Sirkewale Pyaaz or Pickled Onion makes for a great accompaniment for any Indian meal especially, North Indian styled meals. These beautiful. bright pink colored, crunchy, tangy and subtly sweet onions can take your meal up to another level.
Pearl onions or Shallots are used to make this pickle. Raw shallots are soaked in vinegar to get tangy and crunchy onions. I add some beet to get the rich color and some spices to add some punch to the flavor.
Often served in restaurants as an accompaniment with vegetables, rotis and green chili, you can easily make them at home to perk up your meals. 
Ingredients:
Pearl Onions/Shallots – 30
Beetroot, peeled and cubed – 1/2 cup
Green Chili – 2
Ginger – 1 inch long piece
Sugar – 1/4 cup
Salt – 1 tablespoon
Peppercorns – 2 tablespoons
Cloves – 4
Cinnamon – 1 inch long piece
Cardamom – 3 pods
Water – 1/2 cup
Vinegar – 1 1/2 cups
Method:
- Peel the onions. Wash them and pat them dry.
- Slice ginger into thin slices.
- Cut green chili into 1/2 inch long pieces.
- Boil water.
- Take beetroot cubes, ginger slices, green chili pieces, sugar, salt, peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon, crushed cardamom pods in a glass mixing bowl. I strongly recommend using glass bowl as any other ceramic bowls will get stained and metal bowls may react when vinegar is added.
- Add boiling water, mix well and transfer it into a large enough glass jar.
- Add onions and stir.
- Pour vinegar and stir.
- Keep it covered and refrigerated for at least 24 hours.
- Pick the onions from the solution and keep it in a glass bowl. These onions can be stored for about 10 to 12 days when refrigerated. Left over water-vinegar solution can be used to make another batch of pickled onions – just add onions and refrigerate.
Ingredients
Pearl Onions/Shallots - 30
Beetroot, peeled and cubed - 1/2 cup
Green Chili - 2
Ginger - 1 inch long piece
Sugar - 1/4 cup
Salt - 1 tablespoon
Peppercorns - 2 tablespoons
Cloves - 4
Cinnamon - 1 inch long piece
Cardamom - 3 pods
Water - 1/2 cup
Vinegar - 1 1/2 cups
Instructions
- Peel the onions. Wash them and pat them dry.
- Slice ginger into thin slices.
- Cut green chili into 1/2 inch long pieces.
- Boil water.
- Take beetroot cubes, ginger slices, green chili pieces, sugar, salt, peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon, crushed cardamom pods in a glass mixing bowl. I strongly recommend using glass bowl as any other ceramic bowls will get stained and metal bowls may react when vinegar is added.
- Add boiling water, mix well and transfer it into a large enough glass jar.
- Add onions and stir.
- Pour vinegar and stir.
- Keep it covered and refrigerated for at least 24 hours.
- Pick the onions from the solution and keep it in a glass bowl. These onions can be stored for about 10 to 12 days when refrigerated. Left over water-vinegar solution can be used to make another batch of pickled onions - just add onions and refrigerate.
Notes
1. I have added spices to add extra flavor to the onions. You can skip them and just add green chili. 2. If pearl onions or shallots are not available, you can slice the regular onions instead. These slices are great for sandwiches, burgers or even tacos.
