Dhoopwali
Day 01 of 21 in the sunMorning
Every jar on the terrace is one of four kinds. Lift a lid to see only those jars below.
Twelve pickles and preserves, each with its heat drawn on the label and the place its recipe came from.
12jars on the terrace
Heat3/5
Punjab
Mango400 g jar · mustard oil
Raw mango cut with the stone in, rubbed with fennel, nigella and methi, and left in mustard oil until the pieces turn soft at the edge and stay crisp in the middle.
Heat5/5
Andhra
Mango400 g jar · sesame oil
The Andhra way: hard green mango, a great deal of red chilli and ground mustard, set in sesame oil. Fierce at first, then deep and round after a month.
Heat4/5
Kerala
Mango350 g jar · whole tender mangoes
Thumb-sized mangoes picked before the stone hardens, kept whole in brine and Kashmiri chilli. Bite through to the seed.
Heat1/5
Gujarat
Lime & lemon400 g jar · no oil
Lemons quartered and sun-cooked in sugar, roasted cumin and black salt until the peel turns to jam. The one children ask for.
Heat3/5
Tamil Nadu
Lime & lemon300 g jar · gingelly oil
Tamil lime pickle: limes steamed, salted for a week, then tempered with mustard seed, hing and red chilli. Made for curd rice.
Heat1/5
Bengal
Lime & lemon300 g jar · in brine
The fragrant Bengal lime, sliced thin and kept in salt, sugar and a little kalo jeera. More perfume than heat.
Heat4/5
Rajasthan
Chilli & garlic400 g jar · mustard oil
Fat red chillies split and stuffed with fennel, amchur and mustard, then sunned in oil. A Marwari winter pickle.
Heat3/5
Malwa
Chilli & garlic300 g jar · mustard oil
Whole peeled garlic in mustard oil and red chilli, from our own Malwa kitchen. The cloves turn mellow and almost sweet.
Heat5/5
Assam
Chilli & garlic200 g jar · mustard oil
Ghost chilli from Assam with bamboo shoot and garlic. One small spoon is enough for a whole plate of rice.
Heat1/5
Gujarat
Sweet & sun-cooked400 g jar · no oil
Grated raw mango and sugar left in the sun under muslin until it turns to a clear golden syrup. Kathiawar summers in a jar.
Heat0/5
Awadh
Sweet & sun-cooked450 g jar · whole amla
Whole Indian gooseberries pricked and slow-soaked in sugar syrup with cardamom. A spoon in the morning, the way Lucknow grandmothers do it.
Heat1/5
Maharashtra
Sweet & sun-cooked400 g jar · with jaggery
Maharashtrian mango preserve: raw mango cooked slowly with jaggery, clove and a pinch of saffron until it shines.
No jars of this kind on the terrace right now.
None of these recipes started on our roof. Each one came from a friend, an aunt or a neighbour somewhere in India — tap a stamp to see what came from there.
Greetings from
Tap another stamp on the map to turn the postcard.
A jar of achaar is mostly patience. Here is what happens between the market and your table.
Fruit from the mandi before seven, washed and dried in the sun so no water reaches the jar.
Salt and turmeric draw the water out. The pieces sit on muslin on the roof, turned twice a day.
Spices are roasted and ground that morning, mixed in by hand and covered in warmed oil.
Up to the terrace under cloth. Each jar is shaken every morning and brought in before the evening dew.
When the oil runs clear and the colour deepens, it is portioned into clean glass and sealed.
For a bulk order for a wedding, a question about the heat or a recipe you think we should make, write to us. Visits to the terrace by appointment.
We have received your order and emailed you a copy.