Usha’s Pickle Digest, written by Chennai-based Usha R Prabakaran, contains over 1,000 recipes from across the country, and is a tribute to India’s culinary ingenuity.

Written by Lalitha Suhasini   –   The Indian Express

“In words and pickles, I have immortalised my memories, although distortions are inevitable in both methods,” writes Saleem Sinai, the protagonist of Salman Rushdie’s Booker-winning Midnight’s Children. For Sinai, pickles are a metaphor for both the country he is from – India – and its muddled history. But if you look at the meticulously compiled, tried and tested vegetarian recipes in Usha’s Pickle Digest, written and self-published by retired lawyer Usha R Prabakaran, you’ll know that there’s little room for distortion.

“Long waits for vegetables and fruits not in season were quite the norm. The pickle samples, after repeated trials, were given to relatives and friends for their constructive criticism. The pickle needed to be set aside for determining its shelf life, unrefrigerated without the use of chemicals and additives,” says Prabakaran, who lives in Chennai and spent a decade putting the book together.

With the help of an able secretary, Prabakaran narrowed down 5,000 recipes to 1,000 for her book, which was published in 1998 and remains a Bible of sorts for pickle lovers.

Usha’s Pickle Digest encourages you to make a pickle of almost any vegetable, or fruit even. There’s everything from watermelon rind to raw plantain skin to wood apple to popular pickle recipes such as mango and lime, of course. And there are pickles that are native to specific states: from the bamboo-shoot pickle made in Arunachal Pradesh to the famous Gonkura pickle from Andhra Pradesh. The book also dismisses the myth that making pickles is a tedious task, and includes a chapter titled Quick Serve, which deals with instant no-nonsense recipes for vegetables such as cabbage, carrot and ridge gourd that are otherwise often ignored even by diehard vegetarians. In fact, the first pickle that Prabakaran made – mango ginger, which is actually a type of turmeric – is in the assorted section, which also includes several quick recipes.“Mango ginger – totally uncomplicated, tasty, fresh, healthy and so quick to make. Slice up the mango ginger, add in the green chillies cut into rounds, throw in a few strands of fresh green peppercorns, pour in adequate lemon juice, add salt and your pickle is ready,” writes Prabakaran.

Pickles have almost always been the easiest way to make our meals better-tasting. Stuck in a hostel with only semi-mouldy bread for breakfast? Make a dish of avakaya mango pickle and bread. Feeling under the weather with little or no appetite? There’s always khichdi with a dash of lime pickle to awaken the taste buds. Craving a snack? Smear green chilli pickle on a chapati to make a tangy roll. Prabakaran recalls that her mother used to eat freshly cut mango pickle almost like a “poriyal” (side dish), or as an accompaniment to sambar, rasam or curd rice.

There is a telling reference of how well-loved Indian pickles are in Muzaffar Alam and Seema Alavi’s A European Experience of The Mughal Orient: The ‘Ijaz-I-Arsalani’ (Persian Letters, 1773-1778) of Antoine-Louis Henri Polier. Polier, a French-Swiss loyalist of the East India Company, served at the court of Mughal emperor Shah Alam II. Polier, who had worked for the British in South India, Bengal and Bihar, took to Indian pickles and women (he had two Indian wives). The book, a translation of letters that he wrote in Persian to English, speaks of his fondness for green mango pickle in oil. But does it include a recipe? Not a chance. As recently as the mid-Eighties, when Prabakaran began work on her book, pickling tips were generally kept secret by culinary experts. This was when “home chef” wasn’t a skill listed on a blog, or even as an author’s profile in a book. This was when blogs didn’t exist.

When Prabakaran was putting together Usha’s Pickle Digest, she never hesitated to ask anyone for a recipe or a tip. “Nobody was inessential to me – cooks at wedding functions, hotel chefs… I guess the excitement to share was mutual. I used to watch my mother, mother-in-law, relatives, friends and acquaintances at close quarters. More often than not, it was an elaborate pickling session. My passion and their enthusiasm kindled a two-way street for sharing tips they had never shared with anyone before.” Her mother-in-law, who is originally from Andhra Pradesh, the motherland of pickles, podis and chutneys, was a big inspiration. “She really turned out at least one pickle on a daily basis, of course apart from a thogayel. I managed to pick up her style of pickling, but went easy on the jaggery.”

