Panch Pickles

The heat of summer sometimes makes me feel that I can’t consume anything that is tart, sour, or bitter enough. It’s a wonder I don’t drink vinegar right out of the bottle. That’s probably why I found this Smitten Kitchen recipe so appealing. Well, that, and the gorgeous photos which subtly promise an equally gorgeous result. My results weren’t quite that gorgeous, but they couldn’t be more tasty. I’ll spare you a photo.

Deb calls for mustard seeds in her recipe. I didn’t have any of those, but I did still have quite a bit of the Indian five spice blend, panch phoron  which not only contains mustard seeds, but also cumin, nigella, fennel, and fenugreek seeds. More types of seeds can only mean more flavor, so I used some of that instead. (My other recipe that features panch phoron, Indian Spiced Cauliflower Soup, is here.)

I returned from my farmers market run with rainbow Swiss chard, whose stems were at least as long as its leaves, and pickling cucumbers. There were some veggies in my fridge that needed using, too: celery, carrots, and green bell peppers.

I’m one of those who enjoys a good, meditative session of knife work, and feel that my knife is easier to clean and safer to use than a mandoline. It took about an hour, but I sliced a few specimens of each of these five vegetables into a thin julienne, aspiring to the photo in the original recipe. It came to about five cups total of julienned veg. I blame the Swiss chard stems for tinting the pickling liquid a reddish color, rendering my pickles not as beautiful as Deb’s. But don’t feel too badly, Swiss chard stems, you are still delicious!

1 ½ cup white distilled vinegar

1 ½ tbsp table salt (Double this amount if using kosher salt)

4 tbsp sugar

3 tbsp panch phoron (an Indian blend of 5 spicy seeds)

1 small or ½ large clove garlic, crushed

sprinkles of crushed red pepper flake to taste

grinds of black pepper to taste

1 ½ cup water

5 cups julienned or thinly sliced vegetables. I used Swiss chard stems, carrot, celery, cucumber and green bell pepper.

Put the vegetables into 1 large non-reactive container, or divide into smaller containers. I used two clean 24 oz. glass jars that formerly contained tomato sauce.

In a pot made of non-reactive material, like glass or stainless steel, heat the first 7 ingredients (including black pepper) over medium heat just until salt and sugar dissolve, stirring occasionally.

Add the water, then pour the mixture over the vegetables. Refrigerate for at least an hour. Panch on!