Delight in Ayah’s Garlic Pickle…
Ever since the apprentice and I ventured into rediscovering recipes from Ayah’s Kitchen, we have been inundated with requests for the recipe for Ayah’s famous Garlic Pickle from fans far and near. As I’ve mentioned before, the women of the Muthiah family are pickle fanatics, and garlic pickle holds a special place in our hearts. Every family has a few recipes that remind them of home – Ayah’s garlic pickle was that to us. It made for good company on many a lonely night in distant corners of the world. On nights when we were too tired to cook and all we wanted to do was curl up with a little slice of home, out came the pickle, a bowl of rice and some yoghurt – comfort food to warm the soul.
My earliest memories of the pickle are intertwined with memories of the lavish lunches served on vazhai ilai (banana leaves) that are an integral part of Chettiar weddings. What a joy it was to sit cross legged in front of the massive leaves laden with mouthwatering delicacies that my short hands could barely reach, trying valiantly to save my pretty clothes from the drips of the rasam and curries! We kids had been taught that we had to finish everything that was served on the leaf – I could never manage it, but am in total awe of my cousin whose leaf, when she was done with her meal, was as good as new! Lunch done, it was time to run to Ayah’s leaf to steal the crisp, spicy-tangy-sweet pieces of garlic that she had saved from the pickle so that she could eat it at the end of her meal “for taste”. Her fond admonishment, “engay irundhaalum odi vandhu yen ilaiyil irundhu poondai eduthudum”, meaning “wherever she is, she will come running to take the garlic from my leaf”, still rings in my ears. Today, many years later, history repeats itself as my daughters have now become the garlic thieves!
As we, the darling daughters, flew the coop, Ayah’s garlic pickle accompanied us wherever we went. She painstakingly made large batches and got them packed into sterilised bottles, ready for the journey. Along the way, our friends got a taste of the pickle too and became instant admirers. We’ve had many an adventure with the pickle, some not ending as well as the others.
The first time Ayah’s garlic pickle made its way on to a plane was to accompany the kitchen master (aka my sister) on her maiden journey to Varanasi, that holy city where, wonder of wonders, she had decided to better her prospects by studying metallurgy at the Banaras Hindu University. Ayah and Aiyah had a tiff about how to pack the bottles – Aiyah, the experienced traveller, won and in they went into the luggage and not the hand luggage as Ayah had suggested. Unfortunately, the bottles didn’t take too well to air travel and exploded all over the bed sheets in the luggage. Between the broken bottle and the mattress that decided to roll off the top of the car on the way to the rather scary looking accommodation that was the girls’ hostel, the extremely superstitious Ayah was ready to pack up and bring the wannabe engineer back home. Thankfully, Aiyah prevailed and the determined metallurgist in the making stayed on, her engineering prospects undamaged. Lesson learnt though; Ayah took to packing the pickle in sealed plastic bags which were then taken to Mylapore to be professionally sealed into tin cans — those milk powder tins came in real handy.
Then there was the time that the pickle in hiding cost Ayah a fortune in fines at the Australian customs, probably one of the most stringent in the world. Ayah had arrived in Sydney with her bags laden with goodies for the young expectant mother (aka me), had a squabble with the customs officer on whether dates barfi contained dairy or not – the officer’s manual of all banned Indian food said it did, Ayah argued that it did not. The final straw for the rather irate officer was the bottle of undeclared garlic pickle in one of the bags. His “Ma’am, homemade food not allowed and that will be $500 to dump all this in the bin!” had the power to do what none of us could – leave Ayah speechless and lost in battle! Needless to say, Ayah was the happiest of all when we decided to make the move to Singapore where she could ship in any delicacy she wanted at will.
The most poignant of all memories was, perhaps, made in September of 2013. The entire Singapore contingent of the family had arrived in Chettinad for a series of weddings, the eldest granddaughter with her usual request for Ayah’s garlic pickle. Festivities done, it was time to head our separate ways, but Ayah had one more job to do – stay up all night and make 2 kilos of garlic pickle, because she wasn’t sure when she’d see us next. Little did we know that it was to be her last batch... That precious batch of pickle was shared with Aiyah and the kitchen master, but the lion’s share made its way to Singapore where it was carefully stored in the refrigerator and reserved for special occasions - it lasted nearly three years!
Ayah’s original ingredients list for her Garlic Pickle Delight. I note that the recipe in this post is a modification of this recipe, my interpretation, something that I have come up with after much testing.
The recipe for her garlic pickle was one of the few Ayah bothered to write down. However, someone had forgotten to instruct her that a recipe was more than just ingredients! She had also altered the recipe along the way but neglected to write it down. Anyway, my first attempt at making it, a few years ago, while edible was not the same – probably a result of the shortcuts I had taken in using readymade spice powders rather than roasting and grinding the whole spices as she most likely did.
The apprentice, who is not a fan of pickles, after much deliberation and coaxing, agreed to test my revised interpretation. His rather excited parents, who had been craving a taste of garlic pickle like Ayah’s ever since she had passed on, were over the moon. The young man, and his parents, in their excitement, misread the recipe and my caution about investing in ready peeled fresh garlic which is easily available in supermarkets. The result, a family bonding session where all of them were roped in to peel the pesky little things! That apart, he followed the recipe to the T, including slow roasting and powdering the spices. What resulted was, according to his expert taste testers, a pickle that was as close to Ayah’s as they have ever had — reward enough for the sore nails that resulted from the family bonding session! As I write this post, the batch he made is a distant memory and the parents are gently encouraging him to make another batch — will he relent?
