Methia keri recipe with step by step photos – Gujarati style spiced, sour pickle made with raw mangoes, split fenugreek seeds and mustard seeds.
Now with the raw mangoes all around, I was tempted to make a batch of pickle. More so since the Amla pickle has almost got over. Since, we are a pickle loving, the pickles get over soon.
I have made this Gujarati pickle known as methia keri, before too. I had made a small batch then. I chose to make methia keri as firstly This pickle does not require sunlight and secondly, its one Easy & quick pickle to make.
I used to loosely adapt this recipe from a pickle cookbook which is not currently in the market. This small book has various Indian pickles and chutneys and is aptly titled chutneys and pickles of India (reminds me so much of our blog name :-)) .
I had got this book when I was in my school and tried making a few pickles & chutneys from it then, with the help of my mom. They had come out pretty good and we were pleased. Soon with the studies etc taking over life, the cookbook was forgotten and so did my foray into pickling as well as cooking for some years.
Summers are the best time to make pickles as sunlight is abundant. At our place, it was a yearly ritual to make mango or lemon pickle in bulk and then storing them in big ceramic jars called as Bharni.
The pickle quantity used to be enough to last a year. The pickles were then had with parathas, dal-rice or roti-sabzi combo and not to forget the tiffin box. We all have fond memories of having parathas with pickles in our school lunch breaks.
But now in this fast-paced life, many people like to buy pickles from outside. Even my mom in law buys the famous Pachranga pickle from panipat, haryana, India. Although the store-bought pickles are also good. But given an option, I will always prefer to make the pickle at home.
Despite the effort it takes, I end up always making pickles. I have already shared some pickle recipes like:
- Mango pickle – Punjabi style
- Lemon pickle
- Chilli pickle
- Mango avakaya – popular pickle from Andhra Pradesh.
This Gujarati pickle is called as methia keri since it has a good amount of split methi seeds (Split fenugreek seeds in English & Methi kuria in Hindi) added to it.
Methia means split fenugreek seeds and Keri means mangoes. The flavors of the fenugreek seeds along with the split mustard seeds and the sourness of the unripe mangoes, blend so well, that finally what you get is a medium spiced Khatta achaar (read sour pickle) with hints of mellowed bitterness from the fenugreek seeds & mild pungency from the split mustard seeds.
I had got the split mustard seeds from a shop. If you do not have mustard seeds, then just blitz whole yellow mustard in a grinder till you get a coarse mixture. You can also use brown and black mustard. Since I do not have split fenugreek seeds, I did grind the whole fenugreek seeds in a grinder.
I made this pickle in two jars, each with sesame and mustard oil. Usually sesame oil is added. But since my stock of sesame oil had got over, I added mustard oil in the second batch.
The one with the sesame oil, was clear and bright red. The mustard oil one had reddish brown hues and a bit darker. For some reason, this is not seen in the picture below. But if you see the step by step pics, you will see the color difference.
The pungency of the mustard oil can be felt in the pickle. Personally, I liked both the pickles. You can choose either mustard or sesame oil. So do try this Gujarati pickle of methia keri, before the season of raw unripe mangoes goes away.
The pickle stays good for about a year. this recipe yields about 1.75 kilos of pickle. once I open a pickle jar, I usually keep it in the fridge. You can also keep it at room temperature. However, if you live in a hot humid climate, then keep the pickle in the fridge.
Methia keri can be served with roti-sabzi, dal-rice, sambar-rice, curd-rice, veg pulao or jeera rice. Even parathas like aloo paratha, gobi paratha and mooli paratha go very well. This pickle also goes well with khakra, methi thepla and aloo-poori combo.
How to make methia keri
1. Take the fenugreek seeds in a grinder jar.
2. Pulse and grind, till the seeds split and you get a coarse mixture. Don’t make a powder.
3. Rinse the mangoes and then dry them with a clean kitchen towel. There should be no trace of moisture on the mangoes. Chop the mangoes into bite sized pieces or cubes. Chopping is a bit tough, so use a good knife and be careful of your hands. You can also ask the vegetable vendor to chop the mangoes for you.
4. Take all the chopped mangoes in a mixing bowl or pan.
5. Add the ground fenugreek seeds and split mustard seeds. What you see on the top is split mustard seeds. You will get the split mustard seeds, also known as rai ka kuria in any grocery store.
6. Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, asafoetida and rock salt.
