Gongura Pickle From Freshly Harvested Leaves

The leaves of Gongura, otherwise known as Roselle plant, is widely used in India to make pickles. Due to its sour taste it is suitable for pickling and for long time storage. The pickling is done normally by sun-dried Gongura leaves

In this instructable let us see how we can use freshly harvested Gongura leaves for making pickle

Step 1: Harvest Gongura Leaves

Gongura is growing in a small patch of land in our garden. We can harvest fresh leaves all year round

• Harvest bunches from the plant and then separate the leaves from the stems
• Rinse the leaves in clean water to get rid of insects and soil
• Drain out excess water and keep aside

Step 2: Dry Roast the Leaves

• Place a wide frying pan over low flame and put the Gongura leaves in it. No need to add any oil at this time
• Continuously stir and turn over the leaves in the pan
• After some time, the leaves will darken in color and become like a paste.
• Remove from pan and spread it on a metal plate for cooling

Step 3: Other Ingredients

• 10 to 12 Dried Red Chillies
• 2 Teaspoons of Mustard seeds
• 2 teaspoon of Fenugreek seeds
• 1 teaspoon of Black Peppercorns
• 2 teaspoons of Cumin seeds
• 1 Teaspoon of Asafoetida powder
• 150 to 200 ml of Gingelly oil

Step 4: Roast Ingredients

• In a frying pan, add a drop of oil and roast the Dried Red Chillies
• In the same pan roast Mustard seeds, Fenugreek seeds, Black Peppercorns and Cumin seeds separately
• Remove from pan and keep all roasted ingredients together in a plate for cooling

Step 5: Preparation Step 1

• In another frying pan add one cup of Gingelly oil and place the half-cooked Gongura leaves in it
• Keep the flame low to medium and stir continuously
• Within a short time the leaves will absorb most of the oil
• Add one more cup of oil to the pan

Step 6: Make Spice Powder

• In the mean time, place the roasted ingredients in a mixer-grinder and make a fine powder
• Add the grind spice powder to the Gongura leaves in the pan
• Add Asafoetida powder and salt to taste

Step 7: Store in a Clean Bottle

• Mix all ingredients together and stir continuously
• If required, add half a cup of gingelly oil to the mix
• Once all moisture content is removed from the mix, the oil will start oozing out from the sides
• Remove the pickle from pan and keep in a bowl for cooling
• After cooling, store in a clean glass bottle. Press the pickle in the bottle so that excess oil will come up and form a layer on top

You can store and use the Gongura pickle for a very long time, but make sure that the pickle will not contaminated with moisture from wet spoon etcetera while taking out the pickle

If required, heat small amount of Gingelly oil and pour over the pickle to form a protective layer