Carambola Pickle

What do u do when your husband gets sacks loaded with Carambola..the star fruit. You look around for recipes, you experiment with some and then you distribute it. My mil gave me this simple recipe carambola pickle.

My summer holidays used to be at my grand moms home and my happy memory of those wonderful bygone days are watching her making different kinds of pickles and papads. It used to be a collective effort from all of us. My aunts helping her cut the mangoes, lemon and all the other veggies for the pickle. My mom helping them grind the spices in the traditional stone grinder and we kids carrying all of these to the terrace and helping her dry them so that they could soak up in the summer sun. It used to be meticulous but sufficient for at least 5 households for the entire year.

Well, this recipe is not one of those pickles. It is easy to make, does not take a lot of time and u can’t prepare and stock it up for a year as it has a shelf life of a week. But it is exotic and you are sure to get a star if there was a report card.

Carambola Pickle:

Mustard seeds

Curry Leaves

Asafetida

Mustard oil

Method:

Wash the star fruit and dry it with a towel. Cut carambola horizontally so that each piece looks like a star. Heat the oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds, curry leaves, asafetida. Add the fruit and stir this. Now add rock salt and red chili powder. You may add green chilies if you like it spicy. Now put this in a air tight jar and add rock salt and oil. Cover the jar with muslin cloth and close the lid. Refrigerate it for 3-4 days. Your carambola pickles are ready to be served with any south Indian cuisine.

Tip:

Pick the raw carambola which has a very sour taste.