Ammiji’s way of making mutton even more delicious! Mutton mince in a pickled curry or a curried pickle – spicy and totally addictive! Pure, meaty deliciousness.

A true-blue Punjabi, Ammiji was as comfortable making non-vegetarian delicacies as she was with sabzis and pulaos. Mutton was an occasional pleasure for her family though – a Sunday treat, rather. On Sundays, she would spend a leisurely morning, with a mutton dish slowly simmering away on the stove, walking into the kitchen to give it a stir sometimes or to throw in another one of her magical spices.

It was probably on a Sunday that she first tried her hand at pickling mutton. Yes, she pickled everything that came into her kitchen! And since then, mutton pickle for the family was like a yearly treat, made every year when the weather began to cool off, to be slowly savoured with mathri or paranthas on dark winter evenings.

Even though Ammiji originally pickled mutton tikka pieces, we have gone with her keema pickle first, because as children, there was something soothing about digging into the bowl of keema pickle (she never let us touch the martaban or jar), and spreading it on top of a soft slice of bread, rolling it up and slowly nibbling into it while listening to the elders talk about inconsequential things. That spicy, meaty flavour, set off to perfection against the sweetness of the fresh bread, is a taste that is irreplaceable in our books.

And Ammiji’s Mutton Keema Pickle is our attempt to bring some of that nostalgic taste to life. Made according to Ammiji’s classic preservative-free recipe, with just a few tiny tweaks, this is one pickle that is not only a treat but a rare delicacy.

Ingredients: Boneless Mutton Mince, Salt, Turmeric, Dried Red Chilli, Green Chilli, Red Chilli Powder, Black Pepper, White Pepper, Cumin, Nigella seeds, Mustard seeds, Fenugreek seeds, Pipli, Aniseed, Asafoetida, Dry mango powder, Cold-pressed Mustard oil.

Weight: 200 gm

Price: Rs 1000 900

Good for : 3 months

Refrigerate after opening.

The king of all pickles, they say. We agree. Or at least, the non-vegetarian in us agrees! Boneless chicken chunks and mince, pickled with the choicest spices.

A couple of us - Ammiji’s grandchildren - were in boarding school. When we returned home in the long winter break, it was as skinny, malnutritioned shadows of our robust Punjabi selves. Ammiji did her best to fatten us up during the vacations – paranthas laden with butter, lassi, halwas and thick, nutritious gravies were a daily treat. And then when it was time to go back to the boarding school, she sent us off with love, admonishments, instructions and a humungous jar of her classic chicken pickle. “If you don’t like what they serve in the dining room, just eat this pickle with roti or rice,” she’d tell us. We never told her that her huge jar of pickle was wiped clean in under a week – our friends loved it as much as we did! (Some people befriended us just to lay hands on that pickle, but that’s another story…)

So, of course, we just had to do Ammiji’s Punjabi Chicken Pickle! When we asked Ammiji to give us her recipe, she feigned amnesia. And then she was affronted when we called her out on it. “I’ve NEVER shared this recipe with anyone; I didn’t even tell my sisters when they asked for it. And now you want me to tell you all my secrets?” But then we reminded her of the joy she’d be bringing to so many people, and she relented with a sniff and a gruff “Theek hai pher!”

Ammiji’s secret was in making the pickle like you would a curry. The oil was turned into a thick gravy with the addition of ground spices and chicken mince. And we’ve followed the same process. There are boneless bite-sized chicken pieces, chicken mince and spices, all preserved in cold-pressed mustard oil. Balancing the flavours in this pickle took us a few months, but it was worth the wait! (And truth to tell, we loved sampling all the various samples during these months :D)

This pickle acts as a side to your meals or you can take a leaf out of our book – turn it into the main meal itself! It’s also perfect road trip material. Cold, thin paranthas with Ammiji’s Punjabi Chicken Pickle….mmm, heaven!

If you’re a non-vegetarian, then this pickle is what you need in your life to make it complete. That might sound dramatic, but trust us, we speak from years of eating this pickle! ;)

Please note: There are no preservatives in this pickle.

Ingredients: Boneless chicken, Salt, Turmeric, Green Chilli, Red Chilli, Black Pepper, Cinnamom, Clove, Mustard seeds, Nigella seeds, Fenugreek seeds, Fennel, Aniseed, Pipli, Corainder, Cumin, Dried mango powder, Cold-pressed Mustard oil.

Weight: 275 gms

Price: Rs 800 700

Good for: 3 months

Refrigerate after opening.

Big, fat red chillies, stuffed to the gills with a delicious khatta-teekha achaari masala. Can there be anything better? 

