This pickle is prepared with small onions ( popularly called Chinna vengayam / sambar onion in Tamil nadu )and garlic.This keeps good for few months to a year if kept refrigerated.
Ingredients:
Small onion – 300 Gms,( peeled and sliced fine )
Peeled garlic – 50 Gms ( chopped fine ),
Red chilli powder – 3 Tablesp,
Haldi – 1 Tsp,
Tamarind – 50 Gms,
Salt – 3 Tablesp,
Oil – 100 ml,( or a little more ),
Haldi – 1 Tsp,
Hing – 1/4 Tsp ( optional ),
Mustard powder – 1 Tsp,( dry fried and powdered ),
Mustard seeds – 1 Tsp,
Curry patta leaves – 10 to 15,
Methi powder – 1 Tsp,( methi dry fried and powdered – optional ),
Method:
1).Soak tamarind in hot water and extract juice .Keep it aside,
2).Heat 3 tablespoons of oil, fry onion and garlic till they become light brown with nice aroma.
3).Add tamarind juice and cook till whole mixture thickens.
4).Add haldi, chilli powder, salt and hing.Mix well and let it cook for few minutes.
5).Add methi powder ,mustard powder ,mix well and remove from fire.
6).Heat remaining oil ,add mustard seeds, curry leaves and fry till mustard splutters.Pour this over pickle and mix well.Keep it on fire for a min and remove.
7).Cool and bottle the pickle.Serve as side dish with plain rice/ curd rice/ upma and kitchidi type preparations.
Tip:
A).You can substitute normal onions if small onions ( sambar onions ) are not available.But pickle with sambar onions is more tastier than the pickle with normal ones.
B).Tadka is optional.You can fry onion and garlic using all the oil in the begining it self.Add methi and mustard powders as a last step.But do not keep pickle on fire for long after adding methi and mustard powders as it results in bitter ness to the pickle.