Throughout India, pickles are enjoyed as a condiment with many meals, eaten with dal, rice dishes, parathas, or even many breakfast dishes such as pohé. Mango pickle is one of the most popular pickles throughout the country. There are many regional variations of it, each with its own unique blend of spices and flavors. But at its core it’s most often made from green, underripe mangoes, spices, and mustard seed– and spice-infused oil. 

My mother loved to make pickles this way, often with whatever fruits or vegetables she had on hand. They were a welcome burst of flavor to most of our meals, and my favorite was her mango pickle. On evenings when we had guests over to our home for dinner, the first thing she would do that morning was start macerating the pickles in plenty of salt and a spiced-infused oil, so they would be ready to serve later that night. She’d pickle whatever was on hand: carrots, cauliflower, peeled ginger, or my absolute favorite, mango. 

How Indian Pickles are Prepared 

In Western cooking, the term “pickling” most often refers to the food preservation method involving submerging food in an acidic solution, like vinegar, or via lactic acid fermentation. But most Indian pickles go through neither of these processes, and instead are preserved, or “pickled” by coating the mixture in salt and sugar and submerging in spiced oil.

Most homemade Indian pickles involve mixing vegetables or fruits (sometimes blanched or cooked first, but not always) with plenty of spices, salt, and oil. The pickle is then either packed into large ceramic pots known as bharani (or barni) and put in the sun for several days to ferment—the layer of oil on top inhibits mold growth while excluding oxygen—or it's allowed to macerate for a short period at room temperature and then transferred to the refrigerator for storage, which skips the fermentation in favor of speed and ease.. This recipe is the latter type—a quick refrigerated pickle that comes together in little time but is still bursting with flavor.

How to Make Quick Mango Pickle

This quick pickle is simple to make, but there are a few key things to get right so you end up with robust, zesty flavor and a crunchy, salad-like texture.

Selecting and Preparing the Mango

First, make sure to use green, unripe raw firm mangos that are not fully mature, not to be confused with underripe mangoes that will ripen soon (and have a thicker skin on them). As they sit in the salt and oil mixture, the mango pieces will soften slightly, but they'll still retain some of their firm texture. If you were to start with ripe mangos, the mango pieces would fall apart and become mushy. 

I personally prefer to leave the skin on my mangos when I make this pickle. I enjoy its chewy texture, and I find that it helps the mango flesh retain its shape even when cut into smaller sizes. That said, many people will prefer the pickle without the skin (and some may even have a mild allergic reaction to it), so the recipe below instructs you to peel the mango; note that when peeled, the mango should be cut into slightly larger pieces (the 1/2-inch size in my recipe below is a good ballpark) so they can better retain their shape even without the skin..

Tips on Preparing the Spiced Oil

One of the key components of the mango pickle is a spice-infused oil that adds flavor and a glistening, slippery texture. When I prepare the oil, I like to use an Indian seasoning wok, which is a small vessel specifically for this type of purpose. Many of you won't have this exact piece of cookware, but any small, flat-bottomed saucepan or carbon-steel skillet will work well.

The order of which spices are added to the hot oil also matters. The brown mustard seeds are added first. They will (and should) pop while cooking, so make sure to have a lid or cooking screen handy to contain the splatter.

The asafoetida, ground turmeric, Kashmiri red chile powder, and fenugreek seeds are then bloomed in the hot oil to round out its flavor. Asafoetida is a dried and ground gum resin that drips off the roots of an herb called ferula asafoetida, a central Asian plant in the celery family, and I love its assertive, oniony-garlic smell and flavor. (In the Indian state of Maharashtra, where my family is from, the combination of asafoetida, mustard, and turmeric is often considered the “holy trinity” of seasonings.) 

The oil mixture is then tossed with the mango and left at room temperature to macerate—just make sure the oil has cooled before adding it to the mango, or it risks heating the fruit and turning it mushy. During the maceration time, the flavors will blend together, and the salt and sugar will soften the mango.

This recipe works well with other fruits and vegetables as well. I like to prepare it with carrots, cauliflower, or apples, or under-ripe pears. I’ve included measurements for these variations below the main recipe.

In a large metal bowl, toss diced mangoes with salt and jaggery or sugar until combined; set aside.

In a seasoning wok (see notes) or small heavy-bottomed saucepan or small carbon-steel skillet, heat oil until smoking, about 3 minutes. Test oil temperature with one mustard seed. If it pops right away, your oil is ready; if not, return heat to medium-high for 1 additional minute and retest. When ready turn off heat and immediately add mustard seeds to the saucepan and cover with the lid/screen. The mustard seeds will pop, making a sound like popping corn, about 30 seconds.