If there’s one thing that Ammiji loves, it’s her chillies. Green ones, red ones, big ones, small ones, teekha ones, sweet ones – all chillies are equal in her eyes. So we’ve taken one of her favorite chillies and used her classic recipe of stuffed chilli pickle to make this traditional Banarasi pickle.

The pleasure of this pickle does not come with biting into it. It comes from slowly coaxing the masala out from the chilli with the help of a spoon, a parantha or your finger, and then mixing it into your food to achieve a heavenly combination. The magic of this pickle does not come from simply eating it. The magic comes from that whole sensory experience of smelling it, deciding upon how much masala you want with each bite, and when you want to break off a piece of the chilli. Our Banarasi Mirch Achaar is just an instrument – you decide how you create magic out of it!

Seasonal fresh red chillies are stuffed with the usual culprits – our pickling spices (mixed in a secret ratio) – to achieve a pickle that will take the place of pride on your dining table. Not only will you enjoy pairing this pickle with your food, but you’ll also enjoy using the excess masala in it in your recipes while cooking in the kitchen. ;)

Ingredients: Fresh Red Chillies, Salt, Black Salt, Red Chilli Powder, Nigella Seeds, Carom Seeds, Mustard Seeds, Fenugreek Seeds, Fennel, Cumin, Black Pepper, Asafoetida, Turmeric, Mustard Oil.

Weight: 300 gms

Price: Rs 400 350

Good for: 12 months

Store in a cool, dry place. Refrigerate for longer shelf life.

This is a simple anardana chutney made with home-dried anardana. Correction: This is a BOMB chutney, with a nostalgic, addictive flavour, and powerful digestion properties. Ek baar iska chaska lagake dekhiye!

As children, each time we used to get an anardana churan or goli home from the vendors sitting outside our school, Ammiji used to shake her head in disgust and make us throw the lot in the bin. But, of course, we were irascible. We returned home day after day with our pockets full of the stuff. “Mitti daalte hain ismein!” Ammiji would scream as she chased us to get us to empty our pockets. And then, seeing that we were not to be deterred from having those vile anardana golis, she came up with this homemade anardana concoction and called it “Churan Chutney” just to get us to have it. And boy, did we love it!

We are calling it the Chaska Chutney though. Chaska, a word that has no exact translation in the English language. The closest you can get to a direct meaning is “addiction”. But this is so much more than that. It’s addictive, hell yes, but it’s a good kind of addictive. It’s an addiction that you wish you’d taken up earlier. It’s an addiction that you’re not going to want to let go of. And it’s an addiction that you’ll happily indulge in, day after day after day.

Ammiji made her own anardana at home from the seeds of wild, sour pomegranates. She sun-dried the seeds at home, and we do the same. (Okay, we’ll admit we dry them out in the oven too when the sun-drying is not going fast enough!) The anardana is then ground up with salt and sugar and digestive spices like jeera and hing are added to enhance the inherently powerful digestive properties of anardana.

This churan-chutney is a supremely efficient digestive. And it’s delicious enough to replace all your heavy, creamy desserts. A small spoonful after every meal will not only help you digest your meal, but will also fulfil any craving for sweets you might have. (Of course, you’ll start craving for this after every meal, but that’s a side-effect you’re just going to have to live with! ;))

The taste is sour and sweet and it’ll make you click your tongue against the roof of your mouth and pucker your lips and WANT MORE!

But a warning: This is a mild laxative when eaten in large quantities. Please, please don’t finish the jar in one sitting, no matter how much you’re tempted to…

Ingredients: Home-dried Anardana, Salt, Black Salt, Sugar, Cumin, Asafoetida

Weight: 220 gms

Good For: 12 months

Store in a cool, dry place, away from sunlight. Always use a dry spoon.

The famous Amritsari wadiyan, hand-made at home. Sun-dried dumplings of fiery goodness that add a subtly delicious flavor to any curry or pulao.

Who hasn’t heard about Amritsari papad wadiyan? Any tourist worth her or his salt will pick up a pack or two from the ubiquitous papad shops that surround the Golden Temple. These papad and wadiyan, though delicious, are mass produced under questionable hygiene conditions. Ammiji visited these shops only if it were an emergency and if she had run out of her own homemade papad wadiyan. Even now, when her arthritic fingers will not let her roll out papad or shape the wadiyan properly, she will sit on a chair in her verandah, and get these made by her helper under her eagle-eyed supervision.

