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Rs. 400.00
A heirloom Dogri recipe, made with only the stems of the super-exotic Himalayan Fiddlehead Ferns or kasrodh, lingudi or kandhor…
The Himalayas are a literal treasure trove. And one of the most unique or exotic treasures to be found there is a curiously shaped green. The Fiddlehead Fern gets its name because of the way the tip of the frond curls inward, forming the spiral usually found on a violin or fiddle. They grow wild in the mountains in late winter or spring, and most locals forage for them.
Fiddlehead fern is known as Lingudi or Lingri in the Kullu valley, Kasrod in Himachal and Kandhor in the lower vales of Jammu and Kashmir. In Assam, the locals stir-fry the greens and call it Dhekia Xaak. In Himachal, especially in the Chamba valley, the locals find the crisp, asparagus-like taste of the fiddlehead most suited to pickling, and so that’s what they do!
Fiddlehead ferns are a rich source of Iron, Vitamin C, Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids. And if that weren’t enough, the greens are also loaded with antioxidants.
Ammiji was a regular visitor to the mountains of Himachal in her younger days. And that is where she fell in love with this unusual pickle. On all her subsequent trips, if made before the monsoon hit, she would pick up some raw Kasrod on her last day there and get it back home. (The greens have to be cooked within 48 hours of being harvested, otherwise they lose their nutrition and taste.) She pickled them in two ways – one with the fiddleheads and a bit of the stem, and she would use up all the leftover stems for another pickle, made with a slightly Kashmiri touch to it. And that is the formula we are following with the batch of fiddlehead ferns we managed to procure.
We have Ammiji’s Kasrod pickle, which has the heads of the ferns and a bit of stem, and the Kandhor pickle which is made solely with stems.
Ammiji’s Kandhor Ka Achaar is made with the crisp, thick stems of the Fiddlehead Ferns which are loaded with nutrition. The pickle is made according to a Dogri recipe from the Jammu region. Ammiji acquired the recipe when she got her first batch of the ferns home – she won’t tell from where! Yes, she likes her occasional mystery.
This pickle is most suitable to be a crunchy, piquant side to your meal. Pair it with a simple dal-chawal combination to add a nutritiously zingy touch to your meal.
Ingredients: Fiddlehead Fern stems, Salt, Mustard Oil, Red Chilli, Turmeric, Onion Powder, Cumin, Caraway seeds, Yellow Mustard, Pippli, Brown Cardamom, Fenugreek seeds, Nigella seeds.
Weight: 150 gms
Price: Rs 450 400
Refrigerate for longer shelf life.
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Rs. 280.00
Rs. 350.00
A treasure hidden in plain sight – that’s what Ammiji calls the common Indian kitchen staple, ginger. And this is her delicious ginger pickle – supremely digestive, low on salt and oil.
Ginger is the one staple that Ammiji always keeps plenty of in her kitchen. It goes everywhere – from her tea to her curries and from her stoveside to her bedside. According to her, ginger has the power to cure everything – be it nausea, a stomache or a niggling cold. As children we were force-fed strong ginger juice sweetened with a little honey every winter evening, and brined ginger was a part of every salad that we saw on the table.
And one of the pickles that always graced Ammiji’s table was this simple Ginger pickle. Thick cut ginger, dried out in the sun till slightly hard and then pickled with very little oil and spice.
We tried out different recipes for a ginger pickle (no, please don’t tell Ammiji that!), but the one thing that we used as a touchstone was the clean taste of every bite of Ammiji’s original pickle. And so, that’s the recipe we finally went with, even though it was a minimal one!
Ammiji’s Ginger Pickle is the perfectly crunchy side to your meals. Each bite will not only bless you with the incredible power of ginger, but will also enhance your meal experience.
Ingredients: Ginger, Salt, Red Chilli, Turmeric, Aniseed, Fenugreek seeds, Nigella seeds, Coriander seeds, Mustard seeds, Mustard oil, Lemon juice.
Weight: 150 gm
Price: Rs 350 280 (Inclusive of tax)
Good for: 12 months
Always use a clean, dry spoon to scoop out Ammiji’s pickles from the jar!
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Rs. 300.00
Rs. 400.00
The Indian wonderberry, Amla, now pickled according to Ammiji’s strict instructions…
Everyone, and we literally mean everyone, is aware of the tremendous powerhouse that our indigenous amla is. It is one of the richest sources of vitamin C. And the best part – none of that vitamin C is lost while we turn it into delicious food! Here at Ammiji’s, we use amla in our Chyawanprash, we make a superb chutney out of it, we dry it up to make powder for our kaadha, and now, we’ve gone on and pickled it up!
