Pickled Pink

Once upon a time little pickled onions were served only in (North) Indian restaurants.
The “waiter” would thump a small bowl of vinegar onions on the table along with mango pickle and green chilies while you waited for the food to arrive. Smells wafting from the restaurant’s kitchen would drive you to an insane level of hunger and soon you would reach for a pink, pearly onion. You’d begin gently first, peeling the top leaf between your mouth. Tasting its subtle sweet flavor mixed with the sharpness of the vinegar.

You’d involuntarily close one eye, while keeping the other (eye) on the rest of the pink beauties. The vinegar-onions would send the taste buds tickling and you would experience a sharp rise in appetite.

The vinegar-pickled onions can play a starring role on your dinner buffet. Serve them with Butter Chicken or Matar Paneer and see how they orchestrate transformation on the table.

And while I was peeling these pearl onions for the pickle, the lush Cherry Belles on my kitchen counter also inspired me in a certain way.

There is something exotic about these bright-skinned radish with white insides. I washed and snipped off the stems of a handful of these and dunked them in white vinegar too, with some green chilies.

Apart from the fact that they are pretty on the eye, they also add some bright, lively bite to the buffet.

Quick-pickled vegetables provide a zesty complement to salads and entrées. But you already knew that.