Once the popping stops, uncover the pan and add the turmeric, red chile powder, asafetida, and fenugreek to the pan, stir gently to mix. Let the oil cool completely, about 30 minutes.

Scrape the cooled oil onto the mango and mix well. Taste the mango and add more salt or sugar if desired.

Let mango stand at room temperature, stirring occasionally until well macerated, at least 3 and up to 4 hours. Then transfer to an airtight glass container or jar and refrigerate until ready to use. Before serving, stir to combine and serve in a small bowl as a condiment.

Variations

Carrot Quick Pickle: Substitute mango with 2 1/2 pounds medium carrots, cut into 1/4 -inch pieces, and continue with recipe as written.

Cauliflower Quick Pickle: Substitute 1 large head cauliflower (about 2 pounds), trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch florets and continue with recipe as written.

Pear or Apple Quick Pickle: Substitute 4 crisp apples or slightly underripe, firm pears; core and cut into 1/2-inch chunks, leaving the peel on. Continue with recipe as written.

Special Equipment

Metal or glass mixing bowl, large metal spoon (so turmeric does not stain it), Indian seasoning wok or a small sauté pan, canning jars or glass containers for storage

Notes

Make sure to use unripe mango that are not yet mature and will not mature, and not to be confused with underripe mangos, which are mature mangos that just have not peaked in ripeness yet.

If using jaggery, a couple seconds in the microwave will help soften it. Then you can chop it just like chocolate with a bread knife. Alternatively, a microplane works as well.

Asafetida can be found at most Indian grocers. I recommend the powder sold in small jars, rather than large plastic containers, because the plastic can hold the aroma. Keep it tightly shut between uses, otherwise the smell will pervade your entire kitchen. While it adds a distinct flavor to the chutney, you can omit it if unavailable, though the chutney will be less aromatic.

A seasoning wok is a small wok that is used in Indian cooking for toasting spices and for making seasoned oil blends. They generally are made from thicker metal than Chinese woks. I often use a seasoning wok at home to make spice blends for a variety of dishes, but a small sauté pan or skillet will work well in its place.

Make-Ahead and Storage

The pickle can be stored in airtight jars and refrigerated for up to 1 week.

For some home cooks, whipping up a homemade dessert that's delicious and Passover-appropriate sounds too daunting even to attempt. While there's certainly nothing wrong with going store-bought, that's not your only option. Below, we've gathered 12 of our favorite Passover-friendly sweets—including coconut macaroons, flourless chocolate cake, and a light and fluffy angel food cake—that will impress everyone at your seder.

A note about the recipes that follow: Though some were designed with Passover in mind, others are meant to be more all-purpose, which means some of them contain ingredients not considered kosher for Passover—or, at least, not considered by everyone to be such. Ordinary vanilla extract and vanilla paste are not considered kosher for Passover; you may substitute a kosher vanilla extract or the scraped beans from a vanilla pod. As dietary restrictions and traditions vary widely, we've chosen here to offer a range of recipes to meet a range of preferences, with the hope that everyone will be able to find a dish that they love.

Chocolate Mousse

Rich with bittersweet flavor and light as a cloud, chocolate mousse is a simple, elegant dessert that’s deeply satisfying to eat. And because it has to made ahead of time, it's the ideal dessert for entertaining.

Double-Caramel Flan

This gorgeous custard is chock-full of caramel, while a higher-than-usual ratio of egg yolks and cream makes it pleasantly rich. Tempering the eggs before combining them with the caramel, cream, and milk ensures that they incorporate smoothly.

Chocolate-Dipped Coconut Macaroons

In our version of the classic Passover dessert, we toast unsweetened coconut flakes to deepen their color and flavor. For subtle vanilla and almond flavors, this recipe calls for vanilla paste and nut liqueur instead of the typical extracts; substitute kosher vanilla extract or vanilla beans if necessary to keep the macaroons kosher.

Honey-Vanilla Almond Cake

Ground whole almonds or store-bought almond meal serves as a flavorful stand-in for wheat flour in this pretty cake. The dessert gets its airy texture from whipped egg whites, and little acid in the form of lemon juice helps stabilize the whites before they're mixed into the batter. This recipe calls for butter to grease the pan, but you could easily swap it out for oil to make this a parve dessert.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

This flourless chocolate cake is rich and pleasantly bittersweet, with crisp edges and a fudgy interior that comes from folding melted chocolate into a mixture of whole eggs and sugar that have been whipped until thick and pale. (To make this cake truly flourless, skip the baking spray with flour. Grease the cake pan by brushing it with softened butter, dusting it with cornstarch or your gluten-free flour blend of choice, then shaking out the excess.)

