Mango Pickle (Aavakai)

A traditional Indian meal is incomplete without a pickle. There are so many different ways of making pickles – cooking, fermenting over days in the sun or fresh pickles. This Mango Pickle recipes takes a few days and may sound like a tedious and a long process but the end result is just amazing and you can enjoy the fruits of you labor by relishing it over months or years. Take a step back in time and enjoy this art that goes back centuries in time.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Pickling Time: 20 – 25 days

Ingredients:

Raw Green Mangoes – 2 large (1 lb)
Garbanzo Beans (Kabuli Chanas) – 1 cup
Salt – 2 tbsp or to taste
Turmeric Powder – ¼ tsp
Asafoetida – ¼ tsp
Mustard Seed Powder – 1 tbsp
Coriander Powder – ¼ cup
Red Chili Powder – 1/4 cup or to taste
Kashmiri Chili Powder – 1 tbsp
Fenugreek Seeds – ¼ tsp, powdered
Sesame Seed Oil – 1 ½ cups

Method:

1. Wash and dry Mangoes.
2. Remove seed and cube Mangoes with a shape knife.
3. Wash and completely dry Garbanzo Beans.
4. Spread Mangoes and Garbanzo Beans on a tray, cover with thin cloth and allow them to dry overnight.
5. Next day, mix dry spices in a bowl – Salt, Turmeric, Asafoetida, Mustard Seed Powder, Coriander Powder, Red Chili Powder, Kashmiri Chili Powder and Fenugreek Seed Powder.
6. Add Mangoes and Garbanzo Beans. Mix well.
7. Add Sesame Oil, mix, cover and set bowl out in the sun for about 20 days. Mix daily.
8. Transfer to clean, dry jar and store at room temperature or refrigerator.
9. Enjoy over the next few months.

Tips:

1. Use Kashmiri Chili Powder to make a mild pickle.
2. Skip the Garbanzo Beans and the pickle will be ready in 12 days.
3. Oil should be floating on top to prevent spoilage.

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65 thoughts on “Mango Pickle (Aavakai)

  1. First, thank you for a wonderful website.

    My question, can this be done in a slow cooker? I am thinking about the winter here, with seldom a temperature above 40 degrees. This may lend itself to a slow cooker.

    1. Hi Linda,

      The thing is…this type of pickle is not meant to be cooked. It is raw, but pickled. By slow cooking, you may come up with an entirely new variation of this recipe (and it may be delicious), but it probably will not have the fermented, pickled taste.

  2. Do any particular immature mangoes work best for the mango pickle (aavaki) recipe? 20 years ago the mother from Bombay of a friend sent me a chutney that sounds very much like this. She said that I cannot make it in the U. S. A. I used to eat it smeared on “roasting ears” aka corn on the cob. I missed it after I ate it all up.

    1. Hi Henry,

      You can usually find raw, green mangoes that are meant for pickle making at your local Indian grocery store. We are not sure what variety they are, but they look different than the ones that are meant to be ripened.

      1. Hetal

        I found all the ingredients including the green mangoes at an Indian grocer. They are a much darker green on the outside. They look like a more hardy mango than is found in Krogers or Meijers. I am on day 2 of the 20 days of making mango pickles!
        In the meantime, I have enough left over ingredients to make the Indian cucumber (which I grew in my garden this year) pickles (DOSAKI PICKLES)
        I cannot wait for Thanksgiving to approach so I can try my hand at those CRANBERRY PICKLES.

        Thanks for opening a new world to me!

        1. Hi Henry,

          LOL! I think we have created a “Pickle Monster”! Glad you found all the ingredients and we can’t wait until Thanksgiving either…the cranberry pickle is the BEST!

  3. Are the garbanzo beans to be uncooked ones.? Have made your recipes and enjoyed . So far made Methi Paratha and Spinach. Thanks so much for showing all these wonderful recipes. Thanks. Pls. reply.

  4. Hello,
    I have just started cooking Indian recipes. Can you please outline a weekly Menu? It is hard to understand what dishes go with other dishes. I would love to know a typical average week of cooking, what dishes, breads, chutney and desserts you make on a daily basis. Love your site.
    Thanks!!!!!: )

    1. Hi Sharon,

      Different parts of India have different menus for daily food. In my family (on a daily basis), we have 4 main components: Daal, Subzi (Vegetable), Chapati (Breads) and Rice. You can use the tabs at the top of our website for the different recipes in each category. Hope that helps.

