Avakaya! The Mango Pickle of the Telugus that Sailed the Armadas!

[00:00:00] You are listening to the Quint's podcast.

[00:00:07] It is the beginning of summer and the heat arrives suddenly and in full measure in Andhra

[00:00:15] and Telangana.

[00:00:17] Porcelain jars that resemble obese amphoras are brought down from the attic, washed thoroughly

[00:00:22] and dried meticulously in the sun.

[00:00:33] The vegetable market is bustling by 6am.

[00:00:36] The women walk with purpose, the leaders of a two man platoon followed by the husbands

[00:00:41] or sons, trusty flag bearers holding large empty bags and long sleepy faces.

[00:00:48] The raw mangoes have arrived and the time is ripe for picking the first and the best

[00:00:53] stock.

[00:00:54] There will be cussed bargains, tempers will rise with the rising sun and will be cooled

[00:00:59] by the sherbet and soda sold in Pushkarts.

[00:01:03] It is summer season in the land of the Telugu and that can mean one thing and one thing

[00:01:08] only.

[00:01:09] It is time for the world famous Mango Pickle, Avakaya.

[00:01:23] Welcome to what is bound to be the spiciest episode of Southern Slurp thus far.

[00:01:28] I am Vikram your host and I bring you stories from the many kitchens of South India

[00:01:33] where some amazing recipes were created, myths were born and traditions evolved.

[00:01:38] There is a full playlist of delectable stories, songs and recipes on Apple podcasts, Google

[00:01:44] podcasts, Spotify and GeoSahban.

[00:01:47] Do check it out.

[00:01:48] Fair warning, it will make you hungry.

[00:01:51] And now let's talk about the Telugu love affair with pickles which spans continents

[00:01:56] and time.

[00:02:05] Do you know how old the recipe for Avakaya is?

[00:02:08] Well no one does.

[00:02:10] But what we do know is that the Arabs from before the advent of Islam traded spices and

[00:02:15] pickles with the Andras.

[00:02:17] The Dutch and the Portuguese in the 15th century in fact encouraged the Telugu people to

[00:02:21] prepare the Avakaya for export to western countries.

[00:02:27] With the growing popularity of the red chili over black pepper as the spice of choice,

[00:02:32] making pickles became easier and cheaper.

[00:02:35] In the internet, the Avakaya was an old traditional recipe even in the 15th century and pickles

[00:02:41] were a thing among the Telugu's even a thousand years ago.

[00:02:45] Both ancient tamar and ancient Telugu's from as far back as 1500 years ago displayed

[00:02:50] overactive imaginations when it came to salt, curing and pickling.

[00:02:55] They each had multiple names for salt in ancient tamar and proto-Telugu most of

[00:03:00] which have now fallen out of use.

[00:03:02] And in a number of texts, pickles and cured meats have been described in detail.

[00:03:08] But the Telugu's have the upper hand when it comes to pickles and just as the mango

[00:03:12] is considered the king of fruits, the Avakaya is indubitably the king of pickles.

[00:03:26] Fun fact, collector mango, kolam goa, pariah and rasalu are the top choices of mango

[00:03:32] varieties for the Avakaya.

[00:03:34] And all of these mango varieties are specific to the Andhra region.

[00:03:39] You know Avakaya isn't just one variety of pickle, it's a genre.

[00:03:43] Bellam Avakaya, Daniel Avakaya, Nubu Avakaya, Menti Avakaya, Magaya, Dosa Avakaya, Belluli

[00:03:51] Avakaya and the list goes on.

[00:04:02] I like raw Avakaya very much because I eat very spicy because elders would scold

[00:04:08] me saying it's not safe to eat so much of it.

[00:04:10] I've reduced it.

[00:04:11] But raw Avakaya in hot, hot rice with ghee, you get buffalo milk.

[00:04:17] Eating the Avakaya rice with that fresh butter, the taste is something else.

[00:04:26] That is Kameshwari Devulappalli.

[00:04:28] She is the elder sister of a childhood friend of mine, Aditya who lives in Vishakhapatnam,

[00:04:34] home to some of the best Avakaya makers in the country.

[00:04:37] Pickles, powders, business.

[00:04:39] I started making pickles and powders as a home business.

[00:04:42] Since everyone liked it, I started a catering business as well.

[00:04:45] I've been doing this successfully for the past 20 years now.

[00:04:47] We run it successfully in other businesses.

[00:04:50] And last 6 years now...

[00:04:52] Since the last 6 years, I also run a restaurant named Shanti Baban.

[00:04:55] For the first 2 years, I faced a lot of headache with the male chefs and others.

[00:04:59] So now the specialty of our hotel is...

[00:05:01] So my hotel is the only lady's stuff.

[00:05:04] Without much ado, here's the recipe for the Avakaya.

[00:05:16] As a child, I would watch my grandmothers from both sides of the family prepare pickles.

[00:05:20] Since I used to live in a village in the Vishakhapatnam district, the air would be really humid.

[00:05:25] And so when we made raw Avakaya, it would soften really quickly,

[00:05:30] lose its crunch and wouldn't remain fresh at all.

[00:05:32] That is why all along the coast near Vizag, they prepare a special recipe called...

[00:05:40] The procedure is slightly complicated.

[00:05:42] After rubbing the mango pieces with the spices and marinating them for 9 days,

[00:05:46] they would be separated from the marinade and left to dry for at least 3 or 4 days in the sun.

[00:05:51] The mango pieces would then be added to the marinade.

[00:05:54] It would take 3-4 months to absorb the spices and soften,

[00:05:57] until the rainy season arrived.

[00:06:04] But after marriage, once I moved to Hyderabad, the atmosphere here is dry.

[00:06:08] So the raw Avakaya remains as fresh as ever even after a year.

[00:06:23] Everyone has their own procedure.

[00:06:25] This is how I do it.

[00:06:26] After getting really sour raw mangoes, wash them thoroughly,

[00:06:31] wipe and then dry them completely and cut into cubes.

[00:06:36] One cup of mustard powder, I add 3-4th cup of red chilli powder

[00:06:40] and half a cup of tata salt.

[00:06:42] But it's important to check that the saltiness isn't too high.

[00:06:45] This whole mixture would come to about 2 cups.

[00:06:47] So mix it in 3 cups of sesame oil or 1 litre oil.

[00:06:51] For each cup of this mixed powder, I add 1 and half cups of the cut mango pieces.

[00:06:56] This is the proportion I always mix it in.

[00:06:59] Even after a year, it would look like it was made yesterday.

[00:07:02] It will never reduce in spiciness or freshness.

[00:07:05] Initially for about a month, it will seem too spicy, but after that it will settle.

[00:07:10] It will be ready by 1 month until it is slightly hot for 2-3 days.

[00:07:20] Avakaya.

[00:07:21] The name is a wonderful amalgam of avalu, mustard and mavidhikaya, meaning raw mango.

[00:07:28] The telegoos and tamar folk alike make generous use of the mustard in everyday cooking.

[00:07:33] Just not as cooking oil.

[00:07:35] For some reason, most people in the Deccan are put off by the aroma.

[00:07:39] I think it's more to do with the parokil mindset than the actual smell or taste.

[00:07:43] But it is also true that groundnut and sesame oils are better suited

[00:07:47] to the temperature and environment here.

[00:07:50] The many varieties of the avakaya, by the way, aren't recent inventions.

[00:07:54] They have been around since the time we Indians had been trading with the Portuguese

[00:07:59] say around the 15th century.

[00:08:01] The sudden burst of avakaya varieties at that time

[00:08:04] was thanks to the sudden influx of the chilli pepper

[00:08:07] promoted vigorously by the Portuguese in India.

[00:08:10] In fact, it is time for a wonderfully colourful parenthesis

[00:08:14] towards the mirapakaya, aka the red chilli.

[00:08:25] I saw you green, then turning redder as you ripened.

[00:08:29] Nice to look at and tasty in a dish, but too hot if an excess is used.

[00:08:34] The saviour of the poor, another enhancer of good food as you, is difficult even to think of.

[00:08:41] That is a song on the red chilli, written and sung by the saint and composer

[00:08:45] Purindaradasa who sung his devotion for Vithala Panduranga or Krishna between 1480 to 1564.

[00:08:52] The reason I am bringing it up right now is to illustrate the effect the red chilli has had in South Indian cuisine.

[00:08:59] It's been eulogised by Purindaradasa because it was a new entrant to the kitchens of the Deccan at the time.

[00:09:05] Also because it came, it's piced up and then conquered the South Indian palette

[00:09:11] which fell for its hotness and the fact that it could be grown literally in anyone's backyard.

[00:09:17] The exotic black pepper was relegated to ritualistic recipes and gently pushed to a corner of the pantry.

[00:09:24] Mirialu is pepper in Telugu.

[00:09:30] Miriam Pukaya is pepper fruit which became mirapakaya.

[00:09:34] It is from this that the English term chilli pepper is derived.

[00:09:38] Avkaya and Telugu are inseparable.

[00:09:44] Go to any Telugu home you will find a bottle of mango pickle either in their kitchen or on their dining table.

[00:09:50] Padma Garu is a journalist by profession but a compendium of Telugu culture, history and aesthetics by nature.

[00:09:57] We go way back and our generational acquaintances and family friends.

[00:10:01] The importance that this pickle holds in any Telugu home cannot be explained in words.

[00:10:08] Be it any function, if small gathering or a name ceremony or a wedding

[00:10:14] there will not be a meal served without serving Avkaya.

[00:10:18] And if you taste the freshly made mango pickle with steaming hot rice and with a dollop of ghee

[00:10:26] that will surely take you to heaven.

[00:10:30] When you mix the kandi powder into the rice with hot ghee and the Avkaya

[00:10:34] you won't forget the taste in this lifetime.

[00:10:37] I'll share with you the best way to eat it.

[00:10:40] Please note, this suggestion is not subjective but axiomatic.

[00:10:44] I swear on the jar of Avkaya at home.

[00:10:48] Let's switch to ASMR mode.

[00:10:51] Close your eyes.

[00:10:53] Imagine a hot summer day which would be easy for you at least till June

[00:10:58] regardless of where you are in India.

[00:11:00] It is lunchtime and you're ravenous.

[00:11:03] You crave something spicy but fear the oil especially in the heat.

[00:11:08] You are now inside a hut seated on a straw mat

[00:11:12] placed over the smooth cool red oxide flow.

[00:11:17] The hut feels cooler than it is

[00:11:19] as you look outside at the overexposed barren field.

[00:11:23] In front of you a clay plate is placed

[00:11:26] and in it with a wooden ladle pure white pony rice is served.

[00:11:31] The whiteness is accentuated by the red clay plate.

[00:11:36] The rice is warm not too hot.

[00:11:39] Over it a dollop of light pink curd thick as ice cream drops gently.

[00:11:46] It is light pink because the milk was placed over hot coals

[00:11:50] instead of an open fire

[00:11:52] and so it was cooked gradually over an hour instead of boiling over.

[00:11:58] This milk when curdled has the mild flavour of the tandoor

[00:12:02] and the light pink shade.

[00:12:04] You mix in the cool curds into the warm rice,

[00:12:07] another dollop of curds and you mix that in as well.

[00:12:11] With a clean wooden spoon a piece of fresh Avkaya

[00:12:15] is placed on the side of the plate

[00:12:18] with the red gravy of the pickle dribbling down

[00:12:22] and gently nudging the white border of the curd rice.

[00:12:26] Using your index finger you swipe at the pickle and lick.

[00:12:31] As your taste buds jump start to the hotness of the chili

[00:12:35] and the flavour of the mustard

[00:12:37] you fill your mouth with a morsel of the curd rice.

[00:12:42] The combination is impossible to describe

[00:12:46] how the plate is emptied of the rest of the curd rice

[00:12:49] and the pickle is always a mystery.

[00:12:52] It's like the Matrix, no one can tell you what it is.

[00:12:55] You need to eat it yourself.

[00:13:12] And that about sums up the story of the legendary Avkaya.

[00:13:15] I urge you all to find your Telugu friend

[00:13:18] and procure from him or her

[00:13:20] your bottle of the Avkaya that is homemade.

[00:13:23] Yes there is a difference.

[00:13:25] If you're in Delhi you could head to the Andhra Bhavan

[00:13:28] and get your bottle from there.

[00:13:30] If you have the time do it after you've had your fill of Andhra meals.

[00:13:34] Until next time, thank you for listening.