Garlic is one of the major spices used while preparing curries and other cuisines. It also has some medicinal values and eating raw garlic in empty stomach early in the morning is considered to be beneficial for health. However, garlic is not only used as a spice to enhance the taste of the vegetables or as a medicine but is also used to make pickles. The Garlic Chili Achar is one of the many pickles made in Nepal to enhance taste of the food it is served with and to make the dull food interesting as well as increasing appetite.

Ingredients:

1.5 cups peeled garlic cloves

¼ cup sesame seeds

¼ cup mustard seeds

1 tbsp cumin seeds

1 tbsp coriander seeds

1 tsp timur

2 tbsp hot chili paste

2 tbsp tamarind paste

5 tbsp mustard or good olive oil

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Pinch of asafetida

Salt to taste

Garnish:

1 tbsp mustard or olive oil

1 tbsp fenugreek seeds

10 cloves thinly sliced garlic

10 dry red chilies

1 tbsp minced mint leaves

Procedure:

First of all, toast the sesame seeds, cumin, coriander and mustard seeds and spread it out on a paper towel to cool down when toasted. Grind it into a powder when it is cool enough. Now, boil water and add salt to it. Then, blanch garlic cloves for about five minutes to soften and remove intense rawness of garlic. Strain the cloves from blanching water and place in a bowl filled with ice to prevent it from being further cooked. After that, drain the water and reserve it in a clean bowl.

Now, in a blender, mix all the ground toasted seeds with timur, chili and tamarind paste, oil, black pepper, asafetida and salt and make a thick pickle paste. Then, pour the mixture into the blanched garlic and mix thoroughly.

Finally, take a non-stick pan and heat one tablespoon of oil. Then, splitter fenugreek and dry red chilies until it turns dark and then add the slices of garlic and fry until it turns light brown. Now, pour the garlic-oil mixture and minced mint over the garlic pickle and mix it thoroughly. Then, store it in an airtight jar and leave it for a week so that the garlic cloves will be marinated in the pickling mixture inside the jar. You can serve your Garlic Chili Achar once the marinating has been completed.