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Kerda nu athanu
Desert berry pickle
કેરડાનું અથાણું: tiny wild desert ker berries, soaked and boiled to tame their bitterness, pickled with mustard and lemon
Ker is a leafless desert shrub that grows wild across Kutch and the Thar, and in April and May, before the monsoon, it is covered in small green berries that families pick by hand. Fresh ker are fiercely bitter, so they are soaked and boiled until the bitterness fades, then pickled with split mustard, split fenugreek, chilli and lemon juice and covered in oil. The berries are firm, pea-sized and slightly chewy, with a sour, earthy, caper-like flavour under the mustard heat. In Kutch the pickle goes with bajra rotlo and buttermilk, or is mixed into khichdi; across Rajasthan the same berries go into ker sangri. The common mistake is rushing the soaking: if the water is not changed several times the pickle stays harsh. Taste a berry: it should be pleasantly sour-bitter, like an olive, not acrid. It is ready to eat after 3–4 days, once the berries have absorbed the lemon. Boiled ker are low in acid, so the lemon matters and the pickle lives in the fridge, where it keeps up to 2 months. Abroad, use dried ker from Indian grocers (they swell back well), or, at a pinch, capers soaked to remove the salt. Chef's tip: add a few cubes of raw mango in season for extra sourness.
- Total time
- 45 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 16
Ingredients
For the berries
- 5 ½ oz ker berriesfresh, or 100 g dried ker; capers (rinsed) at a pinch
- 6 ¼ cups waterfor soaking, changed 3–4 times
- 4 ¼ cups waterfor boiling
- 1 ½ tbsp saltdivided
For the pickle
- 1 ½ tbsp red chilli powder
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- ½ tsp gluten-free asafoetida
- ¼ cup lemon juicefrom about 2 lemons
- ½ cup groundnut or mustard oil
- 3 ½ oz raw mango (optional)in 1 cm cubes
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Method
0/9 doneStep 1: Prepare the jar: wash jar and lid in hot soapy water, rinse well, then stand the jar upside down in a 250°F oven for 10 minutes (or boil jar and lid for 10 minutes and let them dry upside down). Let it cool completely; jar, lid, bowls and spoons must be bone dry, because a single drop of water is the usual reason a pickle goes mouldy.
Step 2: Rinse the 5 ½ oz ker berries and pick out stalks and grit. Soak in some of the 6 ¼ cups water for 24 hours (dried ker for 36 hours), draining and covering with fresh water 3–4 times. The water will turn brown at first, then clear.
5 minStep 3: Drain. Bring 4 ¼ cups water to the boil with a third of the ½ tbsp salt, add the berries and simmer on a medium heat for 10–15 minutes, until they can be squashed between your fingers. Taste one: the harsh bitterness should be gone.
15 minStep 4: Drain and spread on a cloth to dry completely, 2–3 hours. Any water left will spoil the pickle.
3 minStep 5: Heat ½ cup groundnut or mustard oil in a pan over a medium-high heat until it just smokes, then turn off the heat and cool until barely warm.
3 minStep 6: In a dry steel bowl, mix 2 tbsp split mustard seeds (rai kuria), 1 tbsp split fenugreek seeds (methi kuria), 1 ½ tbsp red chilli powder, 1 tsp ground turmeric, ½ tsp gluten-free asafoetida and the rest of the 1 tbsp salt. Pour over 3 tbsp of the warm oil and stir into a damp masala.
5 minStep 7: Add the dried ker, 3 ½ oz raw mango if using and ¼ cup lemon juice and mix well with a dry spoon.
3 minStep 8: Pack into the dry jar and pour the remaining oil over so it covers the berries by 1 cm. Rest in the fridge for 3–4 days, shaking daily, before eating.
Step 9: Keep in the fridge for up to 2 months, always with a clean dry spoon and the berries under oil. Throw it away if you see mould, it fizzes, smells rotten or the berries turn slimy.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 60 kcal
- Protein
- 1 g
- Carbs
- 4 g
- Fat
- 5 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does kerda nu athanu take?
- About 45 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 16 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of split mustard seeds (rai kuria)?
- Cumin seeds, same amount (different flavour, same crackle).
- What can I use instead of split fenugreek seeds (methi kuria)?
- Leave them out, or add a little extra mustard seed (you lose the slightly bitter, maple-like note).
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