Green Chili Pickles - Milagai Thokku

Just like the Eggplant pickle, this is a recipe that was given by a friend. I usually plant a lot more green chilli plants than needed and I always have plenty of green chilies. Never a bad thing :) I was given a box of the green chili thokku and it was the most delicious thing ever. Oh yes! I did get the recipe.

Green Chilies

The pickle works best with green chilies that are not very spicy. The chilies I had were spicy and some of them were ripe. The best ones for this particular pickle are chilies with thin skins. If you have noticed it or not as the chili ripens the skin becomes thicker which is good for making dried chilies but not for this pickle. Also as the chili ripens it start to get more spicier.

Here is the recipe in pictures,

In a wide mouthed heat oil and when hot add mustard seeds. Once mustard pops add the green chilies which have been washed and dried completely.
Get the onions cut and ready. Once the green chilies start having blisters on them add the onions in.
Soak tamarind in hot water and extract the pulp.
Saute till the green chilies start to shrivel. Add in the tamarind pulp and more oil if needed.
Let the mixture cook till the chilies start to disintegrate. Add salt. Prepare the sugar and set aside.
Add in the sugar and let cook for another 5 minutes or so and turn off the heat.

Green Chili Pickle - Mikagai Thokku
Preparation Time:15 minutes
Cooking Time:50 minutes
Ingredients

1. 1 1/2 lbs of Green Chili or about 3-4 cups, cleaned and dried completely of any moisture.
2. 1 1/2 cups of thinly sliced
3. 1/2 cup of jaggery (I used palm jaggery)
4. 1- 1 1/2 cups of oil (I used sesame oil)
5. salt to taste.
6. 1 small shaped ball of tamarind (about 1 1/2 cups of thick pulp)
7. seasonings: Mustard seeds

Method

1. Wash and clean the green chilies, remove the steam and let them air dry till the moisture evaporates.
2. In a wide mouthed pan, heat oil and when hot add the mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds pop add the green chilies.
3. Saute till the green chilies start to get blisters.
4. Now add in the onions and continue to saute, add more oil if required. The chilies should start to fall apart.
5. Now add in the extracted tamarind pulp and let it cook till the oil starts to separate. Add in the salt.
6. The best texture is when the chilies are starting to fall apart, takes about 30-40 minutes.
7. Add the sugar and let it cook for about 5 -10 minutes till the sugar melts and it comes together.
8. Cool and store in dry clean jars. Stays for about 2 months even without refrigeration.

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