Make Yourself Bihari Food Part – 45: Barabar achar

By Nandini Bhushan*

From Vat Savitri to Chhath Puja, and from humble litti chokha to the traditional dal pitha, Bihar is blessed with all the flavour and spirit of pomp and splendor. Eddie Kennyson rightly said, “when opportunity presents itself, don’t be afraid to go after it.” In these columns I shall not only be telling something about my native state Bihar through the window of its festival and food, but shall also offer the recipe so that one can try it oneself.

Bihari cuisine, I believe deserves its long overdue credit, as it is one of the most unexplored and under rated food today despite being full of flavours and among the most palatable cuisines. In today’s world of marketing and flamboyance, we seriously need a makeover of the sumptuous Bihari food to find its rightful niche in the gastronomical world. We need to present our recipe to the global audience, and being a food enthusiast myself, it is my humble attempt to present a traditional Bihari food with an interesting variation

Also try: Make Yourself Bihari Food Part – 44: Kathal ka achar

Barabar achar

Although there are a wide variety of pickles available in the market and grocery store, believe me they could never match up to the flavour and aroma of homemade achar. Oal or jimikand ka achar is one such recipe that is also known as barabar achar in Bihar since three of the major ingredients used in this pickle are of the equal proportion. Loaded with essential nutrients oal is mostly available during summer but storing it in the form of pickle is the best possible way to relish this hearty vegetable throughout the year. 

Ingredients

Oal : 500 gms

 ginger : 500 gms

 garlic : 500 gms

Grated raw mango : 100 gms

 green chilli : 8 to 10

Ajwain : 1 tsp

Mangrail : 1 tsp

Fenugreek seed : 2 tsp

Saunf : 3 tsp

Mustard seed : 4 to 5 tsp

Turmeric powder : 2 tsp

Red chilli powder : 2 tsp

Asafoetida : 1 tsp

Salt : 3 tsp

Black salt : 2 tsp

Mustard oil : 700 gms

Step 1

Peel the oal and wash it. Next grate it with the help of a grater. Peel, wash and grate the raw mango and once done squeeze the excess water from grated oal and raw mango.

Step 2

Crush the ginger, garlic and green chilli. In a hot pan add the ajwain, mangrail, methi dana, sarson and saunf and hing and dry roast for just a few seconds. Switch off the flame and once cool coarsely grind them.

Step 3

Add 1 tsp of turmeric powder and a tsp of salt in the grated oal and mango and mix it well. Place it under the sun for a couple of days.

Step 4

Once the excess moisture evaporates add the ground masala, crushed ginger garlic and green chilli, salt, Black salt and mustard oil and give them all a good mix.

Step 5

Transfer the pickle in a sterilized air tight jar and place it under the sun for at least ten days. This pickle takes almost a month or two to mature but once ready it’s worth all the hard work.