Indians have always loved pickles or as so lovingly called achars, since time immemorial. In ancient times, every Indian house, right from the king’s palace to the common man’s hut, was filled with a heavenly aroma of diverse range of pickles as they were being prepared and made ready. During the days when there wasn’t any electricity and packaged food wasn’t available, Indians used to take delight in pickles of every taste and form as they are the only savories which can be preserved and relished for a long period of time. Today innumerable electronic appliances and a vast variety of delectable cuisines are on offer. But still pickles have still been able to retain their name and fame among the Indians as a special food item in the modern world.
Here are some reasons as to why this savoury still occupy a place in the hearts of every Indian –
1. TRAVEL FRIENDLY
Pickles are such homemade delicacies that can travel with us in our travelling kits, secured in mason jars. It reminds us of the magic of our mom’s hands when we stay away from our family and doesn’t let us fall homesick. Pickles can be said to be a slice of mother’s love that can go with us anywhere around the world.
2. RIPENS UP ANY DISH
A small amount of pickle in a dish helps us in finishing up a boring meal in no time. The awesome taste of pickles lingers in our mouth and pleases us so much. Thus we can even gobble up a simple meal with utter relish.
3. COMES IN SO MANY VARIETIES OF TASTE & FORM
Pickles come in so many varieties of taste and forms to satiate our taste buds that we are spoilt for choice. Pickles can be made with a single fruit or vegetable . It can also be done in innovative ways by mixing different fruits and vegetables to come up with a creative appetizer that we can drool over day and night. Pickles can be sweet, spicy, tangy, salty or a mixture of various tastes. Most importantly, it can make even a small crumb of morsel seem so blissful.
4. AWESOME LONG TIME RELISHERS
Pickles are preserved with ingredients like oil, vinegar, salt etc to increase their shelf life. Items like cakes and sweets must be consumed soon as it may get spoiled but it is not so in the case of pickles. Pickles can be stored and relished for several months. Thus pickles are long-time savouries which Indians enjoy.
5. PERFECT ACCOMPANIMENTS FOR ANY MEAL
Pickles are the perfect accompaniments for any wheat items like pav and chapatti that they together seem like a wholesome meal sans any curry or fritters. Sometimes, it seems that a meal is incomplete without that small amount of pickle even if it contains a large number of mouthwatering dishes. Even a plate of simply boiled rice and pickle seems so heavenly and makes us feel so happy and satisfying.
6. REMINDS US OF CHILDHOOD MEMORIES
The taste of pickles evoke so many emotions and makes us so nostalgic. It brings alive those memories of childhood days when we watch our mothers and grandmothers create magic in the kitchen with pickles. It also brings to our mind of those carefree days when we used to play with our siblings and friends in the terraces with the blissful aroma of pickles, which were laid out to be dried under the sun, wafting through the air.
Pickles, thus are adored by every person in the Indian subcontinent . Also, it continues to create a loving bond among Indian families . So pickles rule every dining table of the Indian household.