Ammiji was very choosy about the amlas that she would put into her pickle. None of those big, fat juicy amlas were chosen – they were put away for other things. She chose the tiniest, tartest amlas – babies, almost – because she felt that they would taste best in the pickle. And like always, we bow down to Ammiji’s wisdom.
So here’s Ammiji’s Amla Pickle, pickled her way, with the tiny bite-sized amlas she would have chosen.
P.S: did you know that this pickle will provide you a good dose of Vitamin C AND good gut bacteria?
Ingredients: Baby Amla, Salt, Red Chilli, Fenugreek seeds, Mustard seeds, Fennel seeds, Nigella seeds, Mustard Oil
Weight: 300 gms
Price: Rs 400 300 (inclusive of taxes)
Good for: 8 months
Refrigerate after opening. (This pickle contains no preservatives.)
Always use a clean, dry spoon while scooping out Ammiji’s delicious pickles!
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Rs. 450.00
Rs. 550.00
Raw, crisp chunks of guava, pickled in subtle spices to give layers of tang and flavour.
What’s a winter season if you haven’t sat in the sun in the afternoon, having a pre-lunch snack of freshly cut guava sprinkled with some rock salt? As children, Ammiji’s verandah was the place where we would get all our winter pre-lunch goodies at. She used to start her day early, finish her housework quickly and spend the afternoon out in the sun, peeling oranges, slicing up amrood and urging us to eat it all.
One day, one of her sons, while munching on a piece of guava, jokingly remarked that he wished that such crispy, tangy guavas were available the year round. The next day, Ammiji pulled out her pickling pitara and set about chopping up a whole lot of guavas. We sat with her, surrounded by guavas, and filched a lot of slices – she usually turned a blind eye to this and then later pretended that we had finished the entire lot! Soon, two barnis were full of guava, spices and oil, happily sunning themselves and Ammiji sat back with a satisfied smile.
From then on, the guava pickle was made every winter – to see us through the summers. In keeping with the tradition, we’ve put a big batch of Amrood ka Achaar too. This pickle is being made in Amritsar under Ammiji’s supervision. The guavas are from an orchard nearby and the mustard oil is custom cold-pressed. Only select, premium and hand-sorted spices are used in this pickle.
Amrood ka Achaar will add that special tang to all your meals. Munch on it between bites of your meal, and make your meals more interesting and nostalgic…
Ingredients: Guava, Cold-pressed Mustard Oil, Black Salt, Raw Turmeric, Red Chilli, Cumin, Coriander, Black Pepper, Mustard seeds, Nigella seeds, Fenugreek seeds
Weight: 250 gms
Price: Rs 550 450 (inclusive of taxes)
Good for: 6 months
Refrigerate after opening. (This pickle contains no preservatives.)
Always use a clean, dry spoon while scooping out Ammiji’s delicious pickles!
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Rs. 300.00
Rs. 400.00
Harnessing the immensely powerful benefits of raw turmeric in a delicious pickle that’ll make you ask for more…
By now, most of us know about the health benefits of incorporating raw turmeric into our diet. The west has only recently realized what we Indians have known for ages – turmeric is one of the top-notch superfoods ever. It is a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory and has shown to prevent and control the onset of various chronic diseases. Our grandmother’s age-old haldi-doodh nuska may now be enterprisingly called a turmeric latte, but that doesn’t detract from the benefits of haldi.
Raw turmeric is a powerful root. And Ammiji knew it. Which is why we always had this pickle at our table during the summers. In the winters, she added fresh raw turmeric to a lot of her sabzis and the summers saw her pushing the jar of the turmeric pickle that she had prepared in the winters towards us.
This pickle is made with a simple, no-fuss recipe that preserves the character of the raw turmeric root and yet adds a delicious tang to it. Add it to your daily meals for a boost to your health and gut.
Ingredients: Raw turmeric root, salt, red chilli, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, asafoetida, lemon juice, mustard oil.
]Weight: 200 gms
Price: Rs 400 300 (inclusive of taxes)
Good for: 9 months
Refrigerate after opening. (This pickle contains no preservatives.)
Always use a clean, dry spoon while scooping out Ammiji’s delicious pickles!