Indian food is a magical explosion of contrasting flavours from various regions. But if there is one thing that bridges the culinary chasm, it’s the humble pickle. It is the perfect accompaniment to meals and fires up the palate with a sweet, spicy or tangy taste. Remember how that friend or relative always makes it a point to pack a bottle or two of homemade ‘achaar’ in their luggage when going abroad? Yes, we Indians are obsessed with pickles and veteran actress Neena Gupta is no different. Currently busy with her next film, she gave us a sneak peek from the set and we are salivating.

A video that Neena Gupta shared on Instagram Stories shows a sun-bathed courtyard that has been turned into a pickle-making arena. Lemons, raw mangoes, gooseberry, tamarind, cauliflower, green chillies and dry chillies are neatly arranged all around, along with salt, turmeric powder, chilli powder, oil and other spices. Also seen in the frame is the traditional ‘boti’, which was used to cut vegetables in the olden days and is now rarely found in modern Indian homes.

Don’t these pictures bring a wave of nostalgia, reminding you of the time when your grandmothers would sit under the open sky to make pickles? Take a look at it:

_{Neena Gupta shares snippets from her colourful set}

_{The set has been turned into a pickle-making arena}

(Also read: Neena Gupta Is On A South Indian Cooking Spree And We Have The Recipes)

This isn’t the first time that Neena Gupta served us with a dose of nostalgia. A couple of months ago, the actress shared a clip of a homemade snack, that reminded us of the days when ordering in wasn’t an option. So, whenever we felt hungry, we had to resort to our age-old recipes, that packed a punch in terms of flavours. Neena made chivda in her kitchen. In the video, we could see her mixing cashews, peanuts, raisins, herbs, green chillies among other ingredients with her hands to make the chivda. Watch the video here.

Apart from sharing recipes, Neena Gupta also shares kitchen hacks or “jugaad”  as she likes to call it. Neena had to grind bhuna jeera (roasted cumin) to add to curd and didn’t have access to mortar-pestle or grinder. In the video, we could hear her saying that, first, she tried a plastic water bottle to grind it. When that didn’t work, she used her thermos and it worked. Take a look at the video here.