Mixed Pickle

Mixed pickle combines several fruits and vegetables in a single jar, usually raw mango, lime, carrot and green chilli, sometimes with cauliflower, turnip, karonda or lotus stem. In Punjab it is the everyday achar on the dhaba table; in South India and Sri Lanka mixed vegetable pickles are milder and often made with gingelly oil. It belongs with the other jars in our pickles collection.

The appeal is variety in one spoonful: the softness of mango, the bite of carrot, the sourness of lime and the kick of chilli. Hot mixed pickles use more chilli and mustard, while mixed vegetable pickles are generally gentler. Oil based versions keep longest; those made with vinegar taste brighter and are best eaten within a few months of opening.

Serve mixed pickle with aloo paratha and butter, rajma chawal, khichdi or a simple cheese sandwich, a pairing many British Asian households swear by. Stir the jar before serving so each spoon picks up some of the spiced oil from the bottom. For a single fruit jar, try mango pickle or garlic pickle, and for sweeter Sri Lankan styles, see Sri Lankan pickles.