This hot, spicy, and tangy lal mirch ka achar or stuffed red chili pickle is my mom’s signature recipe. It is a perfect spicy condiment to serve with your everyday Indian meals. Here is how to make it.
Homemade pickles are the best! Want to try some more homemade pickle recipes, then here are some of my favorites – Chilli Pickle, Kerala Style Mango Pickle, Vadu Mango Pickle, Hing Ka Achar, Nimbu Mirch Ka Achar, and Allam Avakaya.
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About This Recipe
Lal mirch ka achar or stuffed red chili pickle is a UP or Rajasthan style pickle that will surely satiate your taste buds with its hot, spicy, and tangy flavors. This stuffed red chili pickle is prepared at the beginning of summer when the markets are flooded with red, fresh, and big red chilies.
My mom makes the best lal mirch ka achar and whoever has tasted her pickle has always come back to ask for the recipe. This year I learned to make this pickle from her and noted the measurements correctly.
It’s all in the measurements people. So make sure to stick to the measurements and then you too can make amazing stuffed red chili pickle at home using some very basic ingredients in under 30 minutes.
There is no cooking required in this pickle. Just mix in the spices, stuff in the red chilies, and keep it in the sunlight. It will slow cook on its own when kept in the sun. The sun should be strong and intense, the cloudy weather and low sunlight won’t help in pickling the red chilies.
This lal mirch ka achar is,
- Tasty & Addictive
- Spicy + Tangy
- Fresh
- Free of preservatives
- Better than store-bought one
- Economical
Ingredients
Red Chillies – Get your hands on the big fresh red chilies, that are available in the market during the beginning of summers. They are less spicy and has that perfect amount of heat required for pickle. Do not get the small spicy red ones, they are not good for pickling.
These red chilies are available only for a limited period of time in the markets, so make sure you stock them up and make this yummy pickle at home.
You can make the same pickle with big green chilies too, but the taste of this red chili pickle is just out of the world.
Oil – Use mustard oil to pickle red chilies, as it really brings out the flavor of this pickle. If you do not prefer to use mustard oil, then you can choose any vegetable oil to make the achaar.
Others – Now to stuff these red chilies, we will make a spicy tangy masala that is prepared with salt, fennel seeds (saunf), fenugreek seeds (methi), Kashmiri red chili powder, turmeric powder, mustard seeds, onion seeds (kalaunji) and dry mango powder (amchoor powder).
All these ingredients combined add a great spicy tangy flavor, that just takes the taste of this simple pickle to another level. You can adjust the amount of red chili powder, to adjust the spiciness of the achaar.
How to make Lal Mirch ka Achar?
Add all the dry spices in a mixer grinder including 80 g fennel seeds (saunf), 125 g fenugreek seeds (methi seeds), 40 g onion seeds (kalonji),100 g mustard seeds (kali sarson), and grind them to a coarse powder.
Once done, mix them with other ingredients such as 100 g Kashmiri red chilli powder, 100 g turmeric powder, 220 g salt, and 40 g dry mango powder (amchoor powder).
Wash 1.5 kg of big red chilies and wipe each of them using a kitchen towel. Cut the top part of the chilies and make long slits in each of them using a sharp paring knife.
Fill the masalas powder that we made inside the red chilies.
Put the stuffed chilies in a large sterilized jar preferably made of glass or any other non-reactive material. I used a 3-liter glass jar.
Note – If there is some leftover masala, then just add it in the jar over the chilies.
Add mustard oil to a pan and bring it to a boil. Remove the pan from heat and let the oil cool down completely. Boiling the oil is important to get rid of any moisture in it and also to mellow down the pungent mustard flavor.
Pour the cooled oil over the stuffed chilies in the jar. The chilies must be covered with oil. So if they are not covered, then heat some more oil and add it to the jar.
