Sour Pickles and Tangy Achar

Sourness that comes from the fruit

There is an easy way to make a pickle sour and a proper one. The easy way is citric acid or vinegar, which gives you a flat, one note sharpness. The proper way is to use fruit that is already sour enough to preserve itself, and then balance it with jaggery and spice rather than correcting it with acid.

Nothing in this section has added acid. The tamarind is sour because tamarind is sour. The amla is sour because amla is bracing on its own.

The two jars

• Tamarind: deseeded by hand, sharp at the front and sweet at the finish, no oil at all
• Amla: bracing rather than fruity, with fenugreek and fennel giving it warmth

When a sour jar earns its place

Beside anything rich. A heavy meat meal, fried fish, a plate of biryani. Sourness resets the palate in a way that heat does not, which is why most Indian meals have something sour somewhere on the plate.

Both of these also work in cooking. A spoon of tamarind pickle does the job of tamarind paste in a dal, and it brings the spice along with it.