Garlic Pickle | Garlic in vinegar brine

This week I will be posting recipes which have garlic as the main ingredient. In the last post I have mentioned so many health benefits of garlic. But I also heard that to reap the real benefits of garlic, it needs to be eaten raw. Chew and eat the garlic for best benefits. There are some nutrients in garlic that will be completely digested by our saliva. So one has to chew the raw garlic till we get the burning sensation in our mouth.

At my place I often make this garlic pickle. This is H's favourite. He likes to have this all days along with some rice based menu. It is very easy to make this pickle. While buying garlic to make this pickle I buy those with bigger bulbs. Garlic needs to be properly dried for making this pickle. While you peel the skin off, the skin should come out very easily.

This pickle is of course made of raw garlic. So just be careful if your are packing this for lunch. This pickle has a very strong smell and your mouth might also smell of garlic after you eat. Since it is not a very pleasant smell, carry a mouth freshener whenever you eat this pickle.

• Peel the garlic pods and keep it aside. Take care that they are properly dried and no rotten ones exist. Do not wash the garlic.
• Wash the green chillies. Dry them propelry with a kitchen towel. Slit the green chillies lengthwise.
• Add salt, turmeric powder, slit green chillies, fenugreek powder and vinegar. Mix well and bottle it.
• Boil water and allow it to cool to room temperature.
• Pour the water into the garlic bottle such that all the garlic is immersed.
• Leave it aside for 2 days so that the salt and chillies are completely mixed.
• Heat the gingelly oil. Add mustard seeds. Once mustard splutters, switch off the flame. Let the oil cool. Then pour it into the bottle. The oil need not be mixed. The oil has to stay like a layer on top of the garlic water.

Notes:

• The water is boiled to kill the bacteria or other germs. So do not miss this step.
• This pickle stays the same for about an year. I never refrigerate it and have used it for about an year.
• Always store it in airtight containers preferable glass containers.
• Washing the garlic might remove the essential nutrients out of it.