Kachalu ka achaar | instant Yam pickle...

 This yam is a tough elongated tuber root that looks like it will be very easy to cook just like potatoes. Just peel the skin, cut it in desired shape and cook it like any other potato based curry. Precisely that is the reason why I rarely buy this vegetable. I don't like potatoes much other than mashed potatoes and this one doesn't mash up like potatoes. Way too slimy for that.

In Banras it is called Banda, some people call it Kanda in Bihar and Jharkhand and some other call it Kachalu in the Hindi heartland. Taro root is a vernacular name, it is a yam family vegetable, call it by other name. I find it really too slimy and hard to soak any flavors...

And then I happened to eat at the Shyam Sweets at Chawri bazar last weekend and loved the green and red pickled Kachalu they served with the Bedmi aloo for breakfast. You must know this place is a hot spot for kachori/poori breakfast lovers. These places make their own instant pickles everyday to be served with the deep fried pooris or bhatooras. You might have noticed how the bhaturey chhole come with a freshly made carrot-green chilly and sometimes cauliflower pickle, part from the usual slices of onion etc..

This pickled Kachalu was quite hot with chillies, green and red in this case but that did not stop me from licking the pickle plate off. This is when I don't even like pickles much. With instant pickles it is a different story now. I decided to make the twin pickles at home.

So this Yam was peeled and cubed, then boiled into pressure cooker till done. Took me 5 minutes after the first whistle. Cooled and kept aside till I made my two different pickling mixtures.

The red pickle....

peeled and boiled kachalu cubes 300 gm
tamarind soaked in hot water for sometime and the thin pulp extracted 1 cup
kashmiri mirch powder 1 heaped tablespoon
hing or asafotida 2 pinches
salt to taste

Mix everything up and soak the boiled and drained Kachalu pieces in the pickling liquid. Store in the fridge for 2-3 weeks. The pickle is ready within 3-4 hours.

The green pickle...

I found this green raw Tamarind legumes being sold in the old Delhi streets and bought it for this very pickle.

A green paste was made using these green tamarind pods, green chillies and Rai seeds (the smaller variety of mustard) with salt to taste...

peeled and boiled kachalu cubes 300 gm
green tamarind pods 30 gm
green chillies 20 gm or more 
Rai seeds 2 tsp
salt to taste

The paste is used as a pickling mixture. This pickle would keep well at room temperature and will keep getting piquant owing to the properties of the Rai seeds. The boiled and drained kachalu is added to this mixture as well.

I love this Kachalu pickle over plain boiled chickpeas too.

Served as a side dish or condiment, this pickle is a good way to perk up simpler meals.

I am loving it. Tell me if you want a bottle of this :-)