Prabakaran’s generosity shines through in every section of her book. The author has shared every valuable piece of advice she has learnt along the way – be it in how to temper spices (don’t mix asafoetida and garlic since they neutralise each others’ flavours), or how to pick vegetables.

“My father-in-law taught me how to buy most vegetables. Vegetables past their prime he would not buy – he would not compromise on buying them even if they came dirt cheap. It was such fun jostling through the Mambalam Vegetable Market. The minute the train stopped, the vegetables would arrive in huge gunny bags. People would be hustling the vendor to get the best. It was the place we shopped for the much sought after “vadu” (tender mango), both with and without stems. The ones with the stems stayed crunchier for a longer time, but, of course, were disproportionately costlier. I really miss those days. That was a simple, uncomplicated, economical life we led.”

Prabakaran promises to publish a second edition of her book soon, but meanwhile, here’s the recipe for her mother’s favourite pickle.

Mango Ginger – Green Pepper in Lime Juice

Ingredients
125g- Mango Ginger, cut into rings
8g- tender green pepper string
3g- Chilli Powder
30ml- Lime Juice
20g- Salt
5g- Mustard seeds
20 ml- Oil for seasoning

Method
*Combine the sliced mango ginger with the remaining ingredients.

*Heat the oil, add mustard seeds and allow to crackle.

*Pour the seasoning over the mango ginger mixture and blend well

*The pickle is ready for use after two days. It keeps for 10 days and longer in the refrigerator.

By  Veronica Meewes   –   Culturemap Austin

Watch Charlie Rajeh turning lamb on the grill or tossing fattoush, and you’d never guess he didn’t cook a thing until he was 18.

When he moved to Austin from Lebanon to attend UT in 1989, he had no tolerance for the McDonald’s and Chinese buffets his peers were visiting.

“I couldn’t stand it,” he says. “I never touched food in my life, never cooked in my life. But I started calling my mom [and] every time we’d spend a couple hours on the phone and I’d say, ‘How should I cook this?’ and ‘What should I do here?’”

After working at nightclubs on Sixth Street as a bouncer and barback (including one night as Willie Nelson’s on-the-spot backstage bodyguard), Rajeh began cooking professionally.

He started a catering business in San Antonio, which he still operates, and for 10 years, he owned an Obee’s sandwich shop on Anderson Lane. In addition to the Italian sandwiches for which the franchise is known, he featured a “secret Arabic menu,” which became more popular than the other offerings.

In July 2014, Rajeh decided to open a food truck in Austin called Beirut so he could cook and serve the type of Lebanese food he grew up eating. He saw a need for it in the Austin market, and he noticed that many of the places serving similar dishes make the “watered down” version.

“They always try to make it so Americanized,” says Rajeh. “They’re popular — I’m not saying they’re not — but it’s not my deal.”

Tucked away on Barton Springs Road and Jessie Street (in the lot across from Juliet), Beirut attracts plenty of regulars — many of Lebanese heritage. They come for the bright citrus-laced tabbouleh, rose water lemonade, shawarma and gyro wraps made from freshly grilled meats, silky smooth hummus, and baba-ghanouj topped with sumac and Lebanese-style pickles.

Preserved vegetables are a big part of Lebanese cooking, though not one often seen in Austin. Before coming to the U.S., Rajeh’s family moved from Beirut out to the mountains during the civil war. “The entire neighborhood made everything from scratch to prepare themselves for the wintertime,” he remembers. “Everything is seasonal, so they’d can tomatoes and all sorts of jams and figs.”

Rather than shaving the meat off a spit, Rajeh uses the fresher approach of cooking each serving to order. “You have to have a high volume or the meat sits forever [on the spit],” he says. “I don’t like the idea of turning it off and turning it back on. It won’t be as fresh. So that’s why I decided to do it on the grill, but it’s the same idea.”

