I had only been in Pakistan for a few hours when I asked this question. Little green fruits or berries, I had no idea which ones, were presented like a pickle, accompanying the main courses. Now I forgot what they were, since I just wanted to know what a Lasora was. One of the male relatives present assured me that I would not like Lasora because the pickle was spicy. However, my husband put some on my plate and I really liked them. Unlike paan, this was a food that I quickly developed a taste for.
After months of not knowing what they were called in English, it finally became clear that they are known as gum berries. They don’t grow in Britain to my knowledge, but they do grow in the US, so please forgive my ignorance. For those readers who don’t know what they are, they are green and round, and they do resemble a green olive. They are sticky when freshly picked and are used as glue by children in the Punjab region of Pakistan. You can eat them raw, but they taste dried and are much better pickled. Use immature green gum berries for the recipe below that my husband and I came up with in our attempts to replicate the pickle I enjoyed so much on my first day in Pakistan. (People here in Pakistan use the ripe yellow fruit of the gum berry tree as a vegetable.)
In the Punjab there are people called ‘changar’ (Pakistani gypsies) who used to, and perhaps still live, in the forests, and it is said that before sleeping, they sweep the area where they will sleep with a broom made of twigs. and branches of the gum berry tree to ward off evil. Also the expression ‘to stick like glue’ to someone in English is to stick like Lasora in Urdu and Punjabi. This phrase is especially used when young children won’t leave you alone.
The bark of the Lasora tree and its roots are made into an infusion and drunk to cure coughs, sore throats and colds. It is also supposed to cure indigestion. It’s nice to know that something so tasty is actually good for you.
MEETING OF LASORA AND MANGO
Ingredients
500 g Lasora (immature green gum berries)
Oil as required
4 tablespoons of salt
3 tablespoons of turmeric
3 tablespoons fenugreek seeds, coarsely ground
1 tablespoon mustard seeds, coarsely ground
1/2 teaspoon asafoetida
150 g diced mango
4 tablespoons red chili powder
method
Cut each berry and rub them with a mixture of salt and turmeric. Leave the red chili powder, but mix in all the other spices.
Heat about 2 cups of oil in a skillet and let cool. When warm, top the spices and mix well.
Dry fry the salt over low heat for 1 minute, then add the red chilli powder and dry fry for another 1 minute. Mix this into the spice mix, stirring well.
Now add the berries and mango chunks to the mixture and coat well with the mixture.
Transfer to a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid and let it rest for 4/5 days.
On day 5 or 6, heat enough oil to cover the fruit and mix into the pickle when cool. Cover the jar well and leave it for a week.
You can leave it for longer, of course, and it will keep for a few months, if it’s still around after all this time! Make sure the spoon you use to scoop the pickle out of the jar is dry or it will spoil.
You can reuse the oil for the next batch of pickles when you finish it.
