Garlic Pickle (Poondu Oorugai)

Traditional Garlic Pickle (Poondu Oorugai) — small-clove country garlic (nattu poondu), hand-peeled and slow-fried in gingelly oil until the cloves turn translucent and sweet. This is a cooked pickle rather than a cured one, which makes it rounder and gentler — usually the first South Indian pickle people fall for.

Key Benefits

• Made with small-clove country garlic (nattu poondu), hand-peeled — more aromatic than large imported cloves and it holds its shape.
• Slow-cooked in cold-pressed gingelly oil in the traditional way, not brine-cured.
• Lower in salt than our fruit pickles — around 3,200 mg sodium per 100 g against 4,700–4,800 mg — because the garlic is cooked rather than salt-cured.
• The highest protein and fibre of our pickles — 5 g protein and 6 g fibre per 100 g, since garlic itself contributes the solids.
• No chemical preservatives, no synthetic colours.

Nutritional Information

This is a salted condiment, though lower in salt than our fruit pickles at roughly 3,200 mg sodium per 100 g (about 8 g of salt). Indicative values; figures printed on pack come from our own lab analysis of that lot.

Ingredients & Serving

• Ingredients: country garlic, cold-pressed gingelly oil, red chilli powder, tamarind, mustard, fenugreek, turmeric, asafoetida, salt, curry leaves, jaggery
• With curd rice or plain hot rice and ghee
• Alongside dosai, idli and adai
• With chapati, parotta or rotti
• As a starting point for anyone new to South Indian pickles

Storage Instructions

• Store in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight.
• Always use a dry spoon — a single drop of water is what starts mould.
• Keep the oil layer above the pickle after each use. Press the pieces down so they stay submerged.
• Unopened at room temperature: 9–12 months. After opening: 3–6 months at room temperature with the oil layer intact, or 9–12 months refrigerated.
• In Chennai's coastal humidity we recommend refrigerating after opening.

Certifications & Compliance

• FSSAI licensed food business — licence number displayed in our website footer.
• Complies with the FSS (Food Products Standards) Regulations 2011 for pickles in oil: drained weight not less than 60%, with the pieces submerged in oil.
• No Class II chemical preservatives, no synthetic colours, no added acetic acid. Preserved by salt, oil and the fruit's own acidity.
• Organic certification for our own ingredients: PGS-India / NPOP (certificate available on request).

Frequently Asked Questions

Do the cloves stay crunchy?
No — they soften and sweeten as the pickle matures. That is the intended texture.

Is it very spicy?
Milder than mango pickle. The oil-cooked garlic rounds off the chilli considerably.

Will it smell up my fridge?
Keep the lid tight — the jar is airtight and the pickle is sealed under oil.