Adgai (Young Jackfruit- Raw Mango Pickle)

Adgai is a very popular Konkani Instant pickle. I got this recipe from my mother. This is commonly prepared during summer, as the young jackfruit and raw mango are seasonal. This is one of my favorite pickle and was in my 'to- do' list for a long time. Some how I was nervous to try making pickle. 

Finally I managed to make it successfully under the guidance of my mother. I am very thankful to her. I cannot explain the happiness I got after eating the pickle made by me :-) Do give this a try and I am sure you will love it too.

Ingredients:

• Young Jackfruit*, chopped- 1 cup (heaping)
• Raw Mango, medium sized** - 1 (nearly makes 1 1/4 cup when chopped)
• Salt- To taste

For Roasting:

• Dry Red Chillies (byadgi variety), big sized- 10-12
• Mustard seeds- 2 1/2 tsp
• Coriander seeds- 1 1/2 tsp
• Fenugreek seeds/ Methi- 1/4 tsp
• Turmeric Powder- 1/4 tsp
• Asafoetida/ Hing- 1/4 tsp
• Oil- For roasting

*Young jackfruit can be fresh or canned. I used canned. If using canned then use half a can of young jackfruit.
**Raw mango should be fresh and sour. More sour the better it is, for pickle.

Procedure:

Few important things you need to keep in mind before making this pickle:

#All the bowls, spoon, frying pan etc should be clean and dry.

#It is preferred that you start making the pickle in the morning and by evening it will be done. Next day, it will be ready to use.

#Be careful while adding salt. Add it in steps. You can always add more if required.

#The pickle has to be stored in a clean glass or porcelain jar (you can also use plastic containers. remember that it might get stained).

Now coming back to the preparation-

Wash the raw mango and pat dry. Then chop it into small cubes.

Transfer the chopped raw mango into a large dry bowl. Sprinkle little salt and mix well. Cover and let it rest for 4-6 hours.

Next comes the chopping of raw young jackfruit.

If using fresh- using greased hands, remove the outer hard skin and inner core (like pineapple). Then chop it  into small cubes.

If using canned- drain the water and rinse the pieces thoroughly for 2-3 times in water. Then chop it further to get bite size pieces. Canned young jackfruit makes life lot easier :-)

Then transfer these pieces in a pressure cooker with enough water and little salt. Pressure cook it for 1 whistle. Let it cool completely (absolutely cold). Then drain the pieces. Reserve the liquid in which it was cooked. It can be used while grinding the chilli paste.

Next step is to make the chilli paste.

Take a dry pan and add few drops of oil. Add the dry red chilli and fry it lightly, for a minute or so. Care should be taken not to burn the chillies. Transfer it to a plate for cooling.

In the same pan, add few more drops of oil and add coriander seeds and mustard seeds. Start frying it on a medium- low flame. When it slightly changes the color, add fenugreek seeds and asafoetida. Slowly the mustard starts to pop. At this stage, turn off the heat and finally add the turmeric powder and give a quick stir. Transfer it to a plate, for cooling. Burning the spices will make the pickle bitter. So fry them on a low heat.

Once the spices gets cooled, grind them into a fine powder. Then add little amount of the reserved liquid (in which jackfruit was cooked) and grind. The resulting paste should be smooth.

Its time to mix everything.

Put the raw jackfruit, chilli paste, salt into the bowl containing raw mango. Mix well. Add more water or reserved liquid to achieve the desired consistency. I kept it medium thick. Let this mixture sit for a day, so that the raw mango and jackfruit gets time to absorb the flavors. Adgai is ready!!

Store it in a glass/ porcelain jar. Refrigerate it for future use. It stays good for 15 days to a month.