Name: My Mother’s Bread and Butter Pickles
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon mustard seeds; 1–2 tablespoons ground turmeric; 2 teaspoons coriander seeds; 4–5 golden or red onions, finely sliced; 1 tablespoon allspice berries; 1 teaspoon black peppercorns; 1 long dried red chilli, roughly chopped, or 3–4 tiny whole dried red chillies; 4–5 bell peppers (any colour), finely sliced; 2 teaspoons dried oregano; 2 cucumbers, finely sliced; 1.2 litres/2 pints white wine or cider vinegar; 2 tablespoons salt; 450 g/1 lb soft brown sugar; a fingerful of fenugreek seeds

Preparation info

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Spirit & Spice

By Ghillie Basan

Published 2019

About

My mother based her recipe on one from The Maryland Cookbook, which she had picked up when we lived in America. The pickles get the name from their reputation of being so delicious that all you need is a little bread and butter with them. When I was a child, I certainly agreed with that hypothesis as I greedily ate them as if they were a refreshing, crunchy