The Ultimate Gluten-Free Angel Food Cake

This cake is phenomenally light and fluffy, thanks to a blend of gluten-free flours and whipped egg whites. Combining egg whites and sugar all at once creates a dense but stable meringue, and whisking it in stages creates a fine network of air cells for a delicate crumb.

Chocolate-Meringue Cookies

Chocolate lovers will love these light little meringue cookies, which put the bittersweet flavor of high-quality dark chocolate front and center. Making the meringue itself constitutes the lion's share of the work here, and even that isn't as tough as you might think it is.

Earl Grey and Vanilla Poached Pears

For the simplest dessert, poach your pears in a fragrant mixture of Earl Grey tea and vanilla. This dish is subtly sweet with a delicate floral flavor—plus, it comes together in one pot and requires just about 30 minutes to make.

Meyer Lemon Ice Cream

Brighten up your Passover table with this zesty Meyer lemon ice cream, which is packed with fresh Meyer lemon juice and zest, along with a dash of citrus liqueur. Note that this recipe contains a small amount of cornstarch, which some may want to avoid during Passover.

Tishpishti (Sephardic Jewish Nut Cake)

Our version of this festive dessert features grated apple—which tenderizes what might otherwise be a heavy cake—and a heady mix of spices and citrus. A final soak in apple brandy–ginger syrup infuses it with a subtle spice and sweetness.

Creamy Whipped Greek Yogurt

Looking for a tasty dairy dessert that's about as easy as it gets? Whipping Greek yogurt using a stand mixer may sound a little too simple, but the texture it takes on—like a hybrid of thick yogurt and fluffy whipped cream—makes it an extremely luxurious dessert, especially when layered with fresh or roasted fruit. Heavy cream thickens the yogurt, a touch of honey lends gentle sweetness, and rosewater or vanilla bean gives it a floral note.

Mango Sorbet

Sweet, buttery Ataúlfo mangoes are in season this time of year, so Passover is the ideal occasion to make a batch of this simple yet devastatingly good sorbet—all it takes is mangoes, lime juice, sugar, and a little salt. Thanks to the high ratio of fruit to water, the sorbet churns up extremely rich and creamy, with a beautiful deep-golden color.

Kitchen essentials are the foundation of successful home cooking. You’ll want an excellent frying pan, a Dutch oven that’ll last ages, and a trustworthy toaster oven. If you’re looking to upgrade some gear to make your kitchen run more smoothly, we’ve sniffed out some deals at Williams Sonoma that are too tempting not to share. We sorted through the brand’s spring sale and found an enameled Staub cocotte for 50% off, plus our all-time favorite Breville toaster oven for $50 off.

Staub 3-Quart Enameled Cast Iron Deep Oven

Staub makes one of our favorite Dutch ovens, and this 3-quart deep version is a steal at 50% off. It has the same durable cast iron construction as the one we love, with a dark enameled interior that resists chipping and staining. Staub cast iron sears well, heats uniformly, and cleans up without a hitch.

Breville Smart Oven Pro

This toaster oven has been our editors’ favorite for years. It produces toast that’s golden brown across the entire surface, with no light or dark spots. It can also cook a 10-inch frozen pizza to perfection.

Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro

Get two countertop appliances in one with this air fryer toaster oven that produces crispy fries and crunchy chicken wings. It also toasts, bakes, broils, roasts, dehydrates, slow cooks, and more.

Le Creuset 8-Quart Enameled Cast Iron Oval Dutch Oven

This Le Creuset oval Dutch oven is ideal for your grandest of meals, like a Biryani-style whole roast chicken. Its spacious 8-quart capacity fits enough food to feed a large group of people. Plus, we’ve always liked that a Le Creuset is well-designed enough to go straight from the oven to the dinner table.

Le Creuset Round Straight Wall Ramekin, Set of 2

Every kitchen needs a set of stoneware ramekins. They’re great for serving snacks or baking individual chocolate soufflés. We loved that the inset bottoms on these Le Creuset ones allow them to stack neatly (no more toppling towers). They cook food thoroughly and clean up quickly by hand or in the dishwasher.