We hope you enjoy making Ayah’s Garlic Pickle Delight, perfect with a bowl of Thayir Saadam (yoghurt / curd rice) or even on a slice of bread. Just remember to eat an apple or drink a glass of lemon juice after, else you may keep more than just the vampires away!
Note:
1. The making of this pickle was a two day affair for Ayah. The entire first day was spent peeling the kilos of garlic that was needed for the pickle. Feel free to save yourself some time by using the ready peeled garlic if available in your local supermarket - your nails will thank you for it. However, make sure the garlic is fresh and not wrinkled / dried - if it is dried or wrinkled, it will not absorb the flavours.
2. I used fresh lemons for the pickle, the apprentice made his with the bottled concentrate (for cooking) available in supermarkets. While the preferred option is to use fresh lemons / limes, the taste difference is negligible, so go ahead and use the bottled juice if that's easier for you.
3. The amount of oil used in the recipe seems to be quite a lot; however, it is needed to ensure the pickle does not spoil. Also, if possible, stick to gingelly oil as it imparts a distintive flavour and also ensures a long lasting fresh tasting pickle.
4. I use double the amount of garlic Ayah used in her pickle because my children are more interested in the crispy garlic than the pickle itself; however, feel free to reduce the amount of garlic if you prefer it that way.
5. This recipe makes for about 1.5 kg of pickle, which stores well in the fridge for upto 2 years or in a cool dry place for about 6 months. However, if that is too much for you, feel free to halve or quarter the recipe.
6. Ayah used the time tested method of drying her bottles in the sun for half a day to sterilise them. However, if you live in a cold place or in an apartment, to sterilise either soak the bottle in hot water for half an hour then dry completely or use the microwave. For the microwave, you will need to half fill the bottles with water and microwave for about 2 minutes till the water is very hot. Take out, throw the water and let air dry. You may want to do this the previous day – coz any moisture in the bottle can lead to the pickle spoiling.
7. Always, always, use a clean dry spoon while taking out the pickle from the bottle. Any moisture in the pickle will lead to it spoiling.
Ingredients:
1 kg fresh garlic, peeled and cut in halves lengthwise
2 cups / 250 ml lemon / lime juice (about 11 lemons)
1 ¼ cup / 300 gm jaggery, grated / powdered
1 ¼ cup / 300 ml gingelly oil (nallennnai / Indian sesame oil)
1 tablespoon powdered asafoetida (hing / perungayam)
4 tablespoons / ~ 24 gms mustard seeds (rai / kadugu)
5 tablespoons salt
Masala powder
7 tablespoons / ~30 gms coriander seeds
7 tablespoons / ~ 30 gms cumin seeds
3 ½ tablespoons / ~25 gms fenugreek seeds
3 cups / 60 gm dried red chillis
Method:
1. Peel the garlic (if using whole garlic), remove the core (the woody part at the top of the clove of garlic) and slice each clove into half lengthwise and set aside.
1 kg fresh garlic, peeled and cut in halves lengthwise
2. If using fresh lemons / limes, squeeze the juice and set aside.
2 cups / 250 ml lemon / lime juice (about 11 lemons)
3. Powder the jaggery and set aside.
1 ¼ cup / 300 gm jaggery, grated / powdered
4. Dry roast the coriander, cumin and fenugreek seeds until light brown. Transfer to a plate to cool. Dry roast the dried chillies until slightly brown. Transfer to a plate to cool.
7 tablespoons / ~30 gms coriander seeds
7 tablespoons / ~ 30 gms cumin seeds
3 ½ tablespoons / ~25 gms fenugreek seeds
3 cups / 60 gm dried red chillis
5. Mix the roasted ingredients and blend in batches to a fineish powder (shouldn’t be too fine but not too coarse either).
8. Heat the lemon / lime juice in a pan. Once it starts bubbling, add the garlic and just heat through – turn off before it starts to bubble.
Note: The secret to Ayah's garlic pickle was a crisp garlic which quickly absorbed the spicy,tangy and sweet flavours of the pickle. While many recipes use raw garlic added once the pickle is cooked, Ayah insisted on this step because it reduced the time for the garlic to soak up the flavours. However, the garlic must only be heated through - if it is overcooked, it will lose its crispness and become soft. So, in and out of the hot lemon juice in almost a flash, is the secret.
9. Heat the oil in a giant pan – you will need one big enough to hold a lot of pickle. Add the mustard seeds. When they pop, add the asafoetida. Then add the masala powder. Add about 3/4th of the powder and the rest to taste. Add the salt, mix in and let it cook on a low till the raw smell goes off. Keep stirring so the pickle does not burn. You should have a thick gravy now.
1 ¼ cup / 300 ml gingelly oil (nallennnai / Indian sesame oil)
1 tablespoon powdered asafoetida (hing / perungayam)
4 tablespoons / 24 gms mustard seeds (rai / kadugu)
5 tablespoons salt
10. Add 3/4th of the jaggery to the gravy and let it cook until the jaggery is well mixed in and there are no lumps.
11. Add the garlic and lemon juice mixture. Mix in.
12. Taste and add more masala powder / jaggery / salt as needed. You need to be quick with this else the garlic will overcook and become too soft.
13. Turn off the flame and cool.
14. Once cool, transfer to sterilised bottles that are absolutely dry. See note above for tips on sterilising the bottle.
Makes: 1.5 kg of pickle
Apprentice rating: Hard. Save yourself some time and effort by using ready peeled fresh garlic and bottled lemon / lime juice available at most supermarkets.
Recent Posts:
