Homemade Achar in Pakistan, Made the Traditional Way!

Vinegar-free, preservative-free achar made in small batches with pure mustard oil — since 2017.

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al afraah best pickle in pakistan, paratha achar favourite pakistni braekfast
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Hamari Kahani Parhein!
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Vinegar Free!

No preservatives!

Pure
Mustard Oil!

Homemade batches!

Best Selling Achars……

From everyday favourites to traditional mixed varieties, find Pakistani achar made to bring that familiar desi taste to every meal.
The jars our customers keep coming back for……….Loved by families across Pakistan — Tested, Appreciated and Reordered!

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Why Vinegar – Free Matters!

achar banane ka tarika , how to make pickles? pic illustration

Most pickle brands in Pakistan use vinegar because it’s cheap and it speeds up the process. But traditional Pakistani achar was never made this way. Our grandmothers used pure mustard oil, real spices, and time — letting the achar mature naturally over weeks, not days. That’s the difference vinegar skips.
Vinegar-based achar tends to have a sharp, sour bite and can leave a burning sensation in the throat, especially for kids, elderly family members, and pregnant women who need to be extra careful about what they eat. Mustard oil, on the other hand, is a natural preservative on its own — it doesn’t need vinegar or added chemicals to keep achar fresh for months.
At Al-Afraah, we still make achar the old way: hand-cut vegetables and fruits, roasted spices, and pure mustard oil, matured slowly in small batches. It takes a little more patience, but that slow, traditional approach is the one Al-Afraah has chosen to follow since 2017.
No shortcuts, no vinegar, no chemical preservatives — just achar the way it was always meant to be made.

  • Washing
  • Chopping / Slicing
  • Masla Mixing
  • Mustard Oil (Natural Preserver)
  • Natural Maturing
  • Ready to serve after a month maturing….

Lines from the Founder!

Meet Rehab Iftikhar, Founder of Al-Afraah
Hi, I am Rehab Iftikhar, the founder of Al-Afraah. What started as achar, made at home for my own family turned into a business in 2017, when friends who tasted it kept asking for a jar of their own. My husband noticed both the growing demand and a lack of availability for traditionally prepared homemade achars. That simple observation helped turn a family recipe into Al-Afraah in 2017.
Every recipe here is still made the same way — pure mustard oil, real spices, no vinegar, no shortcuts. Al Afraah has always believed to bring the same comfort to your table that it has always brought to mine.

Signature Product Spotlight — Chopped Mixed Achar Since 2017

Our Chopped Mixed Achar has been Al-Afraah’s signature jar since 2017 — the very different recipe, the traditional taste of achar chopped in small pieces. It began as a hit in family that we made in small batches for our own home, until friends who tasted it started asking to buy some. That request became a business, and this achar is still made the exact same way today: hand-chopped mango, lemon, carrot, and green chili, slow-matured in pure mustard oil with a spice blend that’s stayed unchanged for years. No vinegar, no preservatives — just the tangy, spicy, homemade taste that made people ask for more in the first place. It’s the jar most of our customers reorder, and once you try it, you’ll understand why.

Try the Achar that started it all…
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Frequently Asked Questions

Achar, also written as achaar, is called pickle in English. In Pakistan, achar usually refers to fruits or vegetables prepared with salt, spices and masala using a traditional pickling method. Pakistani achar is commonly served in small portions alongside everyday meals, from paratha and daal chawal to sabzi, pulao and other home-cooked foods.

Mango Achar is the baseline of every achar. It is made with raw mangoes washed and dried. Perfectly Sliced Pieces of mango are mixed with perfect achar masala ingredients including six herbs in perfect ratios along with required amount of salt. Then finally Pure premium Quality Mustard oil is added to the mixture for it to preserve. After addition of oil, the achar is cared almost for a month to settle down to its perfection, ready to be available in market.

Since Achar has oil and sodium therefore it increases weight if taken in excessive amounts. However in Al-Afraah’s homemade achar, some ingredients in Achar Masala recipe may support metabolism and fat breakdown. Moderation is crucial and therefore small quantities with less oil intake can help in weight loss.

