My mom used to make a variety of achār (athāṇuṁ in Gujarati). Sour, sweet ones (made with unripe mangoes and they both had mustard & red pepper in oil), Chhundo

My mom used to make a variety of achār (athāṇuṁ in Gujarati). Sour, sweet ones (made with unripe mangoes and they both had mustard & red pepper in oil), Chhundo (shredded unripe mangoes in sugar syrup & red pepper). These would be stored in white & light orange ceramic pots. But I don’t recall them lasting years and years! Lime as well as green pepper pickles were more seasonal. Also whole not quite ripe black peppers on their stem. The green pepper ones would get less hot over time but some could still be tongue burning hot. People who want to make their own pickles should first try readymade ones as they can be a bit of an acquired taste. You can get many kinds in most Indian stores (usually a at least a whole shelfful if not a whole aisle). Patak’s used to be the main one many years ago but now there are many more brands. My favorite is Patak’s brinjal (eggplant) pickle. You can even use some pickles as a sandwich spread! Or on crackers or lightly sautéed chapati or masala puri etc as a quick snack.