Many things connects INDIA as one, pickles (achar) specifically being one of them. What makes it interesting is how just a few changes in ingredients change the character of the pickle. For instance, mango pickle, even when basic raw material mango, spices, oil remain the same yet it is Chunda in Gujarat & Maharashtra, Avakaya in Andhra, Aam ka achar in U.P., Kannimanga in Kerala, Thokku in Tamilnadu.
If you were to embark on a pickle trail through the country you would find the route peppered with heirloom recipes and heart warming stories around the pickling process. Opening a jar of pickles is universally euphoric. The very mention of achar triggers a physical response. Not only, lips puckering at the recall of brine & teeth teetering of tanginess, but also a plethora of memories of courtyards, terraces filled with a gaggle of women, sharing their lives, experiences, stories and news over heaps of raw mangoes.
Besides lending that spicy, tangy flavour to your palate and enhancing its taste, pickles have several health benefits such as they are a valuable source of Vit.K (co factor in absorbing Vit. D), Vit. A, Probiotic bacteria (live organisms that are healthy to the host). Here are the key benefits of consuming pickles on a daily basis.
BENEFITS:
- Pickles are a good way to enjoy seasonal produce through the year.
- Help in digestive processes of the body.
- Rich source of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants
- Provide body with healthy bacteria which makes it easy for the body to produce vitamins like B12.
- Ensure that your gut is not colonized by pathogens or bad bacteria.
- Boosts body immunity
- Boosts your intake of antioxidant
- Fermentation process of the picklegenerates healthy gut bacteria that rebbots the body.
- Preserves nutrition of vegetables as they are used raw in the process of making pickles
- Helps balance the electrolyte levels in the body. Sodium and potassium are important electrolytes.
- Helps fight free radicals
- High fibre contents
- Protects liver, some pickles like amla pickle protects liver.
- Last but not the least, pickles are comfort foods, makes lives easier and tastier.
You could very well say that pickles are synonymous to moms. Exactly like they always make our lives easier and happier. just as moms are comfort zone for child so are pickles!!!!!
“THE SECRET INGREDIENT IS ALWAYS LOVE”