POONDU OORUKAI/GARLIC PICKLE



Homemade pickles are a great way to cut down sodium in diets. These are much better than the store-brought ones loaded with salt, preservatives, and oil. These days even a couple of weight loss programs recommend a low-sodium diet. If you are at a risk of getting diabetes or pre-diabetes or even if you have a stressful job, cutting down excess salt intake is also very important with along cutting down on refined foods. Lately, we have also been cutting down on sodium. I didn’t make any major changes in our diet except that we go for the unsalted version of nuts and chips and always look for the low-salt version of any foods we buy. I also started using sea salt instead of regular table salt for the past few months. Sea salt is a naturally low in sodium and moreover just a little of this can be added in places where larger amount of salt is used. The only thing I cannot control is our intake of pickles, especially my hubby’s :(….he needs to have pickle with every meal, so I started making pickles like garlic, tomato and mango pickle in batches and now we are having them instead of our usual ones. I saw some recipes for garlic pickles in a couple of sites and this is my own version of this pickle. I love this pickle with mixed rice varieties, particularly with briyanis.


INGREDIENTS:

1. Garlic cloves, around 10-12 if bigger cloves are used.

2. Sesame oil, ½ cup.

3. Sea salt, 1 teaspoon.

4. Chili powder or paprika powder, 2 teaspoons.

5. Mustard seeds, 1 teaspoon.

6. Lemon juice, ¼ cup.

7. Curry leaves, a spring.

8. Crushed jaggery, 1 teaspoon. (optional). The pickle tastes good even without the jaggery.

9. Asafetida, ¼ teaspoon.

To roast and grind:

1. Fenugreek seeds, 2 tablespoons.

2. Coriander seeds, 2 tablespoons.

3. Mustard seeds, 1 teaspoon.


PREPARATION:

Roast the ingredients given under the roast and grind category and grind everything into a smooth powder and keep aside. If bigger cloves of garlic are used, slice them into even pieces. Heat a pan with the sesame oil. Add the mustard seeds and let it splutter when the oil turns hot. Then reduce the flame and add the garlic, curry leaves, salt, all the ground powders, chili powder, salt, and asafetida and mix everything well. Let it cook for 10 minutes under low flame until the garlic is cooked. Then add the lemon juice and jaggery and cook for a few more minutes and switch off the stove. Transfer into airtight containers once cooled. This pickle can stay fresh for up to 3-4 weeks when stored in the refrigerator. It can be had as a side dish with rice, idlis, dosas, and chapathis.

45 comments:

Priya Suresh said...

Love this instant version of garlic pickle, looks spicy and fantastic..

Cool Lassi(e) said...

Lovely Post Gita. I just might give this a try as I have plenty of Garlic in the house.

Mythreyi Dilip said...

I love home-made pickles dear. Making garlic pickle at home is new to me, thanks for sharing:)

Nithu Bala said...

Thanks for the nice info Dear...I never tried garlic pickle at home..loved the recipe..nice picture..

Padma said...

Looks spicy and mouthwatering.

Treat and Trick said...

Looks simple to make, lovely recipe and nice pic too...

http://treatntrick.blogspot.com

Preety said...

homemade pickles are always best..looks so spicy and perfect

Vrinda said...

Garlic pickle is my fav among pickles...ur version sounds gr8..lov the color

Usha said...

Pickle looks spicy and inviting !

Nandinis food said...

This is one of my favorite pickles! It's spicy and droolworthy! Send me few samples of it!

Unknown said...

looks so spicy and perfect with hot rice...
an award is waiting for u in my blog,,plz accept it..

shahana said...

I was looking for a gud garlic pickle from along time.Now i got it.Thanks for sharing!!

Aparna said...

Garlic pickle luks spicy,one of my favorite pickle,This reminds me of hostel days :)

Shama Nagarajan said...

yuumy spicy garlic pickle...mouthwatering

Fathima said...

nice garlic pickle.. making me drool...

Padhu Sankar said...

What you say is true.Store bought ones are loaded with preservatives. Home make pickles are fresh and we know what we are using.I make garlic pickle but my version is different I will try yours for a change

Reshmi said...

i love any pickle variety.....oorukaii looks delicious....

Meena said...

lovely home-made pickle...so fresh too!

Sushma Mallya said...

looks amazing and love the flavours in it..

subhashini said...

Gr8 going Gita
Home made pickles are alwys good.

kitchen queen said...

to be very honest I am not a big fan of poondu,but ur pickle makes me drool.

priya said...

yummy homemade pickle, dear

Astra Libris said...

Ooooh, I know Zach will love this recipe - he adores garlic! :-) Thank you for the great recipe, and hooray for homemade healthier versions! :-)

Raks said...

Looks nice and i have not tasted garlic pickle! I wud love to try! Gud for health too ..

Pari Vasisht said...

Hi Gita, we are very low eaters when it comes to pickles. my mom used to make garlic pickle for my grand mother.
The pickle looks full of flavours.

Tina said...

Spicy and tempting pickle....

Simplyfood said...

Lovely pickle recipe.Delicious served with paratha.

Malar Gandhi said...

Nice garlicky pickle...can have with thayir saadham, very aromatic oorukai:)

Renuka Bedre - Rao said...

so different n tasty pickle! thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe..

Vikis Kitchen said...

Never knew the health benefits of the good old sea salt. But I am sure it brings more flavor to the food. Always love that salt very much. Home made pickles are really a wonderful way to make a meal more delicious. Look at that gorgeous garlic pickle dear...it makes me drool. Very nice recipe n click.

Urmi said...

Garlic pickle looks tempting and very new to me. Neither I have prepared nor I have tasted. Thanks for this wonderful recipe.

Deepa G Joshi said...

garlic pickle looks so tasty and spicy..great with rice.

www.foodlyrics.com

Nadji said...

Ça doit être délicieux.
Je note ta recette.
A bientôt.

Aruna Manikandan said...

Garlic pickle looks spicy and yummy!!!!

Siddhi Shirsat said...

wow very spicy n tangy garlic pickle gita.yumm

Rachana said...

I always have home made pickles and this looks so yummy):

gtyuk said...

poondu oorukai looks hot and delicious!! my son is a pickle freak too, he loves to add pickle to almost all rice dishes :) your recipe sounds great!!! I love pickles with thayir saadham, lemon rice and sometimes with sweet breads too :)

Sarah Naveen said...

wow!!! i love this..i was looking for a nice recipe..bookmarked....yummy yumm

Kalai said...

wow...fresh n instant, my fav pickle. Never tried myself. Always my mom makes sure she send me a can of pickle wherever I am.
Bookmarked it, will give it a try soon.

Hayley said...

Lovely and very tempting garlic pickle!! thanx for sharing!!

Shri said...

Looks fantastic!Garlic is not something that I ate growing up but in the US,I acquired the taste and I started loving it!

Nisha said...

Came here looking for Garlic Pickle,bookmarking this one. Btw you have a great blog.

Yasmeen said...

I'd definitely prefer this fresh homemade low sodium pickle to store bought :D

Cham said...

Two weeks back i made pickle, garlic i love it!

Remya said...

my fav pickle ..lovely one