Childhood Memories…..
Pickled Candied Plums or Aaloobukhara
A candied version of plum which is quite famous in my place and been my favourite childhood candy which I use to look forward and can’t get enough of it. It is sweet, sour and spicy, along with that whole spices gives it a warm mouth feel.
Pickled in hindi means “ Achar”, so basically this dish is called Aaloo bukhare ke Achar. It supports in digesion and therfore it is usually had after the main course. This dish is very popular in north eastern part of India where plums are in abundance and pickling is the best way to save it from getting spoiled. Since plums have a very short shelf life it is better to preserve it and use it for later.
Basically in India there are three catergories to preservation done with different methods i.e Vinger preserve method, salt preserve method and oil preserve method. Although Oil preserve method is widely used in India for ost of the pickling, some fruits and vegetable are done by the other two method, which increases the shelf life of the product to a very large extend. Vinger also knows as “Sirka” is the main preservative in this dish, Apart from that sugar and salt also helps as a preservative agent.
Unique thing about this dish and stories of past…..
I still remember, waiting at door step for my father as he use to bring with candy for me on his way from work. It use to come in small plastic jar’s and to be honest I could never get enought of it. I tried to replicate this recipe, the best of what I can and almost brought that same nostalgic taste. The most unique thing about this dish is this food is the fact that this pickle is a fusion of Indian and western cuisine and the way it reflects in the ingredients for instance the use of vinegar and adding a spicy mixture with vinegar, sugar and salt . This kind of fusion in methods is what makes me fascinated to explore and learn more about new methods. And the use of two different preserving methods in one dish.
Ingredients: -
Lemon: 2 wedges
Whole Spices: Bayleaf, cardamom, red chilli powder, black pepper, cinnamom powder
Green Chilli: 2no.s
Vinegar: 1cup
Sugar : 1cup
Plums : 250g
Preservation method: Vinegar and Salt method.
Method: Mix all the spices and bring it to boil.
Add plums and let it cool.
Keep it in a closed jar, cover it nicely and refridgerate it.
Mixture of all spices and bring it to boil.
The major taste or flavour that you get in this dish
The major 4 flavour, I was able to sense was sweet, salty, sour and spicy. This pickle is a mix of flavours that you can experience as you explore through it from the first bite to the last you get a plethora of flavour profiles. The first flavour that you get as soon as you have the pickle is the sour flavour of the pungent vinegar and the mild hint of whole spices as they lose their essential oils in to the syrup and vinegar to make it and ferment the pickle. you also get a nice flavour of plums.
Sensory evaluation
The most prominent taste in this candied pickle was of Green chilli and plums , the sour flavour of vinegar, the spiciness from the chillies, the balance of sweetness and saltiness, and the tanginess from the plums itself. It had a nice pungent aroma coming from the pickle and the fermentation process enhanced the flavours of the roasted spices and the vinegar. apart from this, there was a nice aroma of the cloves and black pepper which made it more interesting. In case of appearance that the red chilli powder along with the natural colour of plum gave the pickle a nice bright red colour and made it more appealing and attractive. The texture of the pickle was semi firm and really chunky as plums are not cooked for long so it still has a bite. all these components made this pickle more tasty and appealing.
Changes I would like to make in the future
The only change i would like to make is to add more different variety of plums with different sugar level and firmness. And whole definetly will cook the plums even lesser, rather I would like to soak it in the syrup while in the fermentation process to maintain the crunch.
Until next story…
Thankyou