Pickles, Pastes & Sauces

A South Asian meal is rarely finished without something from a jar. A spoon of mango achar beside dal and rice, a heap of pol sambol next to string hoppers, a streak of tamarind chutney over samosa chaat: these are the small, sharp flavours that make a plain meal complete. This department brings them together, from the oil pickles of Punjab and Andhra to the sweet, vinegary relishes of Sri Lanka.

Pickles are fruit or vegetables cured in oil, salt and spice for weeks, known as achar in the north, oorugai in Tamil and achcharu in Sinhala. Chutneys are sweeter and softer, cooked down with sugar or jaggery. Sambols are Sri Lanka's condiments, from caramelised onion seeni sambol to fiery katta sambol and coconut pol sambol.

The cooking side is here too. Curry pastes and mixes give you a ready spice base for tikka, korma or a Jaffna crab curry. Tamarind and goraka bring the sourness to sambar, rasam and Sri Lankan fish curries, while ginger garlic paste, crispy fried onions, murabba, fruit preserves, olives and gherkins complete the shelf.

Heat varies widely between regions. North Indian pickles lean on mustard oil, fennel and nigella; Andhra pickles are the hottest, made with red chilli and gingelly or groundnut oil; Sri Lankan achcharu balances vinegar, sugar and mustard. If a style is new to you, begin with a mild mango pickle or a sweet chutney and work up to lime and chilli.

Use a clean, dry spoon every time you open a jar of pickle, since a drop of water or a crumb of food is the usual reason a pickle spoils. Keep a thin layer of oil over the top, close the lid firmly and store the jar away from heat. Pastes, chutneys and sambols without much oil keep best in the fridge once opened.