Spicy Pickled Red Onions

It has been years that we tasted our grandma's special spicy pickled onions.It takes a lot of time and efforts to prepare a pickle recipe and thus, there is no place for them in our busy urban lives. But just because you are busy doesn't mean you don't miss pickled onions. So, what you need is a pickle recipe that will be tasty without being too cumbersome to prepare.

Pickled onions can be prepared as in the spicy Indian or in European style with lesser whole spices. This pickle recipe takes a bit from both worlds and thus, the resulting pickled onions will be a cross-cultural product. The whole spices used in these pickled onions are Indian but vinegar added to the onions is a European ingredient.

Preparation Time: 15 Days

Ingredients (For a 300 ml Jar)

• Small red onions- 20 (peeled)
• Sea salt- 2tbsp
• Brown sugar- 1/2 cup
• White Vinegar- 1 cup
• Green chillies- 8 (de-seeded)
• Bay leaves- 3
• Cloves- 8
• Green peppercorns- 10
• Water- 4 cups

Procedure

1. Boil water with salt for 5 minutes of high flame. Blanch the onions and green chillies in it for a couple of minutes and remove from flame.

2. Cover the pot/pan with a lid and let the onions and chillies soak in it for 12 hours.

3. Drain the water from the onions and chillies and allow them to sun dry for a few hours.

4. The next day, warm vinegar in a pan and add the brown sugar to it. Also add all the whole spices like bay leaves, cloves and pepper to it.

5. Keep stirring it till the sugar dissolves completely. Pour it into a glass jar and allow it to cool for a few hours.

6. Now half fill the pickle jar with onions. Pour some vinegar over it. Fill rest of the onions and pour the vinegar over it again.

7. You can also add a bit of mustard oil if you want to make the pickle really spicy.

8. Refrigerate this pickle for at least 10-15 days before you eat it.

You can serve these spicy pickled onions with sandwiches and also with Indian foods like dal and rice.