Chemmeen Achar - Kerala Style Prawns Pickle

How are you making use of the sun? Basking sun in your balcony , embracing sun kissed beaches on weekends , long strolls in the park ,  around the town ??? Well to these popular summer activities , i would like to add one within our topic of interest - food. Sun drying lemons , mangoes , other vegetables ,meat ,fish and shrimp for making authentic kerala style pickles, like the ones our grand mothers used to make ...  "Make sun dried pickles while the sun shines"...

Fresh water fish like Cherumeen and Pallathi ( Orange chromide) are usually used to make pickle back in my mom's place in Kuttanad , where it is available abundantly year round. And fried Roe(palinjeel) from cherummen used to be a wonderful snack for us in the evening. 

I still remember during our summer vacations , the maids would be busy cleaning and marinating the giant fish or the small ones like pallathi and leaving it out in the sun to dry for 1-3 days, sometimes we kids were asked to guard it from crows and hens; and Ammachi making pickle , which is very different from my recipe here today. Thats the best , and i m sure i will have to practice it a million times , to get it right. 

In this recipe here , i have used teeny tiny shrimp , like the Konju we get back home , following the basic family recipe for any red colored  pickle. I sun dried it nearly for two days and couldn't resist the urge to make it and eat it. Its always a big hit with beer or any other drinks.

Recipe for Kerala Konju / chemmeen Achar ( dry version with optional sun dried method)

Makes - one big bottle ; Serves :- 2 pickle crazy people : else a big group

Total cooking time - 1 or 2 days to dry and 30 minutes to make.

Bowl 1 ( marinate and sun dry)

Shrimp / Chemmeen - 1/2 kg ( fresh or cooked)

Kashmiri red chili powder - 1 tea spoon

Turmeric powder - a large pinch

Salt to taste

Oil for frying

Bowl 2

(Kashmiri )Red chili powder - 2 tea spoon ( use as per your heat level)

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tea spoon

Vinegar - 2 table spoon

Crushed pepper - 1/4 tea spoon ( optional)

Bowl 3

Mustard seeds - 1 tea spoon

Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tea spoon or powder - 1/4 tea spoon

Garlic sliced - 8-10 cloves

Ginger sliced - 2 tea spoon 

Green chili sliced - 1 or 2

Curry leaves - 2-3 strings

Hing / kaayam - a large pinch

Vinegar  -  2 table spoon( optional)

Nalenna /Gingelly  oil - 2 or 3 table spoon 

Salt to taste

Directions:-

If using fresh shrimp , clean , devein it and wash it thoroughly. I used frozen cooked salad shrimp , so i just thawed it overnight in the fridge . 

Marinate it with all other ingredients in Bowl 1 , arrange it on a tray or cookie sheet and leave it open in the sun for a day or two. I keep it from 10.00 am to 4.00 pm for nearly 2 days . Every evening  take it inside ,leave it on your counter top , covered or uncovered.

So if you don't wanna wait till then , marinate the shrimp , keep it for some time and the fry it. ( See notes @ the end to see other options)

When your ready to make it , fry the shrimp in oil. You can either deep fry or shallow fry it.But i prefer deep frying for this. Drain on paper towels. Set aside

Grind all the ingredients in Bowl 2 to a fine paste. Sprinkle a table spoon of water if necessary.

Heat some oil from the fried shrimp pan  , or you can use nalenna / sesame oil for this step. 

Add mustard seeds ,when they splutter add fenugreek seeds. ( if using fenugreek powder use at the end of cooking) 

Slide in chopped ginger, garlic,green chiles and curry leaves and fry for 3-4 minutes on medium flame till the raw smell disappears . Add the Bowl 2 - chili paste and mix well. Sprinkle 1/4 cup  water and bring to boil.....

Stir in the fried Prawns and combine well , Saute for 3-4 minutes, till it is heated through ( add fenugreek powder if you are using it now ) Give a salt check . Switch off the flame . Let it cool. 

When it is in room temperature add hing and 2 more table spoon of vinegar (optional) and mix well. 

My mom leave it on the stove top for a day and then transfer it into glass jars. 

Pour 2 or 3 table spoons of Nalenna/ Gingelly oil over it and keep outside for a day or two and then keep refrigerated .

Notes :-

• I use the smallest salad shrimp available and if you are using big shrimp , cut it into small pieces.
• To expedite the process you can bake the marinated shrimp , till it is dry or even it is brown and fried and omit the sun drying and frying part.
• I am not so sure about the life span of this pickle , since it wont even last for a week in my nest
• If you are gonna use it up within 2-3 days , you can substitute lemon juice for vinegar.
• This recipe is a dry version and if you want a bit gravy with it add more water and vinegar.
• Always take pickle with clean spoons.

Have a great weekend guys

Sarah