This pickled vegetables recipe is from my mother-in-law, they call this Torshi which in Armenian translates to pickled vegetables. I've been thinking of foods that can be stored for lengthy periods, all due to COVID 19 and home made vegetable pickles came to mind. This recipe is fairly straightforward to follow and is done in under 10 steps. I've left the quantities open as you can adjust the amounts of particular veggies to how you want, e.g., if you would like more cauliflower over string beans, go for it. Without further ado, here is my Armenian torshi recipe.
Choosing vegetables to be pickled
It's a personal choice and or based on seasonality. However pickling vegetables that you know won't be in season for long might be a good option. Common vegetables that are pickled include;
- Cucumber - various varieties, I personally love the long Armenian variety
- Onion
- Garlic
- Caper-berries
- Radish
- Chillies
- Cabbage and more...
Steps to make pickled vegetables
- Cut carrots into sticks, cauliflower into florets, green capsicum into strips, cut string beans ends then half them.
- Toss veggies into a bowl and lightly salt them.
- Leave them for 1 hour to extract water from veggies.
- Use already pickled Armenian cucumbers and Lebanese cucumbers . This is optional
- Cut 1 or 2 slits down the length of 3 or 4 hot green chillies. Prepare 6 or 7 cloves of garlic per 1Ltr jar that you’re pickling
- Discard the liquid from the soaked veggies and combine all veggies together, then arrange them into sterilised jar
- In a separate bowl prepare 1 part water to 1.5 parts white vinegar and add salt to taste
- Add 1-2 tablespoons curry powder to taste
- Mix the liquid well until salt is dissolved and pour the mixture into a sterilised jar until all veggies are submerged
- Close the jar and store in the cupboard for two weeks before eating
Pickling Tips
Use recycled jars where possible, or choose jars that are large enough to pickle the quantity of vegetables you require
Sterilise the air tight jars before using, here is a quick video I found
Ensure the vegetables are good quality and as fresh as possible
Thoroughly wash your vegetables before starting the pickling process.
Completely submerge all your vegetables to be pickled. Any veggies that aren't submerged will ruin your efforts as mould will flourish
Once made, store your pickled veg in a cool place, out of bright lights for several weeks (about 2-4 weeks) before consuming
Once opened, store in the fridge if you'd like cool pickles/tourshi or leave in room temp pantry in a cool and dark place
Mix up your spices, if you prefer another favourite spice of yours over curry (as listed in this pickled recipe) try it out!
Another type of pickling is sauerkraut.
Basics of pickling brine
The basic brine in this pickling recipe is one part water and 1.5 parts vinegar. Choose good quality vinegar and adjust the ratio to your liking.
Vinegars that will work for pickle brine include white vinegar, apple cider, white wine, and rice vinegar. White vinegar was used in this recipe.
You can enjoy these pickles as a side to my mouthwatering Maqlouba (Upside-down vegetable rice).
You may also wish to check out how to make dill pickles.
Did you make this? I'd love to know! Leave me a comment below with a ★★★★★ star rating or tag @plantbasedfolk on social media.
Recipe
Pickled Vegetables
Ingredients
- 1 Carrots cut into sticks
- 1 Cauliflower cut into florets
- 1 Green capsicum cut into strips
- 300 g String beans cut ends off and then half
- 300 g Armenian cucumber already pickled (optional)
- 2 Hot green chillies cut 1 -2 slits in them
- 20 Garlic cloves
- 1 Water
- 1 Vinegar
- 1 Salt to taste
- 1 Curry powder to taste
Instructions
- Cut carrots into sticks, cauliflower into florets, green capsicum into strips, cut string beans ends then half them.
- Toss veggies into a bowl and lightly salt them.
- Leave them for 1 hour to extract water from veggies.
- Use already pickled Armenian cucumbers and Lebanese cucumbers . This is optional
- Cut 1 or 2 slits down the length of 3 or 4 hot green chillies. Prepare 6 or 7 cloves of garlic per 1Ltr jar that you’re pickling
- Discard the liquid from the soaked veggies and combine all veggies together, then arrange them into sterilised jar
- In a separate bowl prepare 1 part water to 1.5 parts white vinegar and add salt to taste
- Add 1-2 tablespoons curry powder to taste
- Mix the liquid well until salt is dissolved and pour the mixture into a sterilised jar until all veggies are submerged
- Close the jar and store in the cupboard for two weeks before eating
Notes
- quantities should be adapted to suit your needs
- number of servings will vary according to your quantitites
Equipment
Nutrition
N.B., nutrition info is an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator. This will vary based on the specific ingredients you use.
If you enjoyed this recipe, consider supporting my work for the cost of a cup of coffee.
For more preservation ideas, here's a recipe for preserving your food an aubergine chutney recipe. Also, here is something different - Makdous is an exotic pickled eggplant stuffed with a walnut mixture.
Another recipe you may find easy to make is my delicious sticky vegan brussels sprouts.
Kimberly
Help! The first batch of pickled vegetables was perfect. So yummy! I made a second batch and while it tasted delicious, some of my veggies were mushy. I don’t think I did anything differently. Do you have any idea why this might have happened and what I can do to remedy this? Also, can I still reuse the brine or should I toss it? Thanks so much for your help and for this amazing recipe! : )
Janelle Hama
Hi Kimberly,
I would say that the pickles were left in the brine for too long or the veggies were a little older. Always try and use the best quality type of veg for pickling. It is best to start over
Kimberly
Okay, I’ll try again with super fresh veggies and won’t reuse the brine. Thanks for your advice. : )
Penny Henson
I have already started with pickles and that was fun, now i want to try other vegetables, we all love them pickled, and also learning how to preserve meats. looks interesting to me, we will see.
Janelle Hama
Hi Penny,
Pickling is fun and rewarding, good luck with it all.
J
Jaimie
Pickling really is the most simple thing, with beautiful results... don't you think! thanks for breaking it down!
plantbasedfolk
Hey Jaimie,
I completely agree with you - pickling is so underrated - more people need to jump on learning how to pickle veggies (and fruit)
Laith
i made this with cucumber, carrot, onion and cauliflower. and they were a hit! curry gave them that extra spice.
plantbasedfolk
Oh good! nice combo of vegetables that you pickled 🙂
Maria Sabaaq
Lovely idea for storing food. I made these pickled vegetable. was fun to do. I can't wait to eat them in a few weeks.
plantbasedfolk
You'll love these pickled vegetables once they are ready!