Click on the image, above to submit to Pinterest.

To Make Paco Lilla or Indian Pickle

To Make Paco Lilla or Indian Pickle is a traditional British recipe, based on Hannah Glasse's recipe of 1747, for a classic dish of salted and dried vegetables preserved in spiced vinegar with turmeric that is an early version of modern Piccalilli. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: To Make Paco Lilla or Indian Pickle.

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

20 minutes

Total Time:

40 minutes

Additional Time:

(+22 days drying)

Makes:

2 jars

Rating:

Tags : Spice RecipesVegetable RecipesBritish Recipes

This is a traditional British recipe redacted from Hannah Glasse's 1747 volume The Aft of Cookery Made Plain and Easy, the classic Georgian cookbook.

Original Recipe

To make paco lilla, or Indian pickle, the ſame the mangos come over in.



TAKE a pound of race-ginger, and lay it in water one night ; then ſcrape it, and cut it in thin ſlices, and put to it ſome ſalt, and let it ſtand in the ſun to dry ; take long pepper two ounces, and do it as the ginger. Take a pound of garlick, and cut it in thin ſlices, and ſalt it, and let it ſtand three days ; then waſh it well, and let it be ſalted again, and ſtand three days more ; then waſh it well and drain it, and put it in the ſun to dry. Take a quarter of a pound of muſtard-ſeeds bruised, and half a quarter of an ounce of turmerick : put theſe ingredients, when prepared, into a large ſtone or glaſs jar, with a gallon of very good white wine vinegar, and ſtir it very often for a fortnight, and tie it up cloſe.
     In this pickle you may put white cabbage, cut in quarters, and put in a brine of ſalt and water for three days, and then boil freſh ſalt water and juſt put in the cabbage to ſcald, and preſs out the water, and put it in the ſun to dry, in the ſame manner as you do cauliflowers, cucumbers, melons, apples, French beans, plumbs, or any ſort of fruit. Take care they are all well dried before you put them into the pickle : you need never empty the jar, but as the things come into ſeaſon, put them in, and ſupply it with vinegar as often as there is occaſion.
     In the above, you may do walnuts in a jar by themſelves ; put the walnuts in without any preparation, tied cloſe down, and kept ſome time.

Modern Redaction

This is another very fascinating recipe from Hannah Glasse's collection, representing and early version of Piccalilli, (known at the time as pica-lilla). The vinegar and spice blend with turmeric grew popular at the time, as it was the way that mangoes were preserved and transported to England. The flavour became well known and the base vinegar and spice blend was adapted to preserve a whole season's worth of British vegetables. This is also the antecedent of modern piccalilli, except that the vinegar mixture in modern versions tend to be thickened with flour.

The names India pickle and pica-lilla were used almost interchangeably and any recipes on this site calling for India pickle as an ingredient refer to this.

Ingredients:

250g fresh ginger
30g long pepper (or black pepper)
250g garlic
salt
60g mustard seeds, bruised in a mortar
2 tsp ground turmeric
2.25l white wine vinegar

garden vegetables, as they come into season

Method:

Take the garlic, peel it then slice thinly. Arrange in a dish and scatter sugar between the layers and over the top. Set aside for three days then wash away the excess salt. Arrange the slices on a baking tray and set in the sun for between 3 and 5 days, or until dried on the surface (but do not allow to dry all the way through) — bring indoors in the evening and do not put out in the morning until the dew has risen. You can also dry for about 3 days, 2 hours per day, in an oven at its lowest setting.

Place the ginger in a large bowl, cover with water and set aside to soak over night. After this time, peel the ginger, cut into thin slices and arrange in a ceramic dish, salt it and set aside in the sun to dry for about 3 days. After this time remove the excess salt.

Soak the pepper over night, then remove from the bowl and set aside in the sun to dry for 2 days.

When done, combine the ginger, long pepper, garlic, mustard seeds and turmeric in a large jar. Pour over the vinegar, secure with a vinegar-proof lid and set aside to infuse for 14 days, turning several times a day to blend the spices.

Use this as a preservative base, adding vegetables to the pickle base as they become available during the growing season.

For Cabbages:
Cut the cabbages into quarters and remove the cores. Place in a fairly strong brine (300g salt per 1l water) and set aside for 3 days. After this time, bring a pan of water to a boil. Drain the cabbages, rinse briefly then add to the boiling water and scald for 5 minutes. Remove and drain then press out any excess water. Set in the sun to dry for 4 days them shred and add to the pickle made above.

For Cauliflowers:
Remove the leaves and trim the stalks. Place the cauliflower head in a fairly strong brine (300g salt per 1l water) and set aside for 3 days. After this time, bring a pan of water to a boil. Drain the cauliflowers, rinse briefly then separate into chunky florets before adding to the boiling water and scald for 5 minutes. Remove and drain then press out any excess water. Set in the sun to dry for 3 days them add to the pickle made above.

For Cucumbers:
Take 2 large cucumbers, ends trimmed and cut into thick rounds. Place the rounds in a fairly strong brine (300g salt per 1l water) and set aside for 3 days. After this time, bring a pan of water to a boil. Drain the cucumber rounds, rinse briefly then cut each piece into quarters before adding to the boiling water and scalding for 3 minutes. Remove and drain then press out any excess water. Set in the sun to dry for 4 days them add to the pickle made above.

For Melons:
Take a large melon, peel and de-seed then cut into large chunks. Place these pieces in a fairly strong brine (300g salt per 1l water) and set aside for 3 days. After this time, bring a pan of water to a boil. Drain the melon chunks, rinse briefly then add to the boiling water and scald for 3 minutes. Remove and drain then press out any excess water. Set in the sun to dry for 4 to 7 days them add to the pickle made above.

You can also use this method for plums, broccoli florets, French beans and string beans.

Add each fruit or vegetable to the pickle as it becomes available (if adding walnuts then these can be shelled and added directly). When done, seal the jar securely and set aside for at least 4 months to mature before use.

Find more Hannah Glasse Recipes Hereand more Traditional Georgian Recipes Here.