INSTANT SOUTH INDIAN PICKLE MASALA MIX

INGREDIENTS:

Dry red chili	4-5
Fenugreek (Methi) seeds	2 tbsp
Mustard seeds	1 tbsp
Salt	1 tbsp
Turmeric powder	½ tsp
Red chili powder	4 tbsp
Asafetida	1.5 tsp

METHOD:

• Heat a kadai on medium flame and dry roast methi seeds, mustard seeds and dry red chili separately. Transfer to a plate and let it cool down.
• Dry roast 2 tbsp of methi seeds until slightly brown and aromatic. Roast 1 tbsp of mustard seeds until seeds are spluttered and dry red chili till roasted and crisp.
• When the spices are cooled, grind in a blender jar to semi fine powder. Then add salt, turmeric powder, red chili powder and asafetida into the blender and grind everything together for few secs to get a fine powder.
• Store the pickle masala in an air-tight container and use the pickle masala powder as required to make instant mango or lime or gooseberry pickle.

 Note: 

• You can just use either only dry red chili (15-20) or only red chili powder (5 tbsp) instead of mix of dry red chili and red chili powder. 
• But the usage of 4-5 dry red chili helps in grinding the seeds better and also provides a nice roasted aroma. 
• The addition of red chili powder and turmeric powder gives bright red color to the pickle mix.
• If you using only dry red chili, the spice mix will not be bright red instead will be dark reddish brown due the roasting but the pickle will still taste good.