Types of Nepali achar: a guide to the pickles you will meet

Achar is not one dish. Walk through any Nepali kitchen and you will find jars of every colour, each made from a different fruit, vegetable, or green. Here is a guide to the types you will meet most often, and what makes each one special.

Fruit achar

Fruit achar is the sweet-and-sour end of the family. Mango achar is the best known, made from raw mango cured in mustard oil with chili and turmeric. Lapsi (hog plum) makes a softer, tangier pickle that is a genuine Nepali classic. Lemon achar is sharp and bright, and pineapple shows up in newer home recipes.

• Mango Achar: hot and tangy, the crowd favourite
• Lapsi Achar: sweet-sour hog plum
• Lemon Achar: bright and citrusy

Vegetable achar

Vegetable achar is where the heat lives. Akabare chili achar is made from the fiery dalle chili of eastern Nepal. Garlic achar packs whole cloves into spiced oil. Radish, cauliflower, and carrot show up in winter, when the vegetables are at their best.

• Akabare Chili Achar: for heat lovers
• Timur Ko Chhop: numbing Sichuan pepper
• Garlic Achar: mellow and savoury
• Cauliflower Carrot Achar: crunchy winter pickle

Fermented achar

Fermentation is one of Nepal's oldest ways of keeping food. Gundruk, dried and fermented mustard greens, becomes a punchy achar when pounded with tomato and chili. It is vegan, deeply savoury, and unlike anything else in the pickle world.

• Gundruk Achar: fermented mustard greens

Mixed and meat achar

Mixed achar blends several vegetables and fruit in one jar, so every spoonful is a little different. Meat achar, usually chicken or buff, is cooked first and then preserved in spiced oil, a house specialty rather than an everyday jar.

• Mixed Achar: a bit of everything
• Chicken Pickle: slow-cooked and rich

What they share

Every one of these pickles follows the same idea: fresh ingredients, mustard oil, salt, acid, and spices, then time. The variation comes from what goes in the jar and how long it cures. That is why a good achar never tastes exactly the same twice.

Where to start

If you are new to achar, start mild. Gundruk and lemon are gentle; mango and akabare bring the heat. You can browse the full collection or read what achar actually is before you pick.