Spicy, tangy, and loaded with flavor, Green Chilli Pickle or Hari Mirch ka Achar is a delicious North Indian style pickle recipe where fresh green chilies are pickled with mustard seeds and lemon juice. This pickle goes very well with any Indian meals. Here is my mother’s recipe for how to make it.
Here are some more Pickle Recipes, that you can make at home – Hing Ka Achar, Nimboo Mirch Ka Achar, Kerala Style Mango Pickle, Avakaya Pachadi and Allam Avakaya.
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About This Recipe
Green Chilli Pickle is an Indian style pickle made using fresh green chillies and spices.
Unlike mangoes that are explicitly available only during summer, there are some achar or pickles like Gajar, Gobhi Aur Shalgam Ka Achar that you can make any time you want!
But out of all, I like nibbling on Hari Mirch Ka Achar Recipe or Green Chilli Pickle Recipe the most!
This pickle is made using fresh, green chillies, mustard seeds, mustard oil, and salt. In order to make it slightly tangy and colorful, lemon juice and turmeric powder are added to it respectively.
If you’re one who likes to have a touch of spice in the form of pickled goodness with your meal or if you are regularly reaching out for those achars, then this Rajasthani Achar recipe is a must-try.
Savor it with piping hot Pudina Laccha Parathas or relish it with rice, curries; Hari Mirch Ka Achar Recipe is surely going to tickle your taste buds.
Ingredients
Green Chillies – Use medium hot chilies to make this pickle. If the chilies are too hot, you can remove the seeds.
Mustard Oil – Traditional North Indian style pickles are made in mustard oil but you can definitely use other oil like olive oil, sunflower oil, sesame oil, or peanut oil.
Spices – I have used black mustard seeds, salt, and turmeric powder in this recipe.
Lime Juice – It ad a nice tang to the recipe and also help in preservation.
Step by Step Recipe
Wash the chilies and wipe them using a cotton cloth. Cut them into 2-3 pieces.
Grind mustard seeds in a blender to make a coarse powder.
Mix ground mustard seeds, salt, turmeric powder and ½ cup mustard oil in a bowl.
Mix this masala with the chilies. Add lime juice in the bowl and mix well with chilies.
Cover the bowl with a cotton cloth. Leave the pickle in the bowl for 2-3 days so that the excess water evaporates.
Fill the pickle in clean glass jars.
Heat ½ cup mustard oil in a pan till it starts to fume. Remove from heat and cool slightly.
Pour the oil in the jar so that the pickle is covered with oil. Keep the jar in sunlight for 3-4 days. The pickle is now ready to use.
Variations
Add raw mango or lemon to this pickle to make a different variation. You can also add garlic cloves or chopped ginger or fresh turmeric to this pickle.
You can even stuff the mustard masala inside the green chilies, rather than mixing it with the chopped green chillies. This is popularly known as Bharwa Mirch Ka Achaar.
Frequently Asked Questions
Pickling requires good sunlight as it cooks the pickle with its heat and also make sure it doesn’t spoil.
But if you don’t have enough sunlight where you live, fret not! You can still make a very good pickle.
Make sure to mix the pickle twice daily with a very clean spoon. The process will take a few more days as compared to when pickle is kept in sunlight.
You can use any kind of chilies to make this pickle. I personally like medium hot chilies. You can also use red chilies to make it.
Mustard oil is traditionally used to make pickles in North India. But you can definitely go ahead and use olive oil or vegetable oil.
Serving Suggestions
This tangy spicy Green Chilli Pickle makes any simple Indian meal even tastier. Serve it with simple everyday combinations such as Dal-Rice, South Indian Curd Rice, Veg Pulao and even with Roti-Sabzi and Dal.
They also go well with Stuffed Parathas, Plain Parathas and Theplas. I also like to eat it with my Gujarati snack, Khakra.
Storage Suggestions
Store this pickle in a clean jar, keep it near sunlight, shake it well after every 15 days and it is going to remain fresh for more than a year.
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Recipe Card
Chilli Pickle Recipe
Ingredients
- 500 g Green Chillies
- ½ cup Mustard Seeds
- ¼ cup Salt
- 2 teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- ½ cup Lime Juice
- 2 cups Mustard Oil
Instructions
- Wash the chilies and wipe them using a cotton cloth.
