Monday, November 23, 2009

Dates Pickle


The whole final week of September, was spent in Dubai with my brother.In spite of being ardent ‘Date-haters’ the amazing choice of ‘em simply tempted us to buy some. So our boxes back to India generously allowed space for these black beauties to sit in pretty comfortably. :).

A few exotic packets(chocolate wrapped, almond and cashew stuffed) were given away to dear and near and one small pack remained on my counter which was smiling at me…unconsumed even after a month and a half! :)
As a matter of fact, many(like my inlaws, husband and children) dislike, any touch of sweetness in curries or pickles, except for certain special ones like me(my sis, brother and mom too) who would vouch unlike ;)..(Warm welcome to join our team if anyone out there …plzzz) ;)!!...(((V is just around counting the number of my team mates! ;) ))

Since I knew I would be the one finishing the whole thing, I opted to try making a lesser amount, with just less than a dozen dates.They tasted awesome and I ended up eating the pickle with steamed rice,chapathis, dosa and with almost all main stuff I prepared for the past two weeks….so I'm really not sure about the shelf life of this preserve ;)!..

So, here’s how I pickled them up..

Dates – 10 nos
Green chillies finely minced-2 (I avoided this)
Ginger – a one inch piece- julienned
Garlic - 4 cloves- julienned
White vinegar-1-2 tbsps(according to the preffered sourness)
Sugar – ½ tsp


Seasoning

Oil – ½ cup
Curry leaves – a sprig
Mustard seeds-1/2tsp

Let me put all the powders together here :)

Chilly powder-1 tbsp(I used a tbsp of roasted red chillies powdered coarsely)
Asafoetida/Kayam - 1/4 tsp
Fenugreek/Uluva-Roasted and powdered finely– 1/4 tsp
Turmeric powder- a fat pinch
Salt - As needed


  • Deseed the dates and cut each into 4 pieces.
  • Heat oil in a pan.Throw in green chillies, ginger, garlic bits and curry leaves.Saute for a few seconds.
  • Add dates.Now be careful with flame.Keep it to minimum or just put off and add the all the powders. Ensure they are mixed up and heated well enough,rather than getting over fried/charred.
  • Add vinegar(I added a little water, just enough to make the pickle a little saucy-as I love that way :)..though addition of water is strictly 'Not' recommended as in any pickles).Adjust the flame and bring the sauce to a boil.
  • Add salt and sugar.Mix well.
  • Store the dates pickle in a ceramic jar or glass bottle.



Because the addition of water, I refrigerated, till it got over, for the safer side.Otherwise it has a longer shelf life, in room temperature.

Dates pickle is an excellent combination with any Non vegetarian Biriyani..(Sigh!! :().. err compliments Vegetable Biriyanis well enough too :) !!..

Thank You Swapna, for making this post possible!.

34 comments:

  1. Dates pickle.. now this is a first!! There is one sweet mango pickle but i dislike sweetness in my pickle!!!Sorry for not joinin' ur team :(

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  2. Since I live in Dubai I get to taste all varieties of dates but we just have it as it is never tried to make pickle.I better try after seeing ur recipe.

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  3. u are back as before :) good to see u

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  4. that looks awesome sis!! i love sweet pickles! do you rem the maanga ooruga with jaggery and onions amma used to make in chungam house? i used to eat with dosa every day. i am planning to ask her for that soon so i can try. i think its relatively simple to make too :) will post soon!

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  5. Very interesting! I can relate to how this would complement any biriyani though

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  6. Mouthwatering pickle,Barathy :)

    Count our whole family in you special list,we all love sweet touch in our day to day cooking ;)
    So how was Dubai trip? Upload some in Orkut no,I will see you..(Dubai ;D)

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  7. I just love this pickle:).A friend's mom used to make it and I always had it with fried rice since I was veggie and usually all the side dishes were nv:).Would love to try it:)

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  8. Thats a different kind of pickle,sounds interesting and looks delicious,..and a lovely click too

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  9. Mouthwatering pickle. Would love to try it sometime.

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  10. Dates from there is far bettr than the one we get hre i am sure.
    Pickles look good, but i think i am with your kids and inlaws,
    I would much more prefer the spicy ones, but then my hubby and daughter ould love this.

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  11. that looks amazing..One of my Fav!!!
    Yummy yumm!!!

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  12. hey wow! this is something new and really unique :) I dont mind giving it a try...snaps look damn good

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  13. never know we can make pickles in dates.gorgeous pictures bharathy.

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  14. very tempting click...never tried this pickle....

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  15. ahhaaa..kolla loo ee acchar...between a very nice click..

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  16. First time here......
    Dates pickle looks really yummy!!!
    Nice clicks!!!

    Check my space when u find time

    with luv,
    ArunaManikandan
    http://ensamayalkuripugal.blogspot.com

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  17. We are also with you....love to have this pickle with Biriyani, aloo paratha...but mine is not saucy... great pics dear!!

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  18. Dates pickle looks tempting and mouth watering. Thanks for this wonderful recipe.
    Please collect your award from my blog.

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  19. I just made this...and I'm lovin' it!!!

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  20. This pickle is new to me .Sounds interesting.New comer here.Do drop by
    http://padhuskitchen.blogspot.com/

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  21. Hey Bharathy..I couldn't find your e-mail,so posting here.I use Cadbury's Cocoa powder--edited the post to add:)

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  22. Luv anything with dates, bookmarked! Lovely click bharathy

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  23. Never ever thought of a date pickle, what a lovely idea!

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  24. Just saw this recipe on Divya's blog too. I am SO going to try this.

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  25. Thank you Girls for all those wonderful comments!..Couldn't visit your places as always, this time..:)

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  26. I can almost imagine how good this would taste with pulao.
    I've had pickled dates before, but it was a much simpler version with only green chillies and vinegar in it.

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  27. Dates pickle sounds excellent! Yum!

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  28. Barathy, I've made this pickle twice already! It 's a big hit with my guests,thanks so much for the recipe.

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  29. I was searching for this dear.. perfect for biriyani

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  30. i hate the taste of vinegar, please suggest me if i can substitute some other things to that.

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