Cauliflower Pickle With Pickle Masala (Flowera Nonche/Lonche)

We came to US last week to stay with our daughter for a while. Since both of them love pickles, I started with their favorite cauliflower pickle. Usually I make no-oil, no-masala version cauliflower pickle, it is very healthy as it does not involve even a drop of oil. This time, I wanted to try my mother and grand mother’s version with the pickle masala (mustard, methi are fried and powdered).

On the first day, I made it with a cup of cauliflower and it got over in one meal. So I made another big batch next day. The pickle masala gives a very nice taste to it. It remains good for couple of weeks when stored in refrigerator. It can be eaten on the same day, but for better taste, let it rest for one day. Finish it off while the cauliflower pieces are still crunchy.

Ingredients:
5 cups cauliflower cut into small pieces
4 tbl spns red chilli powder
Salt
1/2 cup lemon/lime juice
2 tea spn oil
4 tea spns mustard seeds
1/2 tea spn fenugreek(methi) seeds
1/2 tea spn asafoetida
1/2 tea spn turmeric powder

Method:
Wash the cauliflower pieces and spread them on a paper. When the pieces get dried , mix them with salt and lime juice. Keep them aside for 2-3hrs.
Heat oil, add mustard seeds, fenugreek and asafoetida. When mustard pops up, take off the heat, powder them. When the pan is still hot, add red chilli powder and turmeric(do not heat the pan, this step lightly warms up the powders and also soaks any oil used for frying mustard). Stir it few moments.
Add the powders to cauliflower pieces. Mix well.

Preparation time : 30mins

Pictorial:

42 thoughts on “Cauliflower Pickle With Pickle Masala (Flowera Nonche/Lonche)”

  1. wow this recipe is so simple and tempting.will try this pickle very soon since i love pickles.have a nice time with ur daughter.
    sudha borkar

  2. The cauliflower is raw? Never eaten raw cauliflower before… Looks delicious though – and I love pickles. Enjoy your stay with Shilpa and do post lots of recipes 🙂

  3. This looks wonderful! I buy cauliflower almost every week so I will try this recipe next week.

    I hope you have a nice time with Shilpa!

  4. Thanks for the recipe Aunty. I usually put cauliflower only in sambhar or pav bhaji as I don’t like it as aloo-gobhi which is the only way to cook it I knew. I am going to try this pickle soon as it sounds really easy and tasty.

  5. Hello Aunty,
    Hope you are having a good time with your daughter!
    I remember my mom making this pickle very often at home. She would use a special type of hing/ asafoetida called ‘khapti hing’ (hope I’m spelling it correctly) which we get only in Goa. This hing adds a lot of flavor to the pickle. Will try out your version very soon.
    Regards,
    Rachana

  6. Varad pachi, i am sure you will have a lovely time with Shilpa and V. Also the weather is pleasant. Have a good time and enjoy your stay.

    Last weekend after conversation with Shilpa, abt the pickle i got two cauliflowers. Made it last evening after seeing your post. Could not stop eating. I guess the flavors would have blended well today.

  7. Mammi,
    Pickle looks delicious!!!! Bookmarked.
    Welcome to US… I hope you have a nice time with Shilpa! Enjoy..lucky U shilpa.

  8. Hi,

    I remember my maushi making a mixed vegetable loncha which is very similar to this. Will try this one sometime soon. Thanks!

  9. Hi can this be made with other vegetables as well? If yes, which ones? Also, will it taste good if I put less chilli powder in it like 1 tsp instead of 4, since we don’t eat very hot?

    Regards,
    Smita

  10. Hello aunty, thanks for sharing this cauliflower recipe. Cauliflower is my hubby’s fav. veggie. Planning to give a surprise for him. Wishing you a pleasant stay with your daughter and expecting much more tempting recipies. Thanks.

  11. Thank you Varadpatchhi (? I am 76 yrs old, can I call you patchhi?).
    During my previous two visits to US at my son’s; I had tried the same and made it last for nearly 2 months (refrigerated) and crunchy too. The trick appears to be.

    Making florets of CFlwr and seperately Thondekai pcs; sprinkle Haldi pdr and A little bit of salt; SUN DRY them for 2/3 (preferably away from direct sun) days. They lose all water and remain crunchy, thereafter make a pickle exactly as suggested by you.

    Keep 2 seperate bottles/jars and put them in fridge. My son/d-i-l loved this and so did all visitors at lunch/dinner.

    Regards

  12. HI SHILPA
    AFTER WASHING THE CAULIFLOWER DO I NEED TO KEEP IT IN THE SUN TO DRY OR KEEP IT INDOORS.PLS LET ME KNOW.
    HAVE A NICE TIME WITH UR AAYI.
    IS THERE A PROBLEM WITH THE COMMENT SECTION,AS I CANNOT SEE THE COMMENTS OF OTHER READERS.

    SUDHA BORKAR

    1. We haven’t tried sundrying cauliflower (it is not mentioned in the recipe, we exactly follow what is written in the post). But as one of the readers Nagesh(maam) has mentioned you can give sundrying a try.

  13. HEY SHILPA TRIED THIS INSTANT NONCHE AND IT TASTED AWESOME AND MY HUSBAND LOVED IT.THANKS A LOT VARADA MAI FOR THIS INSTANT PICKLE.LOOKING FORWARD FOR SUCH NEW RECIPES FROM U.LUCKY SHILPA,GET PREPARED TO PUT ON WEIGHT.

    SUDHA BORKAR

  14. Hi
    I also do same, but I add cuminseeds also. I make seasoning and when it is cool add to prepared pickle.

  15. Hello,
    I’ve been enjoying your blog for quite a while now, and have made this pickle twice in the last few days. (The first time I burnt the methi seeds!) It has a wonderful flavour, but it does seem very dry with none of the attractive red sauce in your picture. Any idea what I’m doing wrong? Any help would be much appreciated! 🙂

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