The Summer must - Avakai Pacchadi
History It is that season of the year, when almost all households in India engage in the process of pickling and making appalam (papads), and vadiyalu (raw chips made of vegetables and lentils). It has been a norm every summer that we make the traditional Avakai Pacchadi - a very flavourful and spicy pickle made of raw mango pieces, garlic, and a variety of spices and pickled using Til oil (sesame oil). So what is Avakaya? Ava in short is powdered mustard seeds which are called Avalu in Telugu and Kaya is the unripped fruit of a tree or a plant. Avakaya is typically made of raw mangoes, hence, when someone refers to it, it is safe to assume that it is made of raw mangoes. No two families have the same taste of the Avakaya. Everyone gets their own unique taste in the process. Today, we will talk about the process my ammamma (maternal grandmother) thought my mom and who inturn imparted the knowledge to both me and my sister. Tradition of Pickling The pickling process is taken very se