Carrot Pickle Gajar Ka Achar

If you enjoy a good Indian pickle you will fall in love with this vegan carrot pickle. Indian pickles are alluring, because the unique combination of spices, mustard oil and salt packs in more flavor than you can imagine. Pickles have long been valued in Indian homes for their probiotic benefits but unfortunately most store bought pickles do not offer those benefits because they are pasteurized. A few years back, as I learned more about the power of fermented foods like sauerkraut and sourdough, I also turned to making my own Indian pickles at home (like this amazing lime pickle), much as my mother and grandmother did. I discovered that not only is the process easy, but the result is far tastier and more nutritious than anything you can buy in a jar off a shelf. I’ve since pickled all sorts of veggies, but one of my favorites is by far this delicious carrot pickle. Not only is it super easy to make, but it amplifies the natural healthfulness of carrots. Best of all, it tastes amazing as a side with a simple Indian meal of dal and rice.

Why you’ll love this carrot pickle

It can transform any ordinary meal into a delicious experience. A typical Indian meal consists of dal and rice and/or roti and sabzi (cooked vegetable side). Adding a spoonful of this carrot pickle to that simple meal punches up the flavor. It is probiotic and good for you. If you are reading this, I don’t need to tell you about the benefits of probiotic foods. Including a spoonful of this pickle in your diet everyday can work wonders for your gut bacteria and microbiome. It is easy to make. I usually make pickles in summer when the sun is at its fiercest, but these carrot pickles don’t need to stand in the sun. You can leave them on your countertop for about a week to ferment. After that you can store them in the fridge. Everyone will love them. Did I say Indian pickles are addictive? If you’ve never eaten them before, you absolutely need to try them. Kids usually love them too! I can’t easily get Jay to eat yogurt or foods with sourdough but he will gobble down pickles.

Ingredients

How to make carrot pickle

Grate the carrots and ginger and place in a large bowl. Place the fennel seeds, nigella seeds and fenugreek seeds in a skillet and toast them for 3-5 minutes, over medium heat, until very fragrant.

Remove the seeds to a plate and when they have cooled place them in a blender or coffee grinder with the turmeric and cayenne. Blend into a powder. Add to the bowl with the carrots and ginger.

Heat the mustard oil until it’s smoking hot. Add the mustard seeds to the hot oil along with the asafetida. As soon as the mustard seeds sputter take it off the stove and carefully pour the hot oil mixture into the bowl with the carrots and ginger. Stir in the salt and mix well.

Once the pickle has cooled down, pack it into sterilized mason jars making sure the carrots are submerged under a thin layer of oil on top. This will keep the carrots from getting moldy.

Let the mason jars stand on the countertop for a week. Stir them every other day with a clean, sterilized spoon, always making sure you pack them under the layer of oil. After a week the pickles should have softened considerably. Serve them and store the remaining pickles in the fridge.

Serving suggestions

With dal and rice. With roti and a sabzi, like this bhindi ki sabzi or baingan masala. If you are a sourdough aficionado, check out this amazingly soft roti recipe made with sourdough discard. This is unconventional, but I love stirring a spoonful of this carrot pickle in a salad. It adds so much delicious flavor and no dressing required!