Indian Pickles

[scottreitz]

I just got done eating a plain bowl of white rice dressed in nothing but a stuffed red chili pickle my friend brought me back from India. The simplicity made me realize just how awesome these things are. Complex, robust, and powerful. I never eat Indian without them anymore. A lot of the jarred versions I purchase in markets here are a little lame. Very salty, and over powering. So a lot of the time I make them at home.

I'm wondering. What Indian places around town have really stellar pickles. Stuffed chili, green chili, lemon, lime, bombay duck. Has anyone been to a place where the pickles really shine? If not we need to find one.

[DonRocks]

Has anyone been to a place where the pickles really shine?

Begin your quest at Passage to India.

[demandalicious]

The lemon pickle at udupi palace if off the hook.

[scottreitz]

The lemon pickle at udupi palace if off the hook.

udipi has pan too!

I'm hitting passage after hearing that recommendation multiple times. What happened to all the other responses here? There were all sorts of store bought pickle recommendations.

[DonRocks]

What happened to all the other responses here? There were all sorts of store bought pickle recommendations.

[They were moved to the Shopping and Cooking forum here.]

[DonRocks]

Begin your quest at Passage to India.

Are there any other Indian restaurants besides Passage to India that make homemade pickles? The jarred varieties are so good that this is one item that even the best restaurants can be forgiven for not making themselves, but it wouldn't surprise me at all if Rasika and Rasika West End make their own. It should also surprise no one that all three of these restaurants are rated in Italic.

Speaking of which, I'm going to be changing the official definitions of Italic and Bold, because nobody knows what Italic and Bold even mean. They'll still be marked that way in the Dining Guide, because, well, why not? But the definitions themselves are going to change to "DCDining Recommended" and "Superlative" or some other such superlative, e.g., "Best of the Best," each having a more extensive definition that includes what it takes to be in those categories, and what percentages of all restaurants meet those criteria (not many, although there's a *huge* difference between the two).

I suspect the more likely candidates would be places such as Komi, for example, who could easily serve house-made Indian Pickles with their Spit-Roasted Katsikaki For Two With Homemade Pita.

[Smita Nordwall]

I suspect the more likely candidates would be places such as Komi, for example, who could easily serve house-made Indian Pickles with their Spit-Roasted Katsikaki For Two With Homemade Pita.

Don, are you sure Katsikaki is an Indian dish?

[DonRocks]

Don, are you sure Katsikaki is an Indian dish?

I strongly suspect the one I had was Indian-inspired.

Katsikaki is Greek, but this prep was as much Indian as Greek.

[Tweaked]

Does Indique make their own pickles? Sometimes we order the samosa chat to go. 1) because its delicious 2) because you get the cilantro (green) sauce, tamarind (brown) sauce, and lime pickle. Really tasty.

[KeithA]

Not sure if Indique is homemade. I agree with your views on their samosa chat and 2 sauces, but I can never eat the lime pickle - it is insanely sour and I love pickles. So be warned - anyone who is in the mood for a serious pucker eat this lime pickle.

[DonRocks]

Not sure if Indique is homemade. I agree with your views on their samosa chat and 2 sauces, but I can never eat the lime pickle - it is insanely sour and I love pickles. So be warned - anyone who is in the mood for a serious pucker eat this lime pickle.

I view Indian pickles as things to take a tiny bit of, as part of a larger bite of something - and when I say "a tiny bit," I mean a cut the size of a pea, or even smaller. Occasionally, I'll have a larger portion in a bite, but to say they're an "acquired taste" would be something of an understatement. There are certain foodstuffs - often fermented - that I can easily see neophytes thinking are the foulest things on earth: whiskey, sea urchin, kimchi, blue cheese, and, yes, Indian pickles among them. By the way, did anyone actually *enjoy* their very first beer?

[Smita Nordwall]

I view Indian pickles as things to take a tiny bit of, as part of a larger bite of something - and when I say "a tiny bit," I mean a cut the size of a pea, or even smaller. Occasionally, I'll have a larger portion in a bite, but to say they're an "acquired taste" would be something of an understatement. There are certain foodstuffs - often fermented - that I can easily see neophytes thinking are the foulest things on earth: whiskey, sea urchin, kimchi, blue cheese, and, yes, Indian pickles among them. By the way, did anyone actually *enjoy* their very first beer?

You are supposed to eat Indian pickles (pickles, not the sauces) in tiny bites.

And maybe it's a genetic thing, but I remember having enjoyed the first bites of all those things... 

[pras]

I view Indian pickles as things to take a tiny bit of, as part of a larger bite of something - and when I say "a tiny bit," I mean a cut the size of a pea, or even smaller. Occasionally, I'll have a larger portion in a bite, but to say they're an "acquired taste" would be something of an understatement. There are certain foodstuffs - often fermented - that I can easily see neophytes thinking are the foulest things on earth: whiskey, sea urchin, kimchi, blue cheese, and, yes, Indian pickles among them. By the way, did anyone actually *enjoy* their very first beer?

I first time I tried sea urchin I was less than 10 years old and was by our Japanese hostess warned that I would not like it.  She was right.  The second time I loved it.  Although I cannot remember my first bite of Indian pickle, I am certain it was a similar circumstance.