Maavadu - Tender mango pickle

Hurray, Its mango time again...

The time the mango season starts, the pickle season starts in our home. Maavadu, is a pickle made out of cute little tender mangoes.

My mother makes pickles like a factory and distributes it to all of us. For the past 2 years, she had it delivered to me in Chicago too. My sister resides in Mambalam and has ready access to almost anything you name. Specially in the summer she gets loads and loads of mangoes. The list starts from Maavadu mangoes, then Aavakaai mango, mangoes for vathal, thokku and of course mambazham.  We finished the first batch of Maavadu at home a couple of weeks ago and my mother prepared another batch last week.

Ingredients : 1 padi** -- Maavadu, small size tender mangoes 50 gm -- Mustard  seeds 4 tbsp -- Chili powder 3 tsp -- Turmeric powder 2 tsp -- Castor Oil 150gm to 200gm -- Powdered salt ** Since this is my mom's recipe, all the measurements are in weight. And the padi is the old method of  measuring unit, still used in some places. My mom and my in-law talks more often with this unit. Since they used to cook for big families. 1 padi approximately equals 8 cups Method : --- Wash the mangoes and dry them completely by spreading over a dry cloth. --- After drying the mangoes, transfer the mangoes in a bowl or a jar in which you are going to store the pickle. Pour the 2 tsp edible Castor oil  over the mangoes and mix well and make sure all the mangoes are coated with the oil. --- Grind the mustard seeds to powder. --- Add chili powder, mustard seed powder, turmeric powder and salt to the mangoes. --- Mix well and close the bowl / jar with a lid. --- Utmost try to use a dry wooden ladle to mix the mangoes or use clean dry hands. --- Mix the mangoes daily for at least for a week to 10 days in the morning with wooden ladle, once the skin shrinks and the salt become watery, the pickle is ready to use. --- Taste a mango after 3-4 days, if you feel it needs more salt. Go and grab the salt jar from the pantry and add to the mangoes. --- Yummy tender mango pickle is ready to rock.

Important note :
1) If the salt is more the life span of the pickle will also be more. If salt is less, then the pickle will be infected with fungus growth. So always better to check the mangoes daily.
2) Also use dry spoon to take the mangoes from the big container you stored.

If you follow the above two instruction you can store in the air tight container or ceramic jar in the room temperature itself and will lasts for more months, provided the consumption level, unlike us:-), is less. Or else you can even store it in a fridge and it will last for years.