7. Mix very well with a clean spoon.
8. Now add this pickle mixture in a sterilized glass jar. You can also use a bharni.
9. Pour sesame oil. In this jar, I added sesame oil. No need to heat the sesame oil. In the second jar, I added mustard oil.
10. The mustard oil has to be heated till it reaches its smoking point. Then switch off the flame and cool the mustard oil completely.
11. Adding the cooled mustard oil in the second jar.
12. The oil has to float at least 2 inches above the top. I added more oil later in the jars. Notice the difference between the colors of the pickle. The left one is with sesame oil and the right one is with mustard oil. Close the jars tightly and keep them on your kitchen counter for 10 to 12 days, till the mangoes soften a bit and become tender. Stir the jar after every 3 to 4 days with a clean sterilized spoon.
Once the pickle is ready, you can serve them. Whenever the amount of oil becomes less on top, add some more oil.
Few more pickles recipes for you!
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By Dassana Amit
Ingredients
- 1 kg raw unripe green mangoes (keri or kairi or kachcha aam) - 1 kilo
- ¾ cup whole fenugreek seeds (methi ka dana) or 1 cup split fenugreek seeds (methi kuria) - about 125 grams
- ½ cup split mustard seeds (rai kuria) or 50 to 60 grams split mustard seeds
- ½ cup red chilli powder or 50 grams red chilli powder (lal mirch powder) - i used kashmiri red chili powder
- 2 tablespoon turmeric powder or 25 grams turmeric powder
- ½ tablespoon asafoetida or 5 grams asafoetida (hing)
- ½ cup heaped rock salt or 140 grams rock salt (sendha namak)
- 3 to 3.5 cups sesame oil or mustard oil or 750 to 875 ml, add more if required
Instructions
- Take the fenugreek seeds in a grinder jar.
- Pulse and grind, till the seeds split and you get a coarse mixture. Don’t make a powder. 3/4 cup of whole fenugreek seeds, will roughly yield 1 cup split fenugreek seeds.
- If you can get ready split fenugreek seeds from the market, then skip this first step.
- Rinse the mangoes and then dry them with a clean kitchen towel. There should be no trace of moisture on the mangoes. Chop the mangoes into bite sized pieces or cubes. Chopping is a bit tough, so use a good knife and be careful of your hands. You can also ask the vegetable vendor to chop the mangoes for you.
- Take all the chopped mangoes in a mixing bowl or pan.
- Add the coarsely ground fenugreek seeds and split mustard seeds.
- Add turmeric powder, red chili powder, asafoetida and rock salt.
- Mix very well with a clean spoon.
- Now add this pickle mixture in a sterilized glass jar. You can also use a bharni.
- Pour sesame oil. There is no need to heat the sesame oil.
- If using mustard oil, then heat the mustard oil, till it reaches its smoking point. Switch off the flame and cool the mustard oil completely. Add the cooled mustard oil to the pickle mixture
- The oil has to float at least 2 inches above the top.
- Close the jars tightly and keep them on your kitchen counter for 10 to 12 days, till the mangoes soften a bit and become tender. Stir the jar after every 2 to 3 days with a clean sterilized spoon.
- Once the pickle is ready, you can serve them. Whenever the amount of oil becomes less on top, add some more oil.
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Excellent recipe, my mango ???? pickle turn out great. Thank you
thanks for the review and rating on the recipe. glad to know.
Very nicely explained thanks!
welcome and thanks.
Thank you so much for sharing your recipes. I have three questions. You write that if a person lives in a hot climate, they should refrigerate the pickles after opening… I live in the tropics so when you write that I should initially leave the pickles on the counter for 10-12 days is this still a good idea? The second question I have is about asafoetida… what is that and is there a substitute? And the last question is about sesame oil. The Japanese toasted oil or regular non toasted sesame oil? Thank you so much.
welcome moira.
1. for the pickle to get ready, you will have to initially keep it at room temperature for 10 to 12 days. later you can keep the pickle in the fridge once you start using it.
2. asafoetida is called as ‘hing’ in hindi. it is a dried gum of the ferula plant. the aroma is very pungent so a very little amount is used in cooking. there is no substitute as such. garlic can be used, but i am not sure how garlic would taste in this pickle. you should be able to get asafoetida on amazon or in indian or asian grocery stores where you live.
3. the sesame oil used is not the toasted one, but the oil extracted from raw sesame seeds. we call this oil as gingelly oil. it is the non toasted sesame oil.
very well explained…
thanks.
Very useful
thanks.