The air around South Mada Street is heavy with the scent of fresh turmeric, mango ginger and citrons. March and April are the peak months for vadu manga (also known as maavadu), with markets flooded with varieties of the tiny, unripe mangoes. Traditionally prepared without oil, they are made into pickle using turmeric, chilli powder, mustard seeds and salt in carefully balanced proportions.

A summer ritual in every jar

“I sell Thirumurthi mala vadu, a long variety, as well as urundai vadu from the Madurai region, Periyakulam vadu, Coimbatore vadu and Azhagarkoil vadu, which is greenish and round with red stems,” says M Mallika, 78, who has been selling vegetables near Chitrakulam in Mylapore for the past 60 years.

Along South Mada Street, more than a dozen vegetable vendors stock seasonal pickling ingredients during the summer months, including vadu manga, avakkai mangoes, kadaranga (kefir lime), narthangai (citron), lemons, manga inji (mango ginger), nellikkai (gooseberry), mahali kizhangu (an aromatic root used in traditional pickles) and fresh turmeric.

“This month, the focus has shifted to avakkai mangoes, most of which arrive from Andhra Pradesh. Although the vadu manga season is over, we can still source them for customers on request, albeit at a slightly higher price. Vadu manga from Kancheepuram and Vellore are expected over the next few weeks,” says Ezhil Arasi, whose shop is located opposite Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan on East Mada Street, adding that most of the vendors source mangoes via agents in Koyambedu market.

Ezhil says she has been selling about 100 kilograms of vadu manga a day during the peak season. Demand for avakkai mangoes also remains steady, with sales of nearly 10 to 25 kilograms a day.

K Kabali, another vendor selling avakkai mangoes, says most of his produce comes from Andhra Pradesh, while mahali kizhangu is sourced from the Kolli Hills and fresh turmeric from Erode.

Vendors offer to cut avakkai mangoes according to customers’ requirements, charging ₹40 per kilogram for the service, making the process easier for the city’s many home picklers.

From market to home kitchens

S Prasanna, who learnt pickling from his mother and aunt, says he has made multiple batches of vadu manga pickle this season. “I usually visit the vendors near Chitrakulam to handpick my vadu manga and this year I bought 30 kg of Coimbatore vadu, a variety known for minimal shrinkage,” says Prasanna. This season, he has also been making salted kadaranga (kefir lime) pickles and experimenting with a sweet-and-spicy mango pickle. The recipe combines jaggery and spices to create a zingy flavour profile.

“Vadu manga pickle is prepared through a lacto-fermentation process and requires strict hygiene standards. We use food-grade containers throughout the process. We also make avakkai pickles without garlic,” says Prasanna, who sources avakkai mangoes from a supplier in the Thiruvanmiyur market area. He says he has made six kilograms of avakka pickle, five kilograms of thokku manga pickle and close to 25 kilograms of vadu mango pickle this summer.

Recipes preserved through generations

In Besant Nagar, Sri Vidhya Coffee is known for its range of home-style pickles, podis and vadams. Its proprietor, octogenarian Vidhya Srinivasan, has a room lined with glass jars and plastic buckets filled with pickles. She is particularly popular for her vadu manga and garlic pickles.

“Until the pandemic, I would hire an autorickshaw and travel to the Mada Streets in Mylapore to source the best ingredients directly from vendors. These days, however, my vendor delivers everything I need to my doorstep. Having been a loyal customer for over 40 years, I have never had to compromise on quality,” says Vidhya.

She adds, “Making avakkai pickle is a labour-intensive process. The mangoes must first be washed and shade-dried, then wiped clean and left overnight to ensure there is no moisture. The next morning, we assemble the spices, salt and oil before mixing the ingredients thoroughly. Each batch fills a 50 kilogram bucket and is left to mature for about a fortnight. Hygienic handling is crucial; even a small amount of contamination can lead to mold and spoil the entire batch,” she explains. According to Vidhya, the secret to enhancing the flavour lies in adding fenugreek powder and asafoetida after the pickle has matured for two weeks.

Mahali kizhangu (botanical name Decalepis hamiltonii, is an aromatic forest tuber that is widely used for pickling in South India) pickle is another variety that enjoys strong demand, particularly from customers outside Chennai. “Preparing mahali kizhangu is time-consuming, as the roots must be cleaned with great care. I prepare the pickle in batches and, when customers place an order, I mix a portion with buttermilk (moru mahali uruga),” she says.

New influences, old traditions

Better known for her fruit preserves and jams sold under the brand name 101 Strawberries, Thamima Shamsuddin also prepares a range of pickles using lemon, mango, gooseberry, carrot and garlic. “I visit the Koyambedu wholesale market to source the best mangoes, lemons and amla during the season. Over the years, my vendor has become a friend and often alerts me when the finest-quality produce arrives,” says Thamima. She draws inspiration from her daughter’s family. “My daughter is married to a man of Kurdish origin. In their family, pickles are made in large barrels using a mix of vegetables, vinegar, salt and garlic. They are served with almost every meal. The flavour profile is completely different from that of our South Indian pickles,” she says.

From vathals to pickles

Back in Mylapore, Mallika says customer patterns have been changing over the years. “From the 1960s until the late 1990s, customers would buy vegetables such as brinjal, cluster beans, green chillies and sundakkai (Turkey berry) in bulk during the summer months to prepare vathals and mor milagai for use during the rainy season. The process involved careful sun-drying over several days. Today, with more women in the workforce and busier lifestyles, fewer households have the time to prepare and dry vathals at home. Instead, pickling has gained popularity because it is less time-consuming and requires little or no sun-drying. Once the ingredients are assembled, the pickling process can be completed within a few hours.”

As Chennai’s summers grow hotter and lifestyles busier, the city’s picklers continue to preserve more than just mangoes and lemons. In every bucket of avakkai lies a tradition, a family recipe, that has adapted with the times, yet remains deeply rooted in the season.