Pesara Avakaya ( పెసర ఆవకాయ)

Pesara Avakaya ( పెసర ఆవకాయ) also called as moong dal mango pickle,  Andhra avakaya pickle with moong dal powder. Pesara avakaya is quite distinct in taste compared to the regular avakaya with a dominant flavor of moong dal. In this avakaya moong dal powder is used instead of mustard powder and hence a different taste.Pesara avakaya when mixed with hot rice and ghee is just awesome.
Regional Dish:  Andhra pradesh

Cuisine Style: Andhra pradesh| Cooking Time 60mins | Take it with rice/ roti|  Type  Pickle| Shelf Life : 30  days| Quantity : 30 Servings.

Appx. Nutritional values calculated for 1 serving:

Calories (45Kcal), Carbohydrates (5g), Protein (1g), Fat (10g)

Ingredients:

• 2-  1/2 cups Mango pieces of 2 medium firm green mangoes
• 1/2 cup Moong dal ( washed , split green gram dal)
• 1/2 cup Red chili powder
• 1/2 cup Salt
• 1/2 cup Oil

Method:

Cleaning the mangoes:

1. Wash and wipe the mangoes with a dry cloth. You really need to have sharp thick knife to cut into 1″ thick mango wedges with the inner shell intact  to increase the shelf life of the pickle.
2. Take a sharp knife and scrub the inner shell to remove a thin white layer over it. This is another important step you should keep in mind otherwise the pickle gets spoilt.
3. Now take a dry cloth and wipe the pieces from all the sides ensuring that they are cleaned and dried well.
4. Spread them over a dry cloth while you are preparing the spices for the pickle.

For making pickle:                   

1. Keep ready the sterilized and sun dried jars ready before you start pickling.
2. Dry roast moong dal until slight golden in color and cool it. Grind moong dal to a fine powder.
3. Now take a big bowl and mix the moong dal powder, red chili powder and salt until everything is mixed well.
4. Add the mango pieces to it and mix well and apply the mixture all over the mango pieces using hands
5. Add 1/4 cup oil to the spice coated mango pieces and mix well.
6. Put the masala coated mango pieces and all the remaining masala in the sterilized jar add 1/4 cup oil over it and cover it with lid and keep it aside for 2-3 days.
7. On day-1 check if some oil might have started floating over the pickle. Now taste the masala mixture in the pickle, it should be perfect and slightly salty as the pickle has to be yet marinated for a day or two before its usage. But if you feel the salt is less add a 1tsp. or 2tsps. of salt to it and mix well.
8. Mix with a clean and dry ladle all over and repeat the same process on day-3.
9. On the day-3 if you see the oil is floating on the pickle up to an 1/2″ height then it is perfect .Otherwise add extra oil over the top until the oil floats on top.

Notes:

• Always transfer a small portion of pickle into a small jar and use a clean and dry spoon.
• Increase the amount of oil as required in the recipe. The basic thumb rule is to make the oil float over the pickle after 3 days. So feel free to add extra oil.( use sesame oil it keeps the pickle fresh and also the mango pieces remain firm, enhances the flavor’s too)
• This pickle stays good up to 15-20 days. It stays good for a month if refrigerated.
• You can easily double or triple the recipe, the basic rule is to use 4 cups of mango pieces with 1 leveled cup salt,1 cup red chili powder and 1 cup moong dal powder.