This is one of those recipes that no one can ever make better than my mom and I had always wanted to try. Sometimes I couldn’t find the right peppers, sometimes the weather was not right and sometimes after all the pain they just won;t come out right. This time everything fell into place and I was finally after six years of trial and error was able to make my mom’s pickled red chili peppers.
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Pickled Red Chili Peppers
- Total Time: 6 hours
- Yield: 1 jar 1x
Description
A traditional Indian recipe for pickled red chili peppers, perfected over six years, featuring a blend of aromatic spices and tangy vinegar for a spicy, flavorful condiment.
Ingredients
- 45-50 medium-sized red chili peppers
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 tsp fenugreek seeds
- 1 tsp nigella seeds
- 50 grams fennel seeds (approx. 2 oz)
- 50 grams coriander seeds (approx. 2 oz)
- 50 grams mustard seeds (approx. 2 oz)
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) salt
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) mustard oil
- 1 cup (240 ml) white vinegar
Instructions
- Thoroughly clean the peppers with water, pat dry them, spread it on a baking sheet or something similar and lay it out in open sun to dehydrate a little. 4-5 hours of nice hot sun or an hour in the oven at 170 deg. F should be just right. You just want the outer skin just to get a few wrinkles.
- Clean the jars you are going to use for canning and let them air dry as well.
- In a pan roast fennel seeds, cumin, fenugreek seeds and nigella over medium high heat just for 3-5 minutes until begin to smell the spices. Turn of the heat, set it aside and let it cool.
- Coarsely grind all the spices mix it with half (around 4 oz) of oil.
- To fill the peppers you can do it in two ways, either make a long slit lengthwise and fill it with the spices or chop the head off, take out the seeds from inside and then fill it with the prepared spices. I do the latter and I also mix the seeds I take out from inside of the peppers into the spice mix and fill it into the peppers.
- After filling the pepers you can either dip each pepper in oil and then place it in the jar or fill the jar with the stuffed peppers and then pour oil over it.
- Airtight the jars and store in cool, dry place.
- Every couple days shake the jars a little so the oil slowly coats all the peppers.
- You can dig into the pickles in a couple weeks time but ideal would be to open the jars not before at least a month.
Notes
- Ensure the peppers are completely dry before stuffing to prevent spoilage.
- The pickling process can be accelerated by keeping the jar in a warm, sunny spot.
- Adjust the amount of vinegar and salt to taste.
- This recipe can be stored for several months if kept in a cool, dark place.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 hours 30 minutes
- Category: Condiment
- Cuisine: Indian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 tablespoon
- Calories: 10
- Sugar: 0
- Sodium: 290
- Fat: 1
- Carbohydrates: 1
- Fiber: 0
- Protein: 0
- Cholesterol: 0
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why do the peppers need to be dehydrated before stuffing?
The recipe calls for laying the washed peppers in direct sun for 4–5 hours, or an hour in the oven at 170°F, until the skin gets a few wrinkles. The notes reinforce why: the peppers must be completely dry before stuffing to prevent spoilage in the jar. 
What are nigella seeds and fenugreek seeds, and why are they in this pickle?
Nigella seeds (also called kalonji) and fenugreek seeds are traditional Indian pickling spices. This recipe uses 1 tsp nigella and 2 tsp fenugreek along with fennel, cumin, coriander, and mustard seeds — all dry-roasted for 3–5 minutes before being coarsely ground and mixed with mustard oil to form the stuffing.
How long before the pickles are ready to eat?
The recipe says you can start eating the pickles after a couple of weeks, but the ideal is to wait at least a month before opening the jars. During that time you should shake the jars every couple of days so the oil slowly coats all the peppers.
Your “Pickled Red Chile Peppers” recipe leaves allot for room for the average cook in their attempt(s) to succeed. Just as it took you 6 years to master this dish, Red Chiles offers zero help! Telling someone to go out and buy Red Chiles for this dish is of little to no help at all. Surely you could have offered the name of the Chiles you used and the level of heat (Low, Medium, Hot, Very Hot heat), they bring to the dish.
Google “Red Chiles” and see what you come up with, perhaps hundreds? Red Chiles come in thousands of varieties!
The main ingredient here is key to your readers success, a little extra help could have shortened their learning curve on the road to success.