Nepalese Green Chilli Pickle

This is an interesting and tasty achar or pickle from Nepal. I made some for the Nepalese-Indian class that I held in conjunction with Gita Sharma last week. I say interesting because it's not actually that hot...provided you choose the right chillies. I find mild chillies have more in the way of flavour and that too much heat can destroy nuances as well as the lining of your mouth. And for my untimely bout of do-as-I-say-not-do-as-I-do, I used a mix of green and red chillies in the batch I made just so I could take a photograph for this blog post.

Ingredients
10 long green chillies
1/2 Tbs oil
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
2 Tbs sesame seeds
1/2 cup water
1 lemon (juice of)

Method
1. Cut the green chillies crossways so you have small rings. Heat the 1/2 tablespoon of oil until quite hot.
2. Gently fry the green chillies and the tablespoon of fenugreek seeds.
3. After a couple of minutes, when the chillies look as though they have softened, add the 2 tablespoons of sesame seeds. Stir briefly.
4. Carefully add 1/2 cup of water. Simmer for a about 5 minutes until the water has reduced.
5. Remove from heat and stir through the juice of 1 lemon and a little salt. Allow to cool slightly before serving.

Servings: 10

Cooking Times -
Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Inactive Time: 5 minutes

---