These papad and wadiyan come to you from Amritsar, made under Ammiji’s supervision, from ingredients that are hand-picked by her. They are made from premium urad dal and use the choicest spices.
Amritsari wadiyan are famous around the world. Put them in a simple potato curry and they take on the shape of a gourmet dish. Add them to a plain pulao, and the rice obtains a kick it never had. Pair them with any kind of string beans as a dry dish, and you’ll have a side dish that’ll hog center stage. Wadiyan are that spicy part of traditional Amritsari cuisine that the rest of the world has yet to emulate. And Ammiji’s wadiyan are definitely the best you can get. Dumplings made from ground urad dal and spices and then sun dried under Ammiji’s supervision, according to the recipe that was passed down to her from her mother-in-law. We kid you not, these are that particular bomb of flavor that will leave you wanting more even as you marvel at the spice level.

Weight: 250gms

Chickpeas in their tangiest avatar ever! This limited edition pickle is made juicier and tarter with the addition of grated raw mango. Channey, kairi and lots of deliciousness – from Ammiji.

Chickpeas, choley or channey do decently well in a curry. They’re even better in hummus and are simply irresistible when paired with poori or bhatura. But as a pickle? Prepare to be surprised and delighted at the same time!

Raw chickpeas are soaked overnight in a solution of water and raw mango pulp, till they swell up, absorbing all the tanginess and goodness of the mango. And then they’re pickled with the choicest spices and grated raw mango. And when we bottle them, it’s all we can do to resist the fragrance emanating from them!

This scrumptious, well-seasoned pickle goes perfectly with paranthas, with pulao, with dal-chawal or with just about anything you choose pair it with.

Ingredients: Kabuli channey, raw mango, mustard oil, salt, turmeric, nigella seeds, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, red chilli

Weight: 160 gms

Good for: 6 months

This limited edition pickle is available only for a short time. Get your jar before we run out. 🙂

The famous Amritsari papad, now in their homemade avatar. The perfect accompaniment to dal-chawal or sabzi-phulka and of course, they hold their own as a stand-alone anytime snack too.

Who hasn’t heard about Amritsari Papad Wadiyan?

Any tourist worth her or his salt will pick up a pack or two from the ubiquitous papad shops that surround the Golden Temple. These papad and wadiyan, though delicious, are mass produced under questionable hygiene conditions. Ammiji visited these shops only if it were an emergency and if she had run out of her own homemade papad wadiyan. Even now, when her arthritic fingers will not let her roll out papad or shape the wadiyan properly, she will sit on a chair in her verandah, and get these made by her helper under her eagle-eyed supervision.

These papad and wadiyan come to you from Amritsar, made under Ammiji’s supervision, from ingredients that are hand-picked by her. They are made from premium urad dal and use the choicest spices.

Ammiji’s Tandoori Papads are redolent of the fiery tandoors on Amritsar’s streets where kulchas, chicken, fish vegetables and rotis are all popped lovingly into the mitti tandoor till they’re sizzling hot and delicious! Our tandoori masala blend is the same blend that is used for marinating food items for the tandoor. This spice blend, when added to our papad, results in a smokily tempting papad which is slightly spicy and very high on flavour.

You can roast our papads on a griddle or pan, deep fry them, toast them or microwave them – any which way, they add that perfect zing to your meal. 

Ingredients: Urad dal, Salt, Hing, Red chilli, Cumin, Garlic, Coriander, Fenugreek, Sajji khaar

Weight: 250 gms

Good for: 6 months. Please keep in an airtight container for longevity.

Who hasn’t heard about Amritsari papad wadiyan? Any tourist worth her or his salt will pick up a pack or two from the ubiquitous papad shops that surround the Golden Temple. These papad and wadiyan, though delicious, are mass produced under questionable hygiene conditions. Ammiji visited these shops only if it were an emergency and if she had run out of her own homemade papad wadiyan. Even now, when her arthritic fingers will not let her roll out papad or shape the wadiyan properly, she will sit on a chair in her verandah, and get these made by her helper under her eagle-eyed supervision.

These papad and wadiyan come to you from Amritsar, made under Ammiji’s supervision, from ingredients that are hand-picked by her. They are made from premium dal and use the choicest spices.

Ammiji’s Moong Dal Wadiyan are a delicious way to add these protein-packed dumplings to your everyday meals. While the traditional urad dal wadiyan and fiery and can not be eaten on a daily basis, these ones are mild and nutritious enough to be added to anything. Our favorite ways to use these wadiyan are to add them to any pulao or any curry for layers of subtle flavor and an intriguing aroma. We also add them to our dry sabzis (amaranth leaves cooked with these wadiyan are unbelievably delicious!).

Once you start adding these wadiyan to your cooking preparations, we promise that you won’t be able to do without them. 

