Keeping pickle good for a year
A dry spoon, a tight lid and enough oil: the three rules that matter.
How avakaya is made
Hard mangoes, a sharp knife and three weeks of patience.
Avakaya season starts in May, when the mangoes from Nuzvid are fully grown but still hard and sour. Softer mangoes turn mushy in the oil, so we test every crate by pressing a thumb into the skin.
The mangoes are washed, dried completely on cloth, and cut with a heavy knife into pieces with the stone shell still attached. The shell keeps the pieces firm. Any piece with a dark spot is set aside.
In a wide steel basin, the women mix mustard powder, Guntur chilli powder and rock salt, then toss the pieces until each is coated. Gingelly oil goes in last, enough to cover everything once it settles.
The pickle rests in large ceramic jars for three days, and is mixed again each morning with a long wooden ladle. Then it is left for three weeks. In that time the mango softens slightly, the mustard mellows, and the oil turns deep red. Only then is it tasted, adjusted if needed, and filled into jars.
