Lalitha Pickles

Lalitha Pickles is run out of H. No -2-49 in the village of Lingapuram. We are part of the Chennaraopet area, and you can usually smell the spices before you even get to the door. Making pickles is a lot of work that depends on the sun and the seasons. We spend a lot of time cutting vegetables and mixing them with oils and chilies in big tubs. The house is often full of jars waiting to be filled and capped. It’s not a factory with machines; it’s just us using our hands and the recipes we’ve always used. When the mango season hits, everyone is busy from morning until night. The heat in Chennaraopet is actually good for the pickling process, even if it makes us sweat while we work. We don’t have fancy labels with barcodes and shiny plastic. We just use what works to keep the pickles fresh for as long as possible. People from the village and some from further away come to buy a few jars at a time. Sometimes we run out of a certain type because the ingredients weren't good at the market that week. We don't rush things because you can't hurry a good pickle. The kitchen floor is usually a bit stained from the turmeric, but that’s just part of the job. It’s a messy, honest way to make a living and we enjoy the process of it. Each batch is a little different depending on the harvest that month.