- Cut them into 2-3 pieces.
- Grind mustard seeds in a blender to make a coarse powder.
- Mix ground mustard seeds, salt, turmeric powder and ½ cup mustard oil in a bowl.
- Mix this masala with chillies.
- Add lime juice in the bowl and mix well with chilies.
- Cover the bowl with a cotton cloth.
- Leave the pickle in the bowl for 2-3 days so that the excess water evaporates.
- Fill the pickle in clean glass jars.
- Heat the remaining mustard oil in a pan till it starts to fume.
- Remove from heat and cool slightly.
- Pour the oil in the jar so that the pickle is covered with oil.
- Keep the jar in sunlight for 3-4 days.
- The pickle is now ready to use.
- This pickle can be stored for 3-4 months in a cool and dry place.
- Keep shaking the pickle after every 30 days.
Andrea Mehrer
Please what kind of chili can you use that is not so spicy?
Thank You!
Neha Mathur
Any green chilli is fine for this recipe.
Vipina
What oil can be used other than mustard oil?
Neha Mathur
You ca use vegetable oil or even olive oil but Mustard Oil is traditionally used in Indian pickles and it gives a peculiar flavour to the pickles.
Health Diva
Thank You for the recipe. I made the pickle but didn’t keep it in the bowl for a few days. Will definitely do it this time, so that it will last longer. Thanks for the sunlight tip as well. Also, can I decrease the amount of oil in the pickle?
Neha Mathur
Thnx for trying the recipe. Pickles are tricky because they are supposed to be kept for long time. Soaking them with oil aids in this process and there is less chance of them getting spoiled. So I recommend that you use the same amount of oil 🙂
Dilhara
Hi
Would love to try this out. Need to clarify
* Can I use vegetable oil as mustard oil is not freely available
* If I am to make a larger quantity, firstly I leave the bowl of pickle for 3-4 days and thereafter once I bottle them I pour in the heated oil into the individual bottles right?
Neha Mathur
Yes, you can use vegetable oil and second point is also correct.
Soumya
We use sesame oil in south india for pickles. Can i use sesame oil in this recipe too?
Neha Mathur
You can use, but the taste will be quite different.
Maya
Hi Neha , should the bowl with the pickle
be kept in sunlight too ? Also, ones in the jar, could I refrigerate it ? Really looking fwd to trying this recipe . Thanks !
Neha Mathur
Replied to your comment above 🙂
Maya
Hi Neha, was wondering if the bowl
should be kept in sunlight as well ?
Also, can this pickle be refrigerated
ones bottled ? Would love to try this. Thanks .
Neha Mathur
The bowl must be clean and dry. You can keep it in sun to dry, that’s it. This pickle stays good outside for almost a year, so no need to refrigerate.
Dilhara
Also can I use lime juice instead of lemon juice?
Neha Mathur
Yes sure, you can.
ShankyKanmani
Hi there.. for the 3 days drying under th sunlight, do we leave th bottle opened? thx!
Neha Mathur
The bottle should be slightly open for the gases to escape. You can cover the bottle with a muslin cloth if you wish to.
Aditi
Hi Neha,
Thanks for the recipe. What can be done if a little more salt is added by mistake. How do I rectify it?
Neha Mathur
In a pickle, it is very difficult.
John Sheehan
Thanks for this recipe , i made it with green and red chillies as I had both . With the red chilli pickle I blended to a paste and with the green left it chunky thinking the red would be a hotter pickle but to my surprise the green is hotter . I and my friends are loving it thank you .
Neha Mathur
Good to know!
Usman
Hi. Can I use the chilli pickle without keeping into sunlight and can I store the same for a long time?
Neha Mathur
Keeping the pickle in the sun fastens the fermentation process. You can keep it in shade but make sure to mix it a few times. Once ready, it should be kept in a cool and dry place.
Heidi
I don’t understand this bit: « Keep the jar in sunlight every 30 days and keep shaking the pickle after every 30 days. »
Are you saying we should take this out and leave it in the sun once it has been made, and presumably stored in the fridge?
I have seen a recipe where chillies are coated with salt and turmeric then left in the sun for three days prior to being processed with the spices and oil. Do you have something similar?
Neha Mathur
Sorry for the typo Heidi. I have corrected the post.