Guides · 3 min read ·
Achar: A Beginner's Guide to Pakistani Pickles
Everything you need to know about Pakistani achar: mango, lemon, mixed and carrot pickles, the spices that define them, how traditional oil pickles work, and a simple quick achar to make at home.
A spoonful of achar on the side of the plate is part of almost every Pakistani meal. It’s sharp, salty, oily and fiery, and a little goes a long way. A plain plate of daal chawal or khichdi comes alive with a bit of mango pickle, and for many people a paratha breakfast isn’t complete without it.
What makes Pakistani achar different
Pakistani pickles are usually oil pickles: vegetables or fruit cured with salt and spices and preserved in mustard oil, rather than in vinegar or brine. Salt draws out water, the spices flavour and preserve, and the oil seals everything from air. Over days or weeks in the sun, the pickle matures and softens.
The flavour comes from a family of pickling spices you’ll recognise in achar gosht and other achari dishes:
- Saunf (fennel seeds): sweet and aromatic.
- Kalonji (nigella seeds): slightly bitter, oniony.
- Methi dana (fenugreek seeds): bitter, with a maple-like note.
- Rai (mustard seeds): pungent heat.
- Red chili powder and turmeric for colour and heat.
- Mustard oil as the preserving fat, with its own sharp flavour.
The most common types
Mango (aam ka achar). The classic. Made from raw green mangoes at the start of the season, cut into pieces with the stone and cured in mustard oil and spices. It takes a few weeks to mature.
Lemon (nimbu ka achar). Whole or quartered lemons cured with salt and spices until the skins turn soft and dark. It keeps for years and gets better with age.
Mixed (mix achar). Mango, carrot, lemon, green chilies and sometimes cauliflower or turnip in one jar.
Carrot and turnip. Popular in winter, often lightly fermented, served with halwa puri.
Green chili. Whole chilies stuffed with spices and preserved in oil.
A simple quick achar to try
Traditional mango pickle takes weeks, but this quick carrot and green chili achar is ready in a day and keeps in the fridge for two weeks.
- 2 carrots, cut into sticks
- 6 green chilies, slit
- ½ cup mustard oil (or any oil)
- 1 tsp each: fennel seeds, nigella seeds, mustard seeds
- ½ tsp fenugreek seeds
- 1 tsp red chili powder, ½ tsp turmeric, 1½ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice
- Heat the mustard oil until it just smokes, then let it cool for 5 minutes. This takes away its raw edge.
- Lightly crush the fennel, mustard and fenugreek seeds.
- Add all the seeds to the warm oil, then the chili, turmeric and salt.
- Toss the carrots and chilies in the spiced oil, add the vinegar, and pack into a clean, dry glass jar.
- Leave at room temperature for a day, shaking the jar now and then, then keep it in the fridge.
Keeping pickles safe
Moisture is the enemy of oil pickles; it causes mould. Always use dry vegetables, dry jars and dry spoons. Keep the pieces submerged under the oil, and if you see any fuzzy mould, throw the whole jar away.
How to serve achar
Achar is a condiment, not a side dish: a teaspoon or two per plate. It’s especially good with plain dishes that need a lift, like daal and rice, khichdi, parathas and plain pulao. A little achar oil drizzled over yogurt or mixed into a sandwich is a trick many Pakistani households swear by.