  5. I have been attempting to cook Indian food, which is my husbands favorite. Unfortunately, I cannot handle too much hot spice in my foods. How can you tell if a recipe, such as this one, is going to be really spicy? And then how do you know how to make several version – mild, medium and hot? Since this recipe calls for a long wait time, it doesn’t really allow you to play around with the spice ingredient.

    1. Hi Sarah,

      As a general rule, most pickles range from spicy to very spicy :). You will find very few really mild ones. Pickles are meant to be eaten in very small quantities so the flavors are very intense (spicy, salty, sour, etc). You can adjust the level of spice by adjusting the amount of red chili powder or green chilies in a recipe. Also, there are many varieties of red chili powder out there – some are milder than others.

    2. Hi Hetal and Abuja,

      This is a great recipe. I will try it next time. I love your recipes.

      I can’t eat spicy food. Therefore, I add all the ingredients in my pickles except chili powder. I leave the pickle near south facing window (or outside) for 4-5 days. Stir it every day. At this point I transfer some of the pickle for myself in a glass bottle. Add chili powder in rest of the pickle. Add a small amount of Kashmiri chili powder for the color. Make sure there is enough oil in both jars. Let the jars sit in sun a few more days.
      Thanks!

  6. Hi guys,

    Im from South Africa. Are garbanzo beans chickpeas? If so, can I use tinned chickpeas instead? and how would I dry them?

    Thanks!

    P.S have made your butter chicken. Its AMAZING! 😀

    1. Hi Zana,

      Garbanzo beans are also called chickpeas. For this recipe, you cannot use tinned chickpeas. The ones we use are the dry ones that need to be soaked and cooked (if you were to make a curry out of them). They are raw. Canned chickpeas are cooked and will spoil in this pickle.

      1. Thanks so much for this. Ill try and find the dry ones at one of the asian stores.

        Thanks for supplying my with these recipes! I’ve started cooking since i stumbled upon your site. You make it SOOOO easy!

        Was wondering if you had a recipe for dhal samoosas?

  7. hi hetal and anuja i am tina from ksa….
    i really like your website ….my family like the garlic sauce which i really dont know to make …we usually get it from out but this time i want to make it at home ……so can you just show me how to make it at home easily…….

    thanx

  8. Hi Anuja and Hetal,
    I have a dehydrator. Would it have the same effect by putting the items in that instead of putting them outside?

  9. Hi there,

    Your recipe is very good and done very well. But you need to watch out on one thing. Hetal picked a piece of pickled mango to try it; and then she just used the same hand (unwashed) to dip into the bowl to take a chickpea. That is unhygienic and will could cause the food to spoil (maybe not for a pickle); but I’m referring to the practice.

    Cheers,
    Sai

  10. Hey Ladies,

    I live in Canada where hot sun comes in summer only. Can I put mangoes in the oven to like i would in sun??

    Please advise thanks

    za

  11. can you converse in hindi fluently because i have seen u speaking hindi at times and have you lived in india?

  12. hello Hetal and Anuja,
    I just had one suggestion if you don’t mind.
    It would be a great idea to add dry whole methi seeds(same proportion as the chana).just thought of sharing as my Mum used(and is still making) to make a similar pickle but she would add methi seeds that we normally use for tempering. She treats it the same way as the white chana. she socks both the chana and methi overnight and then sun dry it the next day making sure it doesn’t over dry or else it won’t pickle! you should give it a try and i am sure you would love it 🙂
    I would like to take opportunity to thank you for your inspiration that i have actually started cooking!! my mum is very happy with me 😀 so thank you so much and i love your receips! very easy and quick, as being a student and living on my own makes my life alot easier 🙂

  13. Hi Hetal and Anuja

    That “IS” an awesome pickle … just felt like piking up a few pieces and … slurp … But ….. may be I will have to wait for 2 months till I go back to India .. for the sour mangoes and sun. Its damn cold out here … in Germany …. so no chance of making it here.

    My mom used to make this .. but there was no chana .. this is an added bonus .. ’cause I love chana … sure gonna try this …. yummmmmmyyyyy ….

    Thanks to you both and Anuja’s FIL for this wonderful recipe.

  14. I tasted in South India a pickle made out of dry coconut, I would be grateful if you folks could introduce this pickle, I haven’e a clue how it is made, this last for months I was told.

  15. The pickle is really nice but strangely enough an aunt did the same thing with BLACK CHAANA instead & boy did it not taste good.The black channa seems to have an added flavour. Do try everyone & see the difference.