Tie a piece of muslin cloth around the mouth of the jar and keep it in the strong sun for 8-10 days. Covering the jar using a cloth will make sure any moisture in the pickle evaporates and the pickle doesn’t get spoiled when stored for a long time.
Once the pickle is ready, move the jar into your kitchen and cover it tightly with a lid. Store this pickle for up to a year and use as required.
Pro Tips By Neha
First and foremost, wear gloves while making the red chili pickle, because when you touch the seeds it will make your hands burn for days, even after you wash. So get yourself a pair of use and throw gloves.
There should be no moisture left in the chilies. So after washing the chilies, wipe them dry properly with a kitchen towel.
All the ingredients should be moisture free including the spices, so you can either dry them in sun for some time or dry roast before adding them into the pickle.
Even the knife, chopping board, and jar you will use to store the pickle should be properly cleaned and dried.
Use mustard oil for authentic tastes. It adds a pungent raw taste, which makes the pickle even more delicious.
Frequently Asked Questions
The fresh red chilies will become soft and will be easy to break with fingers, once it’s ready. But if it still has a little crunch left, then pickle it for two or more days. Keep checking and once the chilies are nice and soft, it is ready to eat.
Get your hands on the big fresh red chillies that are available only in the beginning of Summer. They should be juicy, thick, bright red and tender chillies. Do not get the soft ones or one with black patches.
To make it without the sun, follow the same process until filing the chilies in the jar and pouring the oil above them. Now cover the jar with a cloth and keep it in a warm corner of your kitchen. It will take at least 20-30 days for the pickle to get ready without the sun. Make sure that the chilies are nicely covered with oil to avoid from spoiling.
Serving Suggestions
This red chili pickle tastes great with almost every Indian meal. Serve it with phulka, tawa paratha, or even a simple meal of dal rice/sambar rice/rasam rice. It tastes great with stuffed parathas such as aloo paratha, paneer paratha, gobi paratha, etc.
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Recipe Card
Lal Mirch Ka Achar Recipe
Ingredients
- 1.5 kilo grams red chilies
- 80 grams fennel seeds (saunf)
- 125 grams fenugreek seeds (methi)
- 40 grams onion seeds (kalaunji)
- 100 grams mustard seeds
- 100 grams Kashmiri red chili powder
- 100 grams turmeric powder
- 220 grams salt
- 40 grams dry mango powder (amchoor powder)
- 1 litre mustard oil
Instructions
- Add all the dry spices in a mixer grinder including 80 g fennel seeds (saunf), 125 g fenugreek seeds (methi seeds), 40 g onion seeds (kalonji),100 g mustard seeds (kali sarson), and grind them to a coarse powder.
- Once done, mix them with other ingredients such as 100 g Kashmiri red chili powder, 100 g turmeric powder, 220 g salt, and 40 g dry mango powder (amchoor powder).
- Wash 1.5 kg of big red chilies and wipe each of them using a kitchen towel. Cut the top part of the chilies and make long slits in each of them using a sharp paring knife.
- Fill the masalas powder that we made inside the red chilies.
- Put the stuffed chilies in a large sterilized jar preferably made of glass or any other non-reactive material. I used a 3-liter glass jar.
- Note – If there is some leftover masala, then just add it in the jar over the chilies.
- Add mustard oil to a pan and bring it to a boil. Remove the pan from heat and let the oil cool down completely. Boiling the oil is important to get rid of any moisture in it and also to mellow down the pungent mustard flavor.
- Pour the cooled oil over the stuffed chilies in the jar. The chilies must be covered with oil. So if they are not covered, then heat some more oil and add it to the jar.
- Tie a piece of muslin cloth around the mouth of the jar and keep it in the strong sun for 8-10 days. Covering the jar using a cloth will make sure any moisture in the pickle evaporates and the pickle doesn’t get spoiled when stored for a long time.
- Once the pickle is ready, move the jar into your kitchen and cover it tightly with a lid. Store this pickle for up to a year and use as required.
Did you make this recipe? Let me know!