Achar
Condiment
Top 10 pairings
Achar (also achaar or aachar) is the Indian family of oil pickles — sun-cured chunks of unripe fruit or vegetable, most classically green mango or lime, packed in salt and pungent mustard oil with a fierce blend of ground and whole spices. Sharp, salty, sour and searingly aromatic, a small spoonful of the glistening, spice-flecked relish is served alongside dal, rice, curd rice, parathas and thalis across the subcontinent to cut richness and wake up a plate.
Picking a good onedrag
Sealed and glossy, everything under the oilFizzing or fuzzy, water got into the jar
Open and in useEveryday jarKeep it cool and dark, put only a dry spoon in it, and press the pieces back under the oil after every single dip.
Under the oilOil still covers the pickle, with a corner or two just breaking the surface where the spoon last went
The surfaceCloudy, grainy oil or a pale salt crust at the rim - that is the masala and the salt, not a fault; stir and spoon it up
Smell itRounder and mellower, the raw mustard bite softened into the spice - that is months of maturing, not fading
The lid and the spoonOpen and in use, lid screwed down, and only ever a clean dry spoon in it - never wet or bare hands