Maatru Rasah makes traditional Indian pickles in small batches — some oil-free, some in wood-pressed mustard oil. From five-spice mango and crushed green chilli to garlic, onion, jackfruit and dry-date, here's a guide to the shelf, and how to pick the one for your table.
Every house has its jar
In India, the pickle jar is a kind of family record. Each home keeps its own — a particular cut of mango, a certain hand with the spices, a recipe that travels down a family rather than out of a factory. Our shelf at Maatru Rasah is exactly that: my mother Uma Agarwal's recipes, made in small batches, by hand, without artificial preservatives. Some are oil-free; some are made the old way in wood-pressed mustard oil. None of them are made in a hurry.
Here's the shelf, grouped so you can find yours.
Mango achaars (oil-free)
The heart of any Indian pickle shelf is mango, and ours is mostly oil-free — the tang carried by salt, sun and spice rather than a heavy oil base.
Pachranga Aamra
a five-spice (panch-ranga) dry mango pickle, oil-free: layered, tangy, and complex from the spice blend rather than oil.
Jeerkam Aamra
oil-free mango with a cumin-forward warmth; gentler heat, deep flavour.
Mirchauni Aamra
the spicy one: oil-free mango with a clean chilli kick for those who like it sharp.
Khatta Meetha mango achaar
sweet-and-sour mango made without refined sugar; the mild, crowd-pleasing jar that children reach for.
Made the old way, in wood-pressed mustard oil
Some pickles are meant to be oil pickles — and for those we use cold, wood-pressed (kachi ghani) mustard oil.
Tailam Aamra
our classic Prayagraj mango pickle, sun-cured and laid down in wood-pressed mustard oil, with kala chana.
Lashuna Rasah
whole garlic in wood-pressed mustard oil; bold, mellow-once-matured, a winter favourite.
Kuti Haritah Marichika
crushed green chilli in wood-pressed mustard oil; fragrant, fresh heat.
Pyaaz Rasah
a traditional onion pickle, sharp and crunchy, lovely with roti or paratha.
Speciality achaars
The rarer jars — the ones you don't find on every shelf.
- Panas Rasah — heirloom jackfruit (kathal) pickle, meaty and deeply spiced; a regional treasure.
- Karonda Rasah — a rare jar of tart karonda (Indian cranberry / Bengal currant) in mustard oil; sharp, bright and unusual.
- Karela Rasah — bitter gourd pickle, oil-free; for those who love that grown-up bitter-savoury edge.
- Chuhara Rasah — oil-free dry-date pickle, sweet-tangy and warmly spiced; unusual and moreish.
For vrat days
- Falahari Aamra — an oil-free mango pickle made with sendha namak for fasting days; mild and vrat-friendly. (More on what makes a pickle vrat-friendly in our vrat guide, when you're planning a Navratri thali.)
Lemon, ginger and the chutney corner
- Nimbu Adrak Mirch achaar — oil-free lemon, ginger and green chilli together; bright and zingy.
- Nimbu Rasah — a classic homemade lemon chutney, tangy and soft.
- Amla Rasah — amla (Indian gooseberry) chutney set with misri, no refined sugar.
How to choose your first jar
- New to our shelf? Start with Khatta Meetha mango (mild, sweet-tangy) or Tailam Aamra (the classic).
- Like it hot? Mirchauni Aamra or Kuti Haritah crushed green chilli.
- Avoiding oil? Almost the entire mango range and several speciality jars are oil-free — browse the Oil-Free Achaar shelf.
- Want the unusual? Panas (jackfruit), Karela (bitter gourd), or Chuhara (dry-date).
Browse everything in Heirloom Achaar & Chutney, or jump to Mango Achaar and Speciality Achaar.
Keeping your jar at its best
A handmade, preservative-free pickle rewards a little care — a dry spoon, the oil kept above the pieces, a cool dark shelf. We wrote the full method here: how to store achaar after opening. And if you've ever wondered how achaar keeps without any artificial preservative, that's explained in how achaar keeps without preservatives.