Mavina Midi Uppinakayi | Tender mango pickle | Mavinakayi uppinakayi | Vadu Mango Pickle

Mavina Midi Uppinakayi / Vadu Mango Pickle ( Maavadu) is a South Indian style traditional mango pickle made using tender baby mango pickle . The best thing about this pickle is, salt is the only preservative used here , with absolutely no oil used yet can be stored for years. Tastes so good with Curd rice .

If you are in the look out of more pickle recipes you can check Avakkai Mango Pickle , Cut Mango Pickle , Instant Mango Pickle , Mango Thokku , Tomato Pickle etc .

You can check Mavina Midi Uppinakayi Video here :

About Mavina midi uppinakayi / Tender Mango Pickle :

Mavina Midi Uppinakayi / Tender Mango Pickle – is an age old traditional variety of mango pickle made with tender baby mango … the one’s that are small in size , immature seeds and bursting with flavour. These baby mangoes are not chopped and whole of them are left to sit in salt for minimum 10 days until the mangoes shrinks and gets ready to be mixed with masala.

In Karnataka , usually appe midi ( which is difficult to get in market now a days ) , jeerige midi or some other local available varieties of baby mango is used for pickling . They are usually available early summer and during summer .

The heat of the spices, flavour and sourness of the tender mangoes , makes this pickle so special . Midi uppinakayi refers to the smallest green baby mangoes.

There was a time when my ajji and amma used to prepare midi uppinakayi in bulk like putting 1000 – 2000 s baby mangoes in big big bharanis and distributing them among relatives . Though no preservatives are added , no oil added .. yet this stays good for years and tastes still so good provided they are handled with care. I am happy that , inspired by them i too make these at home , but not in 1000s but 1kg -2 kg . This quantity is good enough for my family for almost a year .

Tender Mango pickle recipe with step by step photos :

• Take 1 kg fresh Tender mango . You could use tender mangoes with stem or without. You could use appe midi variety if possible or could take some any other variety that you can get .

• Wipe them clean with wet cloth & dry them on cotton cloth . Spread them , discard if any damaged mangoes . Dry for 1-2 hours , let the moisture go completely before using. After 1-2 hours , moisture free dry tender mangoes are ready to use.

• To make pickles , always use clean , dry , moisture free glass bowl / pickle jars. Take 1 cup Rock salt . To begin with start y adding 2 tbsp of rock salt at the bottom of the bowl.

• Add few tender mangoes. Layer with 1-2 tbsp rock salt. Top it with few more tender mangoes.

• Add salt and mango in layers .

• Add longer stem pieces that you have cut , this enhances flavor . Lastly top with a tbsp of salt.

• Cover with a clean and dry plate. Make sure no air enters from the sides of the plate , it should be air tight. Keep aside for 9-10 days .

• Mix them upside down nicely everyday using clean dry spoon. Once well mixed , cover & keep aside.

• Day 3 of pickling , you can see that salt has started melting slowly. toss them nicely everyday and keep them covered in a dry place.

• Day 10 .. check if mangoes are well shrunk , else keep for another 3-4 days. Salt should be completely dissolved to form brine water.

• When the mangoes are well shrunk , strain the salt water from mangoes using a strainer. drain the water completely.

• Don’t discard the salt water. It would be filled with full of flavors. Keep aside .

• Spread the salted shrunk mangoes on a cotton cloth . let it be on cloth for 2-3 hours. Let extra moisture go .

• Discard the woody stalks that we had put for flavor. Check for any spoilt or damaged tender mangoes. Discard if any..

• Prepare salt water. Measure and transfer salter pickle water to a vessel. Add 1/2-3/4 cup rock salt. Add around 2 cup water . We need around 5 cup salt water in total including the salt water from pickle.

• Bring salt water to boil . Simmer and boil for 4-5 mins . this step increases shelf life.

• Allow well boiled salt water to cool.

• Masala for pickle. Warm for 100 gm mustard for few seconds . Let they just get warm , no need to splutter. Alternatively you can keep in Sun for few hours .

• Cool well and fine powder mustard.

• Add 150 gm red chilli powder , tsp haldi . Combine well . Can store this pickle masala in a air tight container for months and use when required.

• Transfer the mixed masala to a mixer . Add around 1 cup of cooled salt water .

• Grind smooth to get a smooth consistency . Transfer the ground pickle masala to a mixing bowl. keep aside a little masala paste to use later.

• add drained salted tender mangoes. Combine well .

• Add remaining salt water and adjust consistency . taste test , if required add extra salt or spice powder.

• Tender mango pickle is ready to use after 15 days.

• To store pickle for years , use clean and dry bharani / glass pickle jars . First , spread 2-3 tbsp pickle masala that we had kept aside. Fill it up with pickle . Lastly top it with leftover pickle masala paste .

• Clean the sides using tissue or dry cloth. Close with air tight lid , make sure no water enters. Cover the lid with a cloth & seal tight with a thread / elastic ( for longer shelf life ) . Store in a clean dry place .

• Take out a small quantity of pickle in a container and use as required . Use clean and dry spoon.

Points to note while making Tender Mango Pickle :

• Choose fresh smaller mangoes that are hard and green. It should not have black spots, cuts or when pressed soft . Do not buy such mangoes , because if you use it, the pickle will spoil quickly.
• You could use appe midi variety if available or could take some any other variety that you can get .
• Select tender mangoes with stem if possible for more flavor . If they don’t have stem also it’s ok .
• If the mango stems are longer , cut them little shorter. Don’t discard the stem , you can add them along with mangoes for flavor.
• Before pickling , always make sure tender mangoes are moisture free ,dry and are not damaged .
• Make sure , through out the pickling process, water or moisture content , doesn’t come to contact.
• Use a clean and dry glass bottle / ceramic pickle jar ( bharani ) / food grade plastic containers for making pickle . Do not use steel containers.
• Don’t forget to toss the pickle upside down everyday. else they spoil.