Lonchyaso Pito | Pickle Powder | Mangalorean Catholic Style Spice Blend for Pickles (When the Hubby Cooks!)

The summer season in India is a time to enjoy the season’s bounty. Mangoes, jackfruits, jamoons and a whole variety of seasonal fruits make their appearance in the local markets. Given that there is plenty of sunshine which allows you to dry anything you wish in a few minutes or hours a lot of food preserving is indulged in. Pickles are the first thing that come to one’s mind when we talk about preserving foods.The preparation of pickles is a tradition handed down from generations for over thousands of years in India and every region has its own range of pickles made from a whole lot of ingredients. What makes each type of pickle different from the others is the spice blend that is used to create the gravy base or the ‘masala’ that further enhances the flavour and aroma of the salted ingredients. While most spice blends include the quintessential Indian dried red chillies, the variety of which varies from region to region, some may make use of the fresh green chillies. So the colour of the pickle greatly depends on what goes into the spice blend.

Today’s recipe is the typical pickle powder or spice blend for pickles that is used to prepare a host of pickles in Catholic homes in Mangalore. I say Catholic homes because every community in Mangalore has their unique way of preparing their basic spice blends and this is how we prepare our pickles. The recipe below is the basic one which can be used to prepare the Kosrache Lonche (Shredded/Finely Chopped Raw Mango Pickle) or Fodinche/Phodinche Lonche (Chunky Raw Mango Pickle) or Tendli-Carrotache Lonche (Ivy Gourd & Carrot Pickle). In my upcoming posts I will provide the recipes for the various type of pickles.Thank you Aunty Jessie Castelino for this recipe!