I tried out this new indian place near my house, and along with the usual green stuff and tamarind stuff and raita, they served achar made from chopped carrots, ginger, some kind of pepper, and onion...and its packed in oil.

I'd never seen it before... and now I can't get enough of it. They sold me a container of it (they make it in-house) and DANG its tasty.

Is it a common Indian condiment? Have I just not noticed it all these years?

In the UK you are far more likely to get achar than the tamarind or green chilli sauce (although even the waiters seem to call it pickle rather than achar!) I miss it here in Canada, but we do find it sometimes, depends on the restaurant.

Oh gosh yes, achar is a very common Indian condiment, indeed I would even call it a quintessiantial Indian condiment.

Perhaps in Seattle, it is a St. Pat's Day specialty

Homemade green mango achar my neighbor makes is heavenly. When I discovered achar, I put it on everything. Couldn't get enough of it.

Went to bring some of it back home to Canada, customs took it away.

That totally made my mouth water. I'm going to talk her out of the recipe and start adapting it with other veggies...and green mango!

You should get all kinds of achar at Indian stores in Canada, US & else where in the world. Should get a decent size jar of it for under $ 5 .

why? unrecognizable?

This thread is reminding me it has been too long since I've had Indian/Pakastani.

This was a way back when I was living in Guyana and coming back home to Canada.

Neighbor packed into a plastic jar but it could not be sealed. Customs said that because it was not sealed it could not come into the country. Food stuffs need to be properly labeled and sealed. I didn't push the point. (not meat, not seafood and not fresh fruit)

First things first...ACHAR is a Hindi word meaning PICKLES.

In India before the advent of commercially prepared achars, each household made its own when raw mangoes were in season. Achars can be a single or multiple item such as raw mangoes, lime, carrots, green chillies with coriander, lotus roots etc., in a variety of spices such as red pepper powders, salt, mustard, lemon, sugar, molasses,etc. With oil.

They are hot , sweet or sour, but best of all a mix of all three that you will taste on different parts of the tongue.

In Indian homes, there is usually at least 3~4 types at every meal.YOU DON't eat them by the spoonful but with every bite take some, usually by your fingertip, gives a lot of meaning to finger licking good...

Often expats coming back from India will back home made varieties, ones that reminds you of just that taste you grew up with...

There are dozens of brands available in almost all the countries ( you can take an Indian out of India but not the achar out of an Indian !).

You can go to any Indian grocery store and by a variety. ( PM me for info ).

Questions welcome .

BTW Sweet Willie, time to organize that Indian buffet meal, lunch even on a Saturday / Sunday, right in our neighborhood !!!!!!

Sounds delicious!!!

Where is the US can you get this?

Or a website works too

Google it

http://www.google.com/#sclient=table...w=1024&bih=644

If you are in any mid to metro city suburbs, put Indian groceries in Google, Presto!

Any Indian store in your neighborhood will carry it. You can also find it at Whole Foods or Trader Joe's.

While I like Whole Paycheck & Trader Joe's, if one has the opportunity to go to an ethnic market, DO SO !! You'll be well rewarded with not only much more choice of items but also purchase items at a fraction of the price that WF & TJ charges.

I am so thankful for the thriving independent markets here in the Chicagoland area.agreed, I'm on vaca for the next 10 days and the first week of April is pretty booked with Do's in Chicago but I'm thinking towards the end of April. I'll PM you.