Why These 5 Pickles Will Never Go Out of Style in South Indian Homes
In any South Indian kitchen, you will always find a jar relegated to the back of the shelf, hiding behind the masala dabbas and lentil tins. It's not a jar. It's history. Some might call it magic. It's the single item that can upgrade a plate of plain rice on a lazy Sunday afternoon or make curd rice a dish you'll never tire of. We are referring to pickles. Not just any pickles, but these five.
Let's not forget, despite how sleek our kitchens now appear, with their air fryers and microwave drawers, there's always space (and a lot of affection) for those good old Avakaya, Garlic, Gongura, Amla, and regular Mango pickles. They're not condiments, really. They're part of how we dine, how we recall things, and how we hand things down.
Avakaya Pickle
Each summer, on schedule, mangoes overrun the markets, and you can guess what follows: someone in the family says it's time to make a large quantity of Avakaya. The air is filled with the smell of mustard and chili powder for days. Oil sits on the counter, and all the relatives are arguing over whose aunt's recipe is better.
Avakaya Pickle is not just Andhra's signature pickle. It's the pickle. It appears on plates of hot rice and ghee, lunchboxes, and dosa with no chutney to be found. It's loud. It's fearless. And it's something that you can never, ever prepare in small batches because it's a sharing kind of thing.
People might move houses, even move countries, but you’ll always find a bottle of Avakaya somewhere in the suitcase. That says something.
Garlic Pickle
Garlic pickle is a low-key hero. You don't know how much you miss it until it's gone from the table. It goes so well beside curd rice or idlis and provides that burst of flavor you didn't even know you wanted.
Our grandmothers were right when they said that garlic warms the body and gets the belly happy. And though we can't possibly know all the ayurvedic science behind it, we've all had a spoonful of garlic pickle served with the meal when we've been feeling off.
It's the sort of pickle that shows up in ordinary meals, offsets heavier fare, and somehow manages to do the trick just as well for pongal as for chapati rolls. Subtle but necessary.
Gongura Pickle
Now Gongura (sorrel leaves) is a class in itself. At Andhra households, it's not even a pickle, it's a goodness-packed flex. If someone is giving you Gongura pachadi prepared with love and just the right amount of chili, you're practically family.
There's something special about that pungent, slightly acidic hit that Gongura has. It's not attempting to be friendly. It's piercing and up-your-nose, and it vivifies all the rest of the food on the plate.
Those who've grown up consuming Gongura swear by it. And those who haven't? Well, once they experience it, there is no going back. It comes with the flavor of the place, of hot afternoons and simple lunches, of mothers bottling it for children migrating to other cities.
Amla Pickle
This one's a slow-burner. Not everybody grows up enjoying the love for amla pickle, but the older you are, the more you realize how great it is. It's that bittersweet, spicy, slightly medicinal taste that suddenly feels just so right alongside your rasam or even plain rice.
Amla, or nellikai, has always worn that aura of health. Full of vitamin C, immunity-friendly, and added to everything from chyawanprash to hair oil. But as a pickle, it's something else, something delicious, evocative, and surprisingly heartwarming.
You won’t see it at every table, but the homes that keep it always come back to it. Especially when someone in the family’s not feeling well or you’re just tired of the usual spice bomb pickles.
Mango Pickle (The Classic)
And now, this one is simply non-negotiable. Mango pickle is the go-to in every South Indian home. Forget the sambhar, but with or without mango pickle and some curd, dinner is done.
We all have our variation, some add more mustard, some add more chili, and some let it float in oil for months. But the principle is still the same: raw mangoes, salt, spice, and time.
It's one of those dishes that you make at family gatherings, with kids snatching pieces of mango and elders getting prickly about the ratio. Even today, the smell of mango pickle being made at home is the signal that summer is here. And no matter how many jars you buy from the store, nothing beats the flavor of the one that your mom made when you left for college.
Traveling Pickles
The best part is that these pickles didn't remain in their hometowns. They traveled. With students migrating to the U.S. or U.K., with parents moving to Malaysia or Singapore, with cousins lugging ziplock bags full of pickles through customs.
It's not just food. It's a connection to home. The spiciness of the taste is forgotten in the instant comfort. For 45 years now, Priya Foods has understood this. These pickles aren’t trends. They’re traditions. Whether you’re sitting in Hyderabad or Houston, it still feels like home when there’s pickle on your plate. And Priya has been a constant in that journey, bottling not just spice but stories, not just food but the feeling of belonging.
So yes, food habits may shift, and fads may come and go, but these five pickles are not going anywhere. They'll remain in our kitchen, on our plate, and in our luggage. Because certain things, such as the comfort of mango pickle with curd rice, never truly go out of fashion.