PICKLE! Pickle, pickle, pickle. And we are NOT talking Vlassic or the like. I am talking about amazing, tangy, salty, spicy, sweet sweet Indian pickle, or achār. That is what I have been obsessed with the last few weeks, ever since Tami didi and Serena didi introduced me to the PICKLE PALACE. I kid you not when I say I was truly blown away by this culinary experience. Not for a very long time have I been SO engrossed with trying and learning about a particular type of food. Pickle! Pickled garlic, mixed pickle, pickled green and red chili (oh yes!), pickled mango, pickled ginger, pickled bamboo shoots (!!!) but the kicker was the pickled garlic. Oh somewhere in New York right now Tami didi is swooning. Seriously, when a certain Indian didi mommy makes a long distance phone call half way around the world to her boyfriend to explain that he just has has has to love garlic pickle because she cannot be the only one in this relationship eating garlic pickle 24/7, you know you have a serious pickle problem. This is how it went…

Tami didi, Serena didi and I took a very crowded car ride to Haridwar with the girls (see below)…

… and then set off into Moti Bazaar is Haridwar proper, next to the Ganga. For those of you who don’t know, Haridwar is one a several holy Hindu cities on the Ganges/Ganga river where spiritual tourists, both Indian and foreigners alike, come to bath, worship and revel in the Ganga river. Aarti (daily worship) there at dusk is a site to behold with beautiful flower boats floating down the river and huge torches lighting the whole scene. Next to ghats (stairs down to the river for people to bath) is a huge, cavernous bizarre filled with any kind of ware you want – if you can’t find it at Moti Bizarre, it probably doesn’t exist.

We however were on a mission for pickle. Indian pickle to be precise. And this my friends, is the Pickle Palace…

You can stand there for, say, 20 minutes, asking what each kind of pickle is, smelling, snapping photos, and holding your hand out for samples. If you are nice, you might be able to score a little bit of loose pickle to eat with a piping hot samosa from the next stall. And after spending an absurd amount on pickle, I took my wares home and nibbled on them throughout the whole trip. Um, and sort of went back again for more, because I was afraid I was going to run out. I am really impressed this one……even came close to me (however I am glad that she did) 🙂

All in all I took home something like 10 jars of pickle and although I left/gifted most of them in India, I did manage to sneak a couple of bottles home with me and past customs. Shhhh.

I am attempting to ration. Never my strong suit.

Pakora recipe is coming!! Have a good night loves. Xo