I am so so excited to share this olive pickle recipe with you! I have been looking for this specific spicy-tangy olive pickle for a while, and couldn’t find it anywhere, not even when I looked for it in Bangladesh two years ago. So, luckily I found olive in Bangladeshi shop in Denmark and without hesitation, I scooped those shiny bright green olives.
Now, normally by olives, people thinks the fruit Olea europaea, traditionally from Mediterranean region, of which olive oils are made. However, Bangladeshi olive pickles are made from different kinds of fruit, commonly known as Ceylon olive (Elaeocarpus serratus), native to South Asia. In Bangla, we call it ‘Jolpai’ and loved by people of all ages! It has oval shape, a big stone inside and a very tangy taste, even when ripened. That is why it is great to make pickles with!

Just like any Bangladeshi pickle, we need a lots of mustard oil, whole garlic, mustard paste, paach phoron, ginger garlic paste, some chili (whole and powder), bay leaves, cardamon, turmeric powder, black salt and some sugar. Sugar accentuates the tangy taste of the pickle, but if you like your pickles to be on more sweeter side, than add more sugar to the recipe.

First thing first, we need to wash the olives and pat dry them very well, so there’s no traces of water left. Because water will make the pickles moldy, thus minimizing the shelf-life.

Also we need to slit the olives all through the stone. This is a important step, as the olives will not be pre-cooked, so slitting will help to cook the olives thoroughly and also soak in the all flavors. (Sorry I forgot the take picture of this step, I guess I was too busy focusing slitting , haha).

Before we start cooking, we need to blend the mustard seed to a very fine paste. Also the mustard seeds need to soak in vinegar for about an hour so its easy to blend.

Now we’ll come to main cooking process. In a big wok, heat up some mustard oil and add bay leaf, cardamom, cinnamon stick, and whole chili. When all whole spices start to pop, we add some garlic cloves, ginger garlic paste and paach phoron. We will not deep fry the garlic cloves, just until they get slightly fried.

So the garlic cloves are slightly fried, now we add the mustard paste that we sat aside. We will cook the paste until the raw smells go away. Then we add some chili powder and turmeric powder and stir that to fully incorporate with all spices.

All spices are fully cooked so now we are adding the olives. Stir to incorporate with spices.

As you can see, the colors of olives already started to change from dark green to light. At this step, I will add some sugar. Don’t worry, it will not sweeten the pickle but will enhance the taste to far better.

When sugar are melted, we are going to add a bit more mustard paste and chili powder. It will add a nice kick to the pickle.

After adding mustard paste, we have to cook the pickle until the olives are cooked thoroughly and changed color to grass green. So we need to cover the pan, and often stir them in low heat until the get cooked thoroughly.

We need to check if it needs salt otherwise we add more. I am using black salt for this pickle but I am sure you can use normal white salt too.

Looks like cooking is almost done, but to be sure, we have to use a clean fork to check the olives if they are properly cooked. If the fork goes all the way to the stone effrotlessly, then it means the pickle is done. Now we have to transfer pickles from the pan to a bowl and cool them down to room temperature. We need to do this step in order to stop burning the pickles in the hot pan.

We cannot consume the pickle immediately after making them, as they need to get “matured” before consuming. The more it gets time to mature, the more flavorful pickle taste. You consume this fabulous Ceylon Olive pickle with Khichuri or any kinds of lentil dishes, it will just make your day, I promise!

Recipe: Ceylon Olive Pickle, preparation time: 10minutes, cooking time: 30minutes

Ingredients: Green Ceylon Olive: 500g Garlic cloves: 1-2 piece Mustard Oil: 2 Cups (500ml) Paach Phoron: 1/2 tsp Red Chili powder: 1/2 tbsp Turmeric powder: 1/4 tsp Salt: 1tsp Dry red chili: 4-5 pieces Mustard paste: 4 tbsp Vinegar: 2 tbsp Ginger paste: 1/2tsp Garlic paste: 1/2tsp Cardamon: 1 piece Bay leaf: 1 piece Cinnamon: 1 small stick Sugar: 1/4 cup (50g)

Instruction: 1. Wash the olives and pat dry with towel. Remove the stock and slit all the way to the stone and set them aside. 2. Make a fine paste of pre-soaked mustard seed with half of vinegar. Set them aside. 3. In a big wok, add mustard oil and heat them in medium high flame. 4. Add bay leaf, cinnamon, whole chilo, cardamom and paach phoron in the heated mustard oil. When they start popping, add garlic cloves. Fry them lightly. 5. Add ginger garlic paste and cook them until the raw smells goes away. Add half a mustard paste and stir well. 6. Add olives to the pan. Stir them to coat with spices. 7. Add sugar and cook until sugar is dissolved. 8. Add rest of the mustard paste to the pan. 9. Cover and cook until the olives changes colour completely and become softened. Stir occasionally. 10. Transfer pickle to a bowl and cool them down to room temperature. The pickle is ready to consume after 2 weeks preferably.