Recipe from Madhur Jaffrey
Adapted by Melissa Clark
- Total Time
- 10 minutes, plus 45 minutes’ marinating
- Rating
- 4(35)
- Notes
- Read community notes
These floppy, lightly pickled onions are a traditional accompaniment to grilled and tandoor foods throughout India and the rest of South Asia. There are different versions depending on the region, but all are seasoned with salt, spiked with chile (either powdered or fresh) and brightened with some kind of acid, usually lemon juice or vinegar. This recipe, adapted from “Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cooking” (Barron’s, 1983), uses a combination of sweet paprika and cayenne for an earthy, nuanced flavor, and you can add the spices to taste, making this as fiery or mild as you like. Soaking the onion slices in water before mixing the relish helps soften their sharpness, but you can skip this step if you prefer a stronger onion flavor. —Melissa Clark
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Ingredients
Yield:2 cups
- 1medium onion, preferably a sweet onion, such as Vidalia, thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
- 2tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, plus more to taste
- ¾teaspoon kosher salt (Diamond Crystal), plus more to taste
- ¼teaspoon sweet paprika, plus more to taste
- ⅛teaspoon ground cayenne, plus more to taste
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (2 servings)
56 calories; 0 grams fat; 0 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 0 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 13 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 8 grams sugars; 1 gram protein; 408 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Put onions in a bowl and cover with cold water. Set aside to soak for 15 minutes. (This removes some of the onion’s bite, but you can skip this step if you’d like a stronger onion flavor.)
Step
2
Drain onions and thoroughly pat dry. Return onions to the bowl and stir in lemon juice, salt, paprika and cayenne. Let sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes for the flavors to meld before serving. Taste and add more salt, lemon and spices, if you like.
Step
3
Use immediately or refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. Serve alongside grilled or roasted meats and fish; stuff into sandwiches, especially grilled cheese or tuna salad; use as a topping for pizza, burgers and hot dogs; scramble into eggs; toss into salads, especially starchy grain and potato salads.
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Cooking Notes
Ann Duckles
In Mexico we make a similar relish with red onions, sliced and rinsed in boiling water with lime juice and salt.
Prakash Nadkarni
While South Asian cuisines are among the world's best, this dish wouldn't make my list of keepers.Several cuisines use acid to mellow onions, but IMHO a vinegar-sugar base, e.g., bonappetit.com/recipe/quick-pickled-onions, mellows the onions much more nicely. US Southern pickled beets, okra and watermelon rind use the same base, which the Vietnamese sometimes enhance with fresh minced ginger for their banh mi pickled veggies.
Tom, SFBA
Always nice to be reminded of Madhur Jaffrey, as with this simple yet almost endlessly adaptable recipe.This basic relish skeleton can easily be made to go just about anywhere at all. Need sweet? Add some chopped date, or some jam, say apricot, plum.Don’t want added sugar? Sweat the sliced onion first.On the savory side? Toasted cumin. Sumac. Cinnamon. Garam masala.
Katy
I just made this to put on my sandwich for lunch and thoroughly enjoyed it. I’ll be using it in pasta and maybe eggs too.
Kohli
This is a must with North Indian Cuisine Punjabi food is not complete without itYou can also Red onions with red wine vinegar
Tom, SFBA
Always nice to be reminded of Madhur Jaffrey, as with this simple yet almost endlessly adaptable recipe.This basic relish skeleton can easily be made to go just about anywhere at all. Need sweet? Add some chopped date, or some jam, say apricot, plum.Don’t want added sugar? Sweat the sliced onion first.On the savory side? Toasted cumin. Sumac. Cinnamon. Garam masala.
Katy
I just made this to put on my sandwich for lunch and thoroughly enjoyed it. I’ll be using it in pasta and maybe eggs too.
Prakash Nadkarni
While South Asian cuisines are among the world's best, this dish wouldn't make my list of keepers.Several cuisines use acid to mellow onions, but IMHO a vinegar-sugar base, e.g., bonappetit.com/recipe/quick-pickled-onions, mellows the onions much more nicely. US Southern pickled beets, okra and watermelon rind use the same base, which the Vietnamese sometimes enhance with fresh minced ginger for their banh mi pickled veggies.
Ann Duckles
In Mexico we make a similar relish with red onions, sliced and rinsed in boiling water with lime juice and salt.
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