Ingredients: Moong dal, Salt, Red Chilli, Coriander, Asafoetida

Weight: 250 gms

The famous Amritsari papad, now in their homemade avatar. The perfect accompaniment to dal-chawal or sabzi-phulka and of course, they hold their own as a stand-alone anytime snack too. 

Who hasn’t heard about Amritsari papad wadiyan?

Any tourist worth her or his salt will pick up a pack or two from the ubiquitous papad shops that surround the Golden Temple. These papad and wadiyan, though delicious, are mass produced under questionable hygiene conditions. Ammiji visited these shops only if it were an emergency and if she had run out of her own homemade papad wadiyan. Even now, when her arthritic fingers will not let her roll out papad or shape the wadiyan properly, she will sit on a chair in her verandah, and get these made by her helper under her eagle-eyed supervision.

These papad and wadiyan come to you from Amritsar, made under Ammiji’s supervision, from ingredients that are hand-picked by her. They are made from premium urad dal and use the choicest spices. 

Methi-lassan is Ammiji’s personal favorite. She loves the piquant, fragrant version of this Amritsari papad. She says it reminds her of the winters when she was young and would help her new mother-in-law make these. They would sit on the terrace and separate the methi leaves from the stems till there were little piles of green all around them and then they’d work on peeling the garlic. The combined smell of these two was enough to set anyone’s mouth watering, and the young girl would sneak back downstairs to the kitchen on some or the other pretext and grab a bite to eat before going back up to help her mother-in-law.

This flavorful papad is indeed reminiscent of sunlit winters, of a simpler time, and of good, homemade, delicious food. It’s reminiscent of everything good and pure.

Did you know that papad aids digestion?

That is the reason they have been a part of the Indian diet for as far back as we can remember! You can roast them on a griddle or pan, deep fry them, toast them or microwave them – any which way, they add that perfect zing to your meal.

Ingredients: Urad dal, fenugreek leaves, garlic, jeera, hing, salt, sajji khaar

Weight: 250 gms

The famous Amritsari papad, now in their homemade avatar. The perfect accompaniment to dal-chawal or sabzi-phulka and of course, they hold their own as a stand-alone anytime snack too.

Who hasn’t heard about Amritsari papadwadiyan? Any tourist worth her or his salt will pick up a pack or two from the ubiquitous papad shops that surround the Golden Temple. These papad and wadiyan, though delicious, are mass produced under questionable hygiene conditions. Ammiji visited these shops only if it were an emergency and if she had run out of her own homemade papadwadiyan. Even now, when her arthritic fingers will not let her roll out papad or shape the wadiyan properly, she will sit on a chair in her verandah, and get these made by her helper under her eagle-eyed supervision.

These papad and wadiyan come to you from Amritsar, made under Ammiji’s supervision, from ingredients that are hand-picked by her. They are made from premium urad dal and use the choicest spices.

Kali Mirchpapad is for those who like it hot! It’s spicy, it’s flavorful and it’ll take a bland meal to an insanely-delicious level. Spiced with hand-pounded black peppercorns, it’s a wonderful complement to everything. Psst, it makes the perfect base for a masala papad too!

Did you know that papad aids digestion? That is the reason they have been a part of the Indian diet for as far back as we can remember! You can roast them on a griddle or pan, deep fry them, toast them or microwave them – any which way, they add that perfect zing to your meal.

Weight: 250gms

Who hasn’t heard about Amritsari papadwadiyan? Any tourist worth her or his salt will pick up a pack or two from the ubiquitous papad shops that surround the Golden Temple. These papad and wadiyan, though delicious, are mass produced under questionable hygiene conditions. Ammiji visited these shops only if it were an emergency and if she had run out of her own homemade papadwadiyan. Even now, when her arthritic fingers will not let her roll out papad or shape the wadiyan properly, she will sit on a chair in her verandah, and get these made by her helper under her eagle-eyed supervision.

These papad and wadiyan come to you from Amritsar, made under Ammiji’s supervision, from ingredients that are hand-picked by her. They are made from premium urad dal and use the choicest spices.

Jeera papad is the crowd-pleaser from our triumvirate of papadflavours. It has a mild flavor and is easy on a palate that doesn’t tolerate too much spice. Flavoured with cumin, Ammiji’s jeera papad is the one thing that you won’t be able to stop munching on.

Did you know that papad aids digestion? That is the reason they have been a part of the Indian diet for as far back as we can remember! You can roast them on a griddle or pan, deep fry them, toast them or microwave them – any which way, they add that perfect zing to your meal.

Weight: 250gms