How Indian pickles matured from an ancient art to a world-beating business
- India relishes its pickles, and in rural areas, the arrival of mango season sees women gathering together to make achaar in a tradition perfected over generations
- No Indian food platter is complete without it, and pickle-making is big business, with exports up over 700 per cent in the last 10 years
During India’s recent Covid-19 lockdown, Delhi resident Ashpinder Kaur Marwah, who is in her early 70s, had very little to do. But the arrival of mango season saved her from her boredom and gave the homemaker an opportunity to make pickles, putting to use a skill she had learnt from her grandmother and mother-in-law. The work kept her busy for at least a month.
Her son, who was working from home, recorded her work and uploaded it on social media, resulting in many friends and relatives requesting pickles. Word soon spread to more acquaintances and orders began pouring in, turning a simple tradition handed down through generations into monetary gain.
“I have been preparing pickles for a very long time but for my family or a few very close relatives. This year, however, due to social media promotion, the requests shot up. People loved the pickles so much that many have already booked more pickles for next year,” said Marwah.
In India, no platter of food is complete without at least one pickle, or achaar. These complement a variety of Indian dishes and range from extremely hot and spicy to simple, tangy or sweet. While raw mango and lime relishes are most common, several pickles are unique to a region – from seasonal vegetables in the North, bamboo shoot pickle in the Northeast, to fish, shrimps and meat preserves in Goa and Kerala.
“Pickle-making is part of Indian culture. It is mainly prepared by the older ladies in every Indian house. One can find at least one bharni [special glazed pottery jar] of pickle in every Indian house. But now, these older ladies are unable to put in the effort, while the younger ones don’t have the time or interest. So now people prefer pickle off the store shelves,” said Pritam Singh, who runs a wholesale shop at Chandni Chowk in Old Delhi. His grandfather started the business in present day Pakistan and later moved to India after Partition.