Chambakka pickle recipe: recipe for chambakka pickle or water rose apple pickle, a popular backyard fruit available in Kerala. 
This is my first pickle recipe on Edible Garden but the thing is, I didn’t make this! The fact is, ever since I moved out of Kottayam for my first job and later, marriage, I have always been given jarfuls of pickles and podis. Neither TH nor I eat too much pickle and usually stick with having kozhambu with curd rice, rather than, say, mango pickle. Weird, but true.When Amma was here last month I told her this and said I need to get some of her pickle recipes. My favourite is the sweet mango pickle (which will be posted very soon) which she made for me when she was here.
This recipe is special for a couple of reasons. It came from Amma (translated and emailed by my fave uncle, Radha Mama), which is reason enough, but she actually made it, put some in her ‘pretty bowl’, got my brother’s dear friend Rajesh Anna to click pics and he then emailed it to me. There were about 8 pics, all in different angles, in true food blogger style!
Chambakka Pickle Recipe
Ingredients
- Chambakka Water Rose Apple - 250gm
- Chilly powder - 3 tbsp
- Asafoetida / Hing / Perungaayam - 1/4 tsp
- Fenugreek seeds / menthayam / uluva - 1/4 tsp
- Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
- Oil - 4 tbsp
- Mustard seeds / kaduku - 1/4 tsp
- A few curry leaves
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Wash the rose apples thoroughly. Cut into halves, de-seed and set aside.
- Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. Once the seeds pop, add the fenugreek seeds and fry lightly until fragrant and the colour starts to change. (Make sure you don't over do this otherwise the pickle will turn too bitter. )
- Add the rose apples next with some salt. Saute lightly until the colour starts to lighten and its cooked more than half way through (about 7-10 mins).
- To this, add the chilly powder, hing, turmeric powder and the curry leaves and mix well, frying lightly for another 5 mins or so on low heat.
- Store in a clean, dry jar and use after let all the flavours mingle for 2 days.
This pickle doesn’t keep for too long so refrigerate and consume within 2 weeks.
Huge thanks to Amma, Radha mama, and Rajesh anna for making this first pickle post on Edible Garden possible 🙂
For chambakka pickle recipe in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, etc please use the Google translate button in the sidebar.
Any idea how I can find this in the US???
MOUTH WATERING. I have no idea where I can get this fruit in the US, but this looks really good… just looking at this makes me happy. If i find this fruit I'm telling my mom to make it or myself, although I just started with cooking and never made pickles yet.
Looks delicious!!
Thanks Shreya 🙂
Hey hey, don't think there's a tamil name for this because its non-existent in TN.
The only way I have ever eaten this fruit is right off the tree! 🙂
Never knew it could be pickled. Is this really your first ever pickle post? Congrats.
Thanks for letting me know a new fruit,looks really juicy,curious to taste it too!
never heard of this water rose apple before. pic looks tempting.
Pickling this is really new to me! We have white varieties in and around Mangalore called 'jamb'in Konkani. The pickle makes me drool, Nags.Truly..very well 'blogger-style' clicks!
Didn't know the english name as well the pink variety! Tks for the informative post!
Here is a link for more pics : http://www.dnull.com/jambu-air/
The pickle is new but the fruit brings back so many memories! Thanks for posting this recipe.
Ohh…yummilicious!!! Have any idea what they are called in tamil?