Grated Pear Pickle- Pear ka Achaar

Posted on by

Grated Pear Pickle- is a spicy south Indian style pickle that can be paired as a tangy condiment with rice, idly, dosa, or upma.

This pear pickle was recreated aping the mango achaar or pacchadi format. It’s often said necessity is the mother of invention; that’s how I got creative with crisp fresh green pears. My three reasons were green mangos are not easily available in the USA; I had a good amount of green pears picked from a friend’s backyard sitting in my refrigerator; our constant fondness for eating pickles at every meal;) 

Ingredients

  • Pears – 6; grated
  • Red Chilli Powder-½ cup to ¾ cup or preferred spice level
  • Salt (Kosher Granulated )-½ cup or more to taste
  • Turmeric -1tsp
  • Mustard Seed Powder- 1 tblsp; roasted & ground
  • Fenugreek Powder-½ tsp; roasted &ground 
  • Lemon juice- 1-2 tsp ;optional 

For Tempering:

  •  Oil – 4 tblsp or more 
  • Mustard Seeds= 1 tsp
  • Dry Red Chillies-6
  • Garlic Cloves-8; Peeled 
  • Fenugreek Seeds- ¼ tsp
  • Asafoetida-pinch
  • Curry leaves – 2 twigs 

Preparation

  1. Grate the crisp green pears and set them aside. Sprinkle some lemon juice to avoid the fruit changing to yellow color. 
  2. Roast some mustard seeds in a pan and grind to a powder.  Similarly, roast the fenugreek seeds and grind and set that aside too.
  3. Now add the red chilli powder, ground mustard, ground fenugreek, turmeric, and salt to the grated pears. Salt can be added in parts to not over salt the pickle.
  4. Mix the spices well with the grated pears and set aside.
  5. For the Tadka or  Tempering, warm oil in a  pan.  To this, add mustard seeds and let them crackle. Next, add garlic cloves, fenugreek seeds, dry red chillies, and curry leaves. Lastly, add a pinch of hing or asafoetida. 
  6. Set aside the tempering or tadka to cool down before you pour it on the grated pears. 
  7. After mixing in all the spices and the tempering ingredients, store the pickle in clean and dry mason jars. 
  8. If the oil is not standing above the pickle, warm some more oil and cool it down and pour it on top of the pickle. This stretches the shelf life of the pickle. Keep the Pickle jars refrigerated for longer shelf life. 
  9. The grated pear pickle tastes great with rice and dal, with Idlis, Dosa, and Upma.

Tips

Avoid any water or moisture on pears or mason jars, which reduces the shelf life of the pickle.

Comments are closed.