Staub Enameled Cast Iron Grill Pan

We recommend this Staub grill pan to get deep char marks on your paninis or burger patties. Thanks to its tough enamel coating, it’s a breeze to clean—even stuck-on food bits don’t stand a chance. It’s also nearly $100 off.

Global Classic Hollow-Ground Vegetable Knife

This is one of our top nakiri knife picks. It’s super sharp, well-balanced, and cleaves cleanly through produce. Be it fibrous carrots or thick sweet potatoes, it slices and dices smoothly. 

All-Clad D3 Tri-Ply Stainless-Steel Fry Pan

Many of our editors swear by All-Clad stainless steel cookware. This pan has been among our top picks for frying pans for a long time thanks to its excellent searing and heating capabilities. It can produce crispy salmon fillets and release delicate fried eggs without a problem.

Why We’re the Experts

• An Uong is a writer for Serious Eats.
• An has been testing kitchen gear for Serious Eats for over two years.
• She loves a good deal, especially on kitchen equipment.
  

One of the best parts about Easter is, arguably, the big piece of lamb—impressive, succulent, and delicious—at the center of the table. Lamb can be gamey and dry, especially when it's poorly prepared. Made thoughtfully, however, lamb can be a delicious, tender, and mild cut of meat with just the right amount of gaminess. Below, you'll find our nine favorite lamb recipes for the Easter table, including an impressive crown roast of lamb and a slow-roasted leg of lamb rubbed with fragrant rosemary and garlic. (Need some help picking the best lamb for your celebration? Check out our guide to buying and cooking lamb.)

Pan-Roasted Rack of Lamb

With nothing more than a pan and some butter, garlic, and herbs, you can make an astoundingly delicious rack of lamb. An optional dry-brining step seasons the meat and dries the exterior for better browning, and basting the racks with hot fat helps it cook evenly.

Qidreh (Palestinian Bone-In Lamb With Spiced Rice)

Brimming with tender bone-in lamb and fragrant rice, qidreh is the hallmark dish of the Palestinian city of Hebron. Serve it with a side of plain yogurt and a chopped salad, which provide lightness and complement the dish's rich and earthy flavor.

Crown Roast of Lamb With Couscous Stuffing and Pistachio-Mint Sauce

Set on a bed of fluffy couscous and served with a pistachio-mint sauce, this crown roast of lamb is a show-stopping centerpiece fit for a holiday meal. Cook the lamb low-and-slow, then bump up the heat to give it a beautiful brown crust.

Grilled Butterflied Leg of Lamb With Rosemary, Garlic, and Mustard Crust

Rub your lamb with a fragrant mixture of garlic, mustard, olive oil, white wine, rosemary, lemon juice, and salt, then let it marinate for 12 hours. When you're ready to serve, all that's left to do is throw it on the grill.

Tender Braised Lamb Shanks With Bitter Herb Salad

A fragrant spice blend and a long, slow braise produce flavorful lamb shanks that practically melt off the bone. Here, anchovies give the dish a savory boost, and a mixture of spices—coriander seeds, fennel seeds, ground cumin, and smoked paprika—bring complexity and depth.

Roasted Spiced Lamb Ribs With Whole Grain Mustard Sauce

These lamb ribs are rubbed with a punchy mix of smoked paprika, fennel seed, chile flakes, and cumin, then slow-roasted until they're tender and juicy. Served with a whole grain mustard sauce, they're a meaty, satisfying main dish worth making for your holiday table.

Slow-Roasted Boneless Leg of Lamb With Garlic, Rosemary, and Lemon

Leg of lamb makes for a wonderful Easter roast. We especially like a boneless cut, which is easy to season inside and out and cooks more evenly than a bone-in leg. Rub the lamb with an aromatic mixture of garlic, shallots, rosemary, and lemon zest, then roast it until it has a crisp brown crust and a rosy medium-rare center.

Sichuan Roast Leg of Lamb With Celery-Mint Salad

Bring some heat to your Easter table with this Sichuan-inspired lamb dish. Seasoned with ground Sichuan peppercorns, cumin, dried red chiles, fennel seed, and star anise, each bite is satisfyingly hot and numbing—and will keep you coming back for more.

Braised Lamb Shoulder With Dried Chilies and Dates

Stressed about cooking for a crowd? This set-it-and-forget-it dish is as easy as it gets—and lets the oven do the hard work for you. A Dutch oven heats the meat evenly from all sides, allowing it to brown while becoming tender, and sweet dates balance the acidity of the tomatillos and the heat from the chiles.