Food: Enjoy chicken pickle with authentic flavours of India

After spending 15 years making chocolates pickles came more as a personal necessity I am a hardcore nonvegetarian When you reach home after a long day at work you need something to liven up the dal chawal sabzi Even a curry gets boring in five days I thought why not pickle says owner William Pinto who started the company with food technologist Manini Rane At the moment the brand stocks five flavours The sixth which is soon to hit the markets will be inspired by flavours from KolhapurAlso readNew food portal delivers delicious preservativefree goodies to your doorstepBottled flavours from Kerala Punjab Andhra Pradesh and Goa PicShadab KhanIndia is so vast and each state has distinct flavours hence we didnt look outside The reason we chose chicken is because it is the least controversial of all meats Beef is banned not too many people like lamb and pork while with seafood its difficult to keep up with the fluctuating quality and prices explains the Mulund residentAlso readBuy East Indian wedding pickle in KalinaThey dont use artificial preservatives or colouring agents in their pickles We use only oil salt and vinegar This makes the shelf life limited to three months While artificial preservatives increase the shelf life natural products enhance taste and are a healthier option he concludesCost Rs 250 per bottleCall 7506892431Log on to wwwyummadein wwwstappucom and wwwtgfccoin to place ordersChicken Balchao SpreadA take off on the spicy blend quintessential to many Goan dishes the Chicken Balchao pickle packed a punch with its flavours At first we found it difficult to wade through the thick layer of oil floating on the top we tried a dollop of the mix with a roti And it tasted yum The tangy tomatochilli sauce perked up the tender chicken mince and turned into a good substitute for a vegetable side dish In fact for those who are timestrapped and looking for whipping up a quickfix try adding the mix to sauteacuteed veggies and enjoy it with riceThe Kerala MixAt first sight when we opened the jar a pool of oil greeted us reminding of the C word read calories Luckily for us all inhibitions were thrown to the wind as we lost ourselves in the chunks of chicken laced with spices that reminded us of Gods Own Country especially the inimitable peppery interlude The preparation reminded us of the spicy chicken curries dished out by lungiclad cooks at Keralastyle dhabas while driving down from Kochi to Kottayam This pickle doesnt include preservatives thankfully and its easy to notice the difference Its ideal as an accompaniment with rotis or parathas or better the Keralastyled parottas Folks with low resistance for pungency ought to go easy on the servings as they might spot a few rings of steam emerging from their earsThe Andhra SwingThe flavour The Andhra Swing made us pick up this jar instantly While most of our colleagues stayed clear wary of it being too spicy we took a leap of faith And there were no rude read red hot surprises at all The chunks of chicken floating in a delicious masalaoil mix made our daily daal and veggies come alive with a burst of flavours just like those pickle ads on TV from the 90s Its not as fiery as it looks Even if you have a palate that can negotiate medium spice levels this ones a keeperD Punjabi BeatA pickle at times is the agent that rescues a basic meal of its blandness while on other occasions it adds to the taste of an already lipsmacking dish This flavour fulfills its ode to robust Punjabified spicy curries perfectly Its slightly hot with a heady chilli kick Like the other flavours it goes best with rice or chapatti with dal The pickled chicken bits add to the taste