Achar is healthy when taken in moderation since it homemade achars without preservatives have ingredients that support metabolism and have probiotics. It helps gut health and immune system. However its high sodium and oil content is the concern, so consuming achar in small amounts is the key. Therefore always choose homemade options in achar and with original traditional recipes.

Achar is the subcontinental dish which is made with unripe mangoes mixed with different herbs/spices and salt in specific ratios. Finally the mixture is preserved in Pure Mustard Oil. It is the old Natural preserving methods of fruits and vegetables. Usually served with rice, daal and Paraths in breakfast, it enhances the tastes of subcontinent dishes.

The common pickle meaning in Urdu is اچار (achar). You may also see it written in English as achar or achaar. While “pickle” is the general English term, desi achar has its own South Asian character because recipes commonly use a stronger mixture of spices, salt and masala, with some traditional varieties prepared in oil.

Pakistani achar is typically known for its bold masala and combination of spices, salt and fruits or vegetables. Recipes vary between families and regions, which is why you will find many forms of desi achar and Punjabi achar. Al-Afraah follows a traditional oil-based approach using pure mustard oil rather than making vinegar the base of the recipe.

Al-Afraah’s achar is vinegar-free. Most pickle brands in Pakistan quietly use vinegar because it’s fast and cheap. We don’t. Al-Afraah’s achar is made purely with mustard oil, which naturally preserves the achar without any vinegar or added chemicals. The result is a milder, more authentic desi achar taste — without the sharp sourness or throat irritation vinegar-heavy achar can cause, especially for kids and elderly family members.

No. We do not add chemical preservatives to Al-Afraah achar. Our approach centres on small-batch preparation, pure mustard oil, salt, spices and careful maturing. Being preservative-free and being vinegar-free are two separate things, and Al-Afraah follows both principles: no added chemical preservatives and no vinegar in our achar recipes.

Our process starts with preparing the main ingredients before combining them with traditional spices, salt, achar masala and pure mustard oil. The achar is then given time to mature so its flavours can develop together. Although there are many answers to how to make pickles, Al-Afraah specifically follows the oil-based method behind our family recipe rather than a vinegar-based preparation

Always use a clean, dry spoon when taking achar from the jar and close the lid properly after use. Because it’s made with pure mustard oil rather than water-based brine, our achar naturally stays fresh for months at room temperature, as long as you always use a clean, dry spoon and keep the jar tightly closed. Store it in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight.

You can buy homemade achar online in Pakistan directly from Al-Afraah. Explore our range of traditional Pakistani achar, choose the varieties your family enjoys and order through our online store. Our achar comes conveniently packed in jars for delivery, making it easy to enjoy traditional desi achar without having to search for homemade pickles near you.

Yes — our achar is made without vinegar or chemical preservatives, using only mustard oil, natural spices, and hygienic small-batch preparation. That said, achar of any kind is naturally high in salt and oil, so it’s best enjoyed in moderation as a side dish, not a main course. If you have specific dietary concerns during pregnancy, do check with your doctor first.

Every jar starts with hand-picked, hand-cut fruits and vegetables — mango, carrot, green chili, lemon, and more depending on the achar. These are mixed with roasted, ground spices and pure mustard oil, then left to mature naturally over several weeks. No shortcuts, no factory lines — just small batches made the way homemade achar has always been made in Pakistani kitchens.

Yes — we deliver our achar across Pakistan, and Cash on Delivery (COD) is available on orders. Whether you’re ordering achar in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, or a smaller city, you can buy pickles online through our website and have them delivered straight to your door, packed carefully in a proper achar jar to avoid any leakage.

Most market and factory achar is made in bulk, using vinegar and preservatives to cut down production time and extend shelf life — even when the label doesn’t say so. Homemade achar, like ours, takes weeks to mature naturally in mustard oil, with no shortcuts. It takes longer to make, but it’s the closest you’ll get to the desi achar your family used to make at home.