Bhagalpur Achar Co
Run by Sushma Devi · Founded — first generation
"I started making achar for my children's tiffin. Now 30 women in our village do this work together.
Their Story
Bhagalpur Achar Co is a women-led artisan collective founded by Sushma Devi in Champanagar (Bhagalpur) in 1985. It started as a single-kitchen operation for her daughter’s school tiffin and now employs 30 local women who jointly