RED CHILLY PICKLE - 1

This is a north indian pickle which sounds fiery but it is a classic case of more bark than bite!

Ingredients:
1 kg fresh barwaan  red chillies
2 cups til oil
2 tbsps mustard seeds
3 tbsps cumin seeds
1 tbsps aniseed/fennelseeds /saunf
5-6 dry red chillies
8-10 tbsps mustard powder
2-3 tbsps raw mango powder
15 tbsps salt
Juice of 5 limes
1 tsp asafetida /hing

Preparation:
Wash and thoroughly dry the chillies.
Trim the stems.
Slit the chillies upto just under the stem. Do not cut right throught them.
Scoop out all the inner flesh and seeds and discard.
( Oil your hands a bit before you do this and you'll save yourself from the chillies' burn! )
Roast the dry red chillies, cumin seeds, mustard seeds , 1/2 tbsp saunf on a slow fire.
Cool and grind coarsely.
Mix with the mustard powder,hing, raw mango powder, salt & 1/2 tbsp saunf.
Add the lime juice to this mix to make a thick paste.
Stuff each chilli well with the paste.
Put the chillies in a dry, wide-mouthed glass pickling jar (the glass should be able to withstand hot tempratures).
Pour the oil over the chillies in the jar.
Seal the jar and keep it out in the sun for a week to ten days.
The longer you keep it out in the sun the better the pickle tastes.
Shake gently each day to make sure the oil coats the chillies well.