Pick it, then bottle it!

Though his mother sells vegetables all through the year at Shivaji Market, Camp, it is during this time of the year that his corner stall is a beehive of activity. For Todkar not only makes mango pickles for his customers, but if required, also undertakes to do the tedious job of washing, drying and cutting raw mangoes for people who prefer to make their pickles at home.

8220;Customers either bring their own mangoes or buy them off us. In a day, I have to often chop about 100 kg. of raw mangoes for customers. And the pickle amounts to about 60 kg. a month.8221; During the pickle months, Todkar8217;s day begins early. 8220;At 4.30 a.m., I am at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Market at Gultekdi, as I do the purchasing of the vegetables and the kairis as well. It takes about four hours for us to select our items and transport them here.8221;

Pickle time means an additional work of purchasing different varieties of raw mangoes. 8220;During the day, we do our regular vegetable business. It is only from 5 to 8.30 p.m. that we do our kairi work. We buy Rajapuri or Ladva mangoes for the chhundas. For pickles, we use Shivapuri and Ladva mangoes.8221;

Chopping is done at the shop and the pickling, at home. After dinner every night, his wife and he settle down to make the pickles. 8220;It8217;s quite a laborious process. After washing, we have to dry each mango. If it is not dried properly, chances are that the pickle may get fungus after sometime. Then, for one kilogram of mangoes, I add 50 gm. of salt. This is kept for a night. The water released from the mangoes because of the salt is then thrown.8221;

The tiresome process does not end here. Again, the chopped mangoes are to be dried, this time under the fan. 8220;Because drying in the sun makes the mangoes too hard to bite.8221; After the mangoes are fan-dried, they are pickled. 8220;I use readymade masala and other spices for this. Finally, the pickle finds its way to the bottles.8221;

Todkar charges Rs. 4 per kg. for chopping and Rs. 10 per kg. for making the pickle. This excludes the material cost. In fact, his pickles are so popular that customers come all the way from Pimpri, Dapodi and Lonavala. And as a gesture of goodwill, Todkar gives them the mango seed powder. 8220;I boil the seeds, dry and then powder them. It is good for digestion.8221; Pickling, for Todkar, obviously means more than just pickles.

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