Maa ke haath ka khaana holds a special place in everybody’s heart, and often it is the dishes that takes you back to your childhood days. Out of all the dishes from mommy’s kitchen pickles are always on my top list. The very mention of achaar (pickles in India) not only triggers my taste buds and i start drooling but also brings a plethora of childhood memories.
My childhood memories goes back to when we used to help mom make different varieties of pickles in our summer holidays. Belonging to a family where pickle is the soul of any meal, different kinds of pickles were a regular at our dining table. In addition to the seasonal or instant vegetable pickles green mango, jackfruit, lemon, chili, tomatoes and gooseberry were common in our house which has longer shelf life.
Being born and raised up in northern part of India and moving to telangana after marriage my mother picked up the art of making both North India and Telangana Pickles. Even today, she prepares variety of pickles for everyone in the family.
Interestingly In
my life it was only after moving to United States when cooking became a integral
part of my life i realised that how pickle was a savior. Back home I never
felt the urge of making pickles as it was readily available for me from mommy's
kitchen. Here we usually pick some up from Indian stores. But those factory made
recipes do not match up to the flavour and taste of handmade pickle.
So when my parents were finally flying to US I started making my bucket list. I was going to meet them after six long years (yeah I know its been a long time) and one thing I was sure about it’s going to be a emotional ride for us. I was excited to meet them but also nervous about how they are going to react seeing me living with a autoimmune disease. I was afraid, anxious, worried, or sad all at the same time and it was nearly impossible to predict how they will feel.
Finally the day was here and as I met my parents we hugged each other. My mom hugged me tightly and the warmth of her hug made me feel like a kid again and i snugged around her,never wanting to let go off her. I felt overwhelmed.
Well will leave this part of my story for another time let’s get back to our pickle storyline. Out of my bucket list one was learning the art of making pickle from my mom.
Mostly Indian families have dozens of pickles at their disposal but the king of fruits mango is the most famous among the lot. So i knew from where I am going to start my class. So in addition to mango pickle I have learnt a few other pickles too in the hope that I will be well armed to survive my own cooking.
Now every time opening a jar of pickles is euphoric for me. Sharing a short video of mommy making my all time favorite “Aam ka Achaar” and some other pickles we made.
