Stone Fruit Aachar
This is a Bengali variant of a fruit aachar/preserve that can be made with unripe, local stone fruit. Mangoes and olives variants work well too, although I haven’t tried them yet. The recipe itself a based on some commentary from an aunt, whose aachar is quite popular within my extended family.
- Add unripe stone fruit (e.g., peaches), washed and cut coarsely, and some water (~ 1/2 cup) to a small, heavy-bottomed pot. Bring to a simmer.
- Add sugars, about half weight of stone fruit, to pot:
- Brown sugar
- 3-4 tbsp, honey
- 1 tbsp, pomegranate molasses
- OR Nolen gur
- For sourness: tamarind paste (whole)
- Simmer fruit and sugar and let reduce. Cool some on the back of a spoon to test final consistency and aim for something jam-like.
- Fold in spices:
- 1 tbsp Panch phoron, ground and fried in mustard oil (~ 2 tsp)
- Pinch of Hing (resin, not the powder)
- Black salt, as needed
I eyeballed this the first time I made it, and the volume measurements are calibrated for about 400g of fruit (with cores removed).
-Buro