Vegetable Pickle and my gift

Tired out of store-bought Pickles, I wanted to make something at the comfort of my home. I searched many websites and blogs for a recipe but could not find something that I would be able to make. Finally, I decided to try something on my own, after all I did get a good idea after reading so many blogs/articles on making Vegetable Pickle.

Here is a picture of the Vegetable Pickle :


Vegetable Pickle

Ingedients to make the Pickle:

The measurements in this list are approximate, a little more or a little less of anything is no harm!
2 cups vegetable such as Carrot,Cauliflower,Peas,Beans,Beet Root ( Use atleast 2 or 3)
1/2 Cup Pickle Masala - I bought this at the Indian Store in my area. You may even choose to make this powder.
1/4 Cup - 1/2 cup Salt
1 Cup Vinegar
1/2 cup Lime Juice/Lemon Juice
1/4 Cup Cooking Oil + 2 spoons, I used Canola Oil

Wash the vegetables ans julien(Cut into long pieces) them into 1-2 inch long pieces. Blanch these cut pieces so that they are retain their shape when used in the pickle. Then, allow the vegetables to cool. You may skip this blanching step and directly saute the vegetables after cutting them. (However, blanching will help retain the shape.)
Now,heat 2 spoons cooking oil in a pan and add all the chopped vegetables and saute. After 4-5 mins, add the pickle masala and salt , also check the spice/salt level at this point. Adjust the pickle masala and salt quantity to your preference. Let it cook for a couple of minutes and switch of the flame. Add Lime juice. Once this has cooled, transfer this 'pickle' into a clean and dry jar. Add Vinegar.

Vegetable Pickle is ready to use. You can use it right away but I found that it tasted better from the next day, but, its up to you.

On a separate note, I was the lucky winner in the give-away organized Divya at her blog. My gift arrived yesterday. Thank You, Divya. Divya was prompt in sending my gift and here is the picture of it. I am extremely excited to receive this gift because it is my first prize in a Blog ever and also because I loved this cute set of salt and Pepper shakers (something that I do not own as yet!).