Pickled fresh turmeric with mango ginger (manjal and maa inji)

Hi there ! So,this one I LOVE ! Ok (rolling eyes!) I love them all but this one is extra extra EXTRA special. Hence the different font and all ! (Assuming you all noticed ) The reason why I went  gaga over this is because of the sheer simplicity of these ingredients . When I first set eyes on this pickled concoction a year ago at my in-laws’ home,I thought they were carrot sticks. I tasted a little bit and went ,”WHOA! what’s that ?!” I absolutely loved the crunch , the tang not to mention the freshness from the lime that was just perfect for any time of the year and most definitely hit the spot for summer. It literally blew my mind when I found out that the orangey bits were actually fresh turmeric .I was like… what the heck have we been doing all these years not appreciating this amazing ingredient. We use the turmeric powder everyday without giving a thought to the actual rhizome.

The relative who made this actually got the recipe from one of her close family members who is older by many decades. Apparently it was a family recipe that went back a good many generations. I could so well believe that ! It comes from a time where food was associated with fresh produce , hand picked with reverence and gratitude and thereby translated into recipes that fed the family,nurtured the home,the land and those who worked on it.

The word curcumin has been in the news a lot these days.It’s the bright yellow colour produced by certain plants which contain several curative properties. But then we already knew that ,didn’t we ?! How many times have we heard our elders say that turmeric is a great antiseptic.I’ve lost count. Sadly it now comes down to'”where does one find the real turmeric?” Not anymore in sachets in supermarkets… most often we have no idea what those yellow powders contain do we ?!

I was surprised recently when this was the topic of conversation at my hairdresser’s ! Surprised because a few years ago nobody gave a damn. Today people are beginning to make that connection between food , it’s source and wellness.

So , yes I not only got my hands on some young turmeric but also began growing them in grow bags and around the house. The leaves too are extremely fragrant and are loaded with medicinal properties. They taste great when infused in rasam or a clear soup.

The first time I pickled these was last year , it didn’t turn out great for 2 reasons. I didn’t sun dry the batch long enough and neither did I add enough lemon juice to the raw turmeric. But we still ate it all up 😀 (mostly me actually !!!)

This time around I decided to add the other rhizome that I equally adore the manga inji (mango ginger) It still amazes me how nature comes up with these awesome combos. Just the thought of dunking these in lemon juice had me salivating and visualising a dish of cold yoghurt to go with it. So,with those thoughts there I was staining my fingers a vivid sunshine yellow as I patiently peeled the turmeric, the mango ginger and later sliced them into imperfect juliennes (if there existed such a shape !) In went the slit green chillies, salt and lime juice and after that it was up to the sun to work it’s magic. It did and how ! Four hours later under the intense summer sun , the chillies had softened and curled and the juice from the lemons had turned the most appetising shade of … well I won’t say yellow..more like liquid sunshine. Truly ! Not trying to be poetic here.

If you ask me ,the best way to get past this summer,is to get your hands on some fresh turmeric (ask the farmers and your organic stores) and get pickling…it is DEELICIOUS ! (After all ,let’s not forget that I’ve shared with you an heirloom recipe) Yeah ! I’m nice like that 😉

By the way, did I mention I love it ?! …just making sure 🙂 🙂 🙂

P.S . We’re turning the turmeric peels into a body scrub 🙂