Learn how to make recipe Andhra Magaya Pachadi with detailed step by step pictures. Magaai is Andhra style sun-dried sliced mango pickle, best with hot rice and ghee!

Andhra pickles and pachadi recipes are a league on their own. Every summer during childhood, two months of summer holidays were best spent preparing for the pickles to last us over the next year or anticipating the arrival of pickles that our grandma used to bulk prepare and send us all the way from Vijayawada (my hometown). In our household, it is a must to make both Avakaya and Magaya pachadi (both mango-based) along with Gongura (sorrel leaves) and Chinthakaya (tender tamarind pods). There will also be a batch of Pandumirapakaya Karam (red chillies) and some Ooramirapakayalu (sun-dried curd-chillies). What a bounty it used to be! Times have changed and yet, every year Amma makes a small batch of pickles for us. This year I managed to capture the process and am very glad to share the recipe here finally, for posterity if not for anything else.

Andhra Magaya Pachadi

Magaya is an Andhra style mango pickle is made from sliced, sun-dried mangoes spiced with fenugreek seeds and mustard seeds, apart from chilli powder. Sliced mangoes are left to rest in mixture of salt and turmeric powder for a day. In a few hours, juices begin to seep out from the mangoes. It is this juice that makes this pickle the best. The mango slices are dried in hot sun for a few days until they are dry and finally, the pickle is tempered. It is quite tangy unlike the Avakaya pickle, which is mustard-based. The mango slices are neither mushy nor dry, thus making it a best accompaniment to hot rice and ghee. It is also served as a side dish for idlis, especially mixed with thick curd – we call it magaai perugu pachadi.

Tips & Important Notes for Making Magaai Pachadi

Pickle recipes take some time and effort, to keep them preserved for months. Though technical in terms of recipe measurements, it is also important to know a few tips and tricks to get it right. Follow the below notes if you are trying this magai pickle for the first time.

Mangoes – Choosing the right kind of mangoes that are sour and tangy result in best pickle that stays long without spoiling. Go for the ones that are rock hard, dark green in color and the flesh should be very pale. If the mango has soft spots, pickle might get spoilt quickly. The amount of pickling juice that we get depends on how sour the mangoes are.

Equipment – Refrain using steel containers for resting the mangoes/pickling. Non-reactive plastic, glass and ceramic are best for pickling. Make sure everything is bone dry to ensure that the pickle doesn’t get spoilt.

Sun-Drying Mangoes – The mango slices must be sun-dried until they are dry but the slice should not snap in two when broken. There should be some moisture but otherwise dry to touch.

Salt & Oil – Pickling is all about salt & oil and we have always used non-iodized rock salt for our pickles. To ease the mixing process, we powder the rock salt though. For best flavor and taste, we always have used sesame oil (gingelly oil) for pickling.

Spices – Fenugreek seeds and mustard seeds are the main spices in this pickle recipe, apart from the red chilli powder. We sundry both the fenugreek & mustard seeds before powdering them in our spice grinder.

Tempering – The final flavor addition to the pickle is in tempering. We always use compound asafoetida and powder it fresh before adding to the tempering. The tempering should be at room temperature before adding to the pickle. When added hot, the sudden condensation creates moisture which can spoilt the pickle easily.

Storing & Serving Suggestions

Store Magaya pickle in an airtight dry & clean glass or ceramic jar and remove the required quantity into a smaller jar for regular use. Serve magaai pachadi with hot rice and ghee. It also goes well with pappu (cooked toor dal) and perugu (curd). A small quantity of the pickle mixed with some curd – magayi perugu pachadi makes an excellent side dish for hot idlis or dosa.

Check out other pickle recipes

Magaya Pachadi Recipe with Step by Step Pictures

Wash the mangoes thoroughly, pat them dry completely, peel off the skin. Cut them into finger sized slices. For this recipe measurement, we used 4 cups of sliced mangoes.

In the pickling container, add the sliced mangoes along with 1 teaspoon turmeric powder and 1 cup powdered rock salt (non-iodized works best)

Mix well and let it rest for 8-12 hours or overnight. The mango slices leave pickling juices which must be preserved.

Drain off the mango slices and spread them on a plate/sheet for sun drying.

Store the pickling juices in an airtight container away from the sun.

Sun-dry the mango slices for 2-3 days (depending on the heat & sunlight) until they are dry. Mango slice should not break into two when snapped, but retain some moisture else the pickle will be very dry.

After each day of sun drying, leave the slices lightly covered in a cool place and repeat this process until the mango slices are ready.

On the last day of sun-drying the mango slices, sun-dry ¼ cup fenugreek seeds and ¼ cup mustard seeds separately.

Once cooled down completely, grind fenugreek seeds and mustard seeds separately into smooth powders. Again let the powders cool down completely.

Add both the powders to the preserved pickling juice.

Further add 1 ¼ cups (one and quarter cups) of Guntur Red Chilli Powder to the pickling juice.

Mix everything well together using a dry clean spoon. The consistency of the pickle totally depends on the amount of pickling juice produced by the mangoes. (Don’t fret if the mixture is too thick)

In a thick bottomed pan, heat a small marble sized ball of solid asafoetida on low heat. Slowly it will turn gooey & soft. Let it cool down. If you are using asafoetida powder directly, skip this step.

Grind into powder. Set it aside.

In the same pan, heat ½ cup sesame oil (gingelly oil) and add 1 teaspoon mustard seeds, ¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds followed by 2 dry red chillies cut into small pieces.

As the mustard seeds splutter, add 1 teaspoon powdered asafoetida and remove from heat.

It is very important to cool the tempering completely to room temperature before adding it to the pickle. Mix it well.

Add the sundried mango slices to the pickle. Mix well.

As the pickle is slowly mixed, mango slices coat on the pickle spices. Oil starts to seep out. If the pickle is too dry to even mix, add 2-3 tablespoon sesame oil.

Leave the pickle to rest for 3-4 days until the mango slices turn soft absorbing the pickling juices and spices.

Store in a dry clean airtight glass or ceramic container and preserve in a cool place away from sunlight. Remove smaller quantities as needed for regular use. Serve with hot rice and ghee.

Recipe Notes

It is not recommended to use Kashmiri red chilli powder for pickle recipes, use best quality chilli powder for color and spice.
Although mustard and fenugreek seeds can be dry roasted, sun-drying keeps the flavors intact.

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