    1. Hi RumiSen,
      Never tried or even heard of a pickle with black channas…. 🙁 The good news is that now we know never to try either…. 🙂

  16. Hi,
    Love your site & love this receipe.I have request for u guys.If you can share some easy receipes for 5 days campling trip I w’d really appreciate it.Thank you in advance.

  17. Hi there .. I have the same question as Deepa .. living in Seattle .. sun is difficult to come by .. can we do the process in the oven some how?

    Thank you .. really enjoy your site and all your recipes!!
    Chandana

  18. Couple of questions:
    What did you cover the pickle/bowl with when you kept it outside in the sun after you mixed it with the masala? The same thin cotton cloth?
    Also, what did you do with the bowl at night and on days when the sun didn’t cooperate? Bring it inside and leave it on the counter or inside the fridge? Thank you and you ladies look lovely as always : )

  19. Hi Hetal and Anuja,

    U BOTH ROCK.I ALMOST TRIED ALL UR RECIPIES TILL NOW.THEY R TOO GOOD AND SIMPLE.MY 4 YEAR DAUGHTER IS GREAT FAN OF UR S.WHILE COOKING SHE REMINDS ME TO PUT SOMETHING WHICH I FORGET.

    I HAD 1 SMALL REQUEST.

    CAN U PLEASE SHOW HOW TO MAKE “UNDHIYU”

    THANX IN ADVANCE
    HOPE U MAKE THIS ONE VERY SOON

    GUNJAN

  20. This link for some reason is not working now? :-(( I like ‘Mango Pickel”, and i always wanted to learn to make it…i guess i just have to do without the video…Thanks again

  21. Amazing gals, never had mango achar with kabuli chana…..what an amazing change in pickles…..I am going to try and let you know…..thanks for sharing. Love u gals.

  22. Hello everyone!
    I agree with Deepa’s comment! I’m dying to try this new receipe but live in Quebec city, Canada…where the weather is 30 Celcius below and the sun…pretty shy for the moment:) I was wondering if I had to wait until july before I can make this won-der-ful receipe?
    Merci beaucoup!
    Laurence

  23. Hi Hetal & Anuja,

    Is there any way this recipe can be made without using sunlight? The reason I’m asking is because I live in a sunless place named Seattle and getting a hold of the sun is when you are really really lucky 🙂

    Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated!

    -Deepa

    1. Hi Deepa,
      We never have the sun-issue, we live in Texas! Some of the viewers have suggested that you put it in the oven on a very low temperature and another viewer said that they just allow it to dry on the counter – it may take a little longer but gets the job done! We have never tried any of those methods but both of them make sense…

  24. I am going to try this.. I also have something similar. Soak Chana. Also soak whole methi seeds overnight. Drain and add some ingredients next day.

    1. Yes even my mom makes similar pickle called chana-methi pickle, in which she soaks the chana and methi. Then she dries mango,chana and methi like they did in the recipe and the rest of the recipe is same except the keeping in the sun part. My mom does not keep it in sun, it just sits on the shelf and of course you give it a mix everyday.

      Hey H&A, I have tried a lot of ur recipes and u guys rock!! 🙂

  25. I have tried this years ago and somehow the fungus used to come while pickling! Any idea why that is? Also, can you please tell us commonly made mistakes so we can avoid them?

    It was funny to know that Anuja’s FIL can tell when the Sambhar is done sitting in the living room. Even my daughter can tell whether I have used sambhar powder or rasam powder for a particular dish just by entering the home!!

    Please thank A’s FIL for the recipe on the viewer’s behalf too.

    1. Hi R,

      The 2 most important things to keep in mind:
      – clean container
      -enough oil (there should be some floating on top

      My FIL – has not cooked a dish ever but amazing how he know the intricacies about cooking…!!! 🙂

      1. Hi R & Anuja,

        Do remember to use a clean DRY spoon every time you dig into the pickle. This goes a long way in preventing fungus.

        Hope that helps.

  26. hi hetal & anuja
    thanx for sharing this receipe.8 or 9 yrs ago i taste pickle with channa at my friend’s home.but didn’t know how to make it.now i feel the same taste while watching receipe. so thanx for ur father-in- law to sharing this usefull receipe.take care

  27. Ohh yeah…I am the first one to write the comment..Wanted to try this for sure..tried ur dosakai pickle ..it came out really well..Thanks H & A for maing us a good chefs…:)

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