His shish-tawook wrap features garlic-marinated chicken, fries, tomatoes, pickles, and tour (garlic whipped with olive oil), which is wrapped in a pita and toasted. His falafel is some of the crunchiest in town, served with fresh parsley, mint, and tomato. An extra punch comes from radishes and pickles, and, most importantly, traditional tahini sauce is served in lieu of tzatziki.

“Some customers come argue with me and say ‘This is not falafel!’” says Rajeh with a laugh. “I’m like, ‘Believe me, this is the way it’s supposed to be.’”

BY LAURIE LUCAS / STAFF WRITER   –   The Press Enterprise

You don’t have to be Jewish to covet corned beef on rye with a fat pickle. And you don’t have to be Jewish to pop into a pickle-making workshop at 7 tonight at the Chabad Jewish Community Center, 3579 Arlington Ave., No. 100, Riverside.

Pickle maker Leon Stern, 70, of Running Springs, will guide you through the alchemy of transforming Melissa’s cucumbers – an organic brand – with salt water and spices into pucker powering pickles.

“Simple and healthy, using the best ingredients,” he said.

Raised in a small Jewish community in South Africa, Stern learned how to make everything, including pickles and furniture, from his Latvian-born family in the traditional, Old World style.

As a software writer, Stern is no Luddite.

“Everything I know about technology and the modern world, doing things the old way adds a little balance,” he said.

The workshop costs $25 and will include making sauerkraut and naturally fermented ginger soda. Leave happy with a natural drink and a jar of kosher pickles. Wait for the pickles to mature and just add corned beef, mayo and rye.

For more information, or if you’re interested in a bread-making workshop, call Chabad at 951-222-2005 or visit jewish riverside.com

by Taylor Sezan   –   Daily Nexus

Located in the Paseo Nuevo shopping center in downtown Santa Barbara, CA along State Street lies Pickles & Swiss. It’s a quaint little shop with friendly faces working there. The employees care about their customers and are just happy to be there.

My favorite thing about this place is the fact that it’s friendly to picky eaters such as myself. Some food joints don’t let customers modify recipes because it’s a hassle, but you don’t have to worry about that here. The employees are more than happy to accommodate your personal preferences.

I highly suggest trying the Crispy Chicken West. The original recipe calls for breaded chicken, bacon, tomato, romaine lettuce, BBQ sauce and ranch all put on a lightly toasted baguette. For myself — as a picky eater — I modify it to my taste. It ends up having the chicken, bacon, BBQ sauce and then I add chipotle sauce, sometimes cheese. This ends up being an entirely different sandwich, but the main components remain the same. The crispy chicken is still crispy, flavorful and moist.

The chipotle sauce is delicious, smoky and adds a nice kick to the sandwich. The baguette is neatly cut in two, making it more manageable to eat. When you first bite into the sandwich you get the crunch of the chicken and bacon combination. The bacon is chopped into small pieces and is spread throughout so you don’t end up getting a mouthful of all the bacon at once. The bacon smell and taste adds a nice crunch and salty sensation alongside the soft chicken.

Each bite fills you with a warm sensation that comes from the heat of the ingredients and the spice of the chipotle sauce. With the added BBQ and chipotle sauce there is a combination of sweet, spicy and smoky aromas. The BBQ sauce is sweet and sticky while the smoky chipotle sauce is creamy and smooth.

Although the sandwich ends up being a little bit pricier than what I would normally pay for a sandwich, the experience that comes along with eating it is worth the price. Plus it’s easy to get full, or at least satisfied, after eating one half of the sandwich.

And since the store is called Pickles & Swiss, they garnish each serving with a pickle wedge on the side. This way, if you are still left craving something extra — which likely will not happen — you can have an extra little snack to fully round out your meal.

So if you ever find yourself downtown and craving a sandwich, head on over to Pickles & Swiss to try the Crispy Chicken West or one of the many other sandwiches they have to offer — original or modified to your taste!