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-iodised 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.