great flavors to develop but the pickels get even better after few weeks keeping it in the refrigerator.

How to make Carrot Pickles:

1. Wash, peal and dry the carrots (they must be completely dry). Cut them in thin strips about 2 inches long, then place them in a large bowl.
2. Heat a pan. Add the mustard seeds and fennel seeds and let it sizzle for about 1 minute. When the spices cool a bit place them in a grinder or a blender and grind to coarsely ground powder.
3. Then add the ground spices, salt, chili and turmeric powder to the bowl with the carrots. Mix it well.
4. Add mustard oil to a saucepan and heat over medium heat until the oil begin to smoke. Then immedietally take it off the stove, let it cool and then pour over the spiced carrots and mix well.
5. Stir in the lemon juice after 5-10 minutes and mix.
6. When the carrots in oil are cool transfer the into a dry glass jar, lay the lid on top and let it sit for about 5 days to let the flavor deepen. Shake it once a day so the oil coats all of the carrots.
7. After 5 days, move it into the fridge for up to 3 months. It will continue to improve in flavor as it sits.

Tip:

• Mustard oil adds a spicy, pungent flavor to pickles, making them spicier than they would be if you were to use a different type of oil.