Kattoo Mittoo Achcharu Hut.

For centuries, pickling has been a method of preserving vegetables and fruits. But now, it's more of a snack that we make/buy whenever we have a craving for it – which is probably why achcharu carts are a common sight in Colombo.

Kattoo Mittoo Achcharu Hut doesn't necessarily have a physical hut, but they've been around for a while now. For the past year or so, we've met them at Colombo's many, many food festivals.

However, now they're operating from home, but still seem to deliver the tangy, fruity, spicy goodness that anyone would look for in a good achcharu.

How To Order

You can order Kattoo Mittoo's achcharu to your doorstep. They're pretty active on Facebook, so if you scroll through that, you'll notice what they are working on.

Or, you can simply grab them from Arpico – Hyde Park.

The Achcharu

Kattoo Mittoo doesn't just stick to the usual veralu, amba, amberalla and diwul range. They're super enthusiastic about what they do, so you'll spot a bunch of uncommon, and seasonal achcharu varieties on their menu – such as Maadang, and Rambutan. Aside from the seasonal ones, every other achcharu is priced at Rs. 200 a cup.

We ordered three varieties – Spicy Mango Achchcaru, Mixed Achcharu and Waraka (Jackfruit).

The sourest one out of the lot was the Spicy Mango. Chunks of amba, cooked and then pepped up with spices, it was good. Most of the pieces had the skin on, which we didn't mind as the sourness of them truly enhanced the flavour while riding alongside with the seasoning.
The Mixed Achcharu featured a bunch of Kattoo Mittoo's usual spread – wood apple, guava, pineapple, mango, lovi, ambarella, and veralu. This one is on the sweet side, but not annoyingly so, and had hints of salt and chilli flavours emerging through.

We enjoyed dipping the pieces of mango achcharu in this one's leftover juice. It's quite the flavour explosion.

Ah, Waraka! Beautifully bright yellow, you can sniff them from a mile away, and that aroma itself is enough to make you fall in love with it. And a taste of its sweet, juicy flavours would hook you up, making you go at it, bite after bite.

Kattoo Mittoo smothers these yellow pods in a blend of salt, pepper and chilli powder to create an ultimate achcharu variety. The dominating pepper flavour was lovely, while the chilli powder works its spicy magic, and they could have made this even better by adding a bit more salt to it.

Conclusion

All in all, we liked the achcharu done by Kattoo Mittoo Achcharu Hut. The freshness of the achcharu is guaranteed, as they make it fresh every day. Also, they steer clear of vinegar and other preservatives, which is another plus point.