Methia no Masalo – Gujarati Achaar Masala

The legendary Methia no Masalo is the pickling spice mix of Gujarat. A blend with predominant flavors of fenugreek seeds followed by mustard seeds and shocking red chili powder it is a masala that also  has the potential to oomph up any of our everyday foods. These days we have the luxury of buying this masala off the shelf much unlike the times I was growing up when each house made its own ‘athaana no masalo.’ I also remember there were more don’ts than the do’s when it came to making the pickles and this masala. The  annual pickling season therefore was an intimidating period, with each lady in the house warning what was not to be done when the pickles were made!!! Phew.. how did they even manage to rote the entire oral manual 🙂 🙂 Whatever,  but the pickles including the oil that oozed out of each of the pickle jar was too good to resist. Infact the masala laden and extremely flavorful oil spiced up our boring khichri and or the steamed farsaans…..like dhokla and muthia. A generous drizzle of pickle oil, ripe with the flavors of methi, rai, chillies, hing and the mangoes becomes a must during most of our one pot meals. That is how Gujaratis love to eat, actually.  Hence a good Methia no Masalo is important for the shelf life and taste of the pickle and the oil. So proven is the heirloom recipe to this masala that we have never felt the need or had the courage to change it.

The recipe that is passed on from one generation to another does require some care and that care is to select the best ingredients. The red chili powder is either Kashmiri which lend a  beautiful red in color or a mix of Kashmiri and Reshampatti if you are looking  for color and heat. The Gujarati cooking  usually calls for  groundnut oil for everyday use but when it comes to pickles we choose to use mustard oil or mix of both these oils.  While making this masala heating the oil until it reaches smoking point and then cooling it down to room temperature  is a must. One should never rush this step. The masala gathers flavors  once it starts maturing after couple of days. Since we use this masala  to make instant pickles using fresh vegetables like carrots, tindora and likes we always have a jar full of Methio in our pantry…

The recipe shared here has measures in grams because I have always measured the ingredients that way. Will try measuring them in the standard cup measure and share it here soon.