Achaar - Indian Pickle & its varieties
Achaar is also known as an Indian pickle. It is native to the Indian subcontinent, made of different vegetables & fruits, preserved in edible oil, vinegar, or lime juice with various spice mixes. Pickles are popular accompaniments that every India makes in-house. It is a common condiment of Indian households. The style of making these pickles may differ from kitchen to kitchen. A south Indian Mango pickle is different from a north Indian Mango pickle because the Southern States use sesame oil to preserve pickles & the Northern States use mustard oil.
Homemade pickles are prepared during the summer season & kept under sunlight for at least a week. It should be covered with a muslin cloth while maturing.
History of Achaar / Pickle
Preserving fruits, vegetables, or roots in brine or vinegar for a longer period is called pickling. The history of pickles goes back to 2400 BCE when Mesopotamians pickled food as per New York Food Museum, but the exact origin of the process is unknown. One can also say that Achaar (Pickles) is native to the Indian Subcontinent because cucumber is native to India & pickled in the Tigris Valley.
Pickle was cited in various texts from ancient & medieval India. As per book name – Indian Food: A Historical Companion, written by food historian K.T Achaya refers to Nemichandra (10th Century author) who describe the large number of pickles made of fruits & vegetable, flavored with camphor serving to the king in a book called Lilavati Prabhandam. K.T Achaya also notes that Gujrati’s text ‘Varanka-Samuchaya’ describes pickles with sweet & sour flavors tempered with cardamom & cloves.
More deep we go will find more about Indian pickles history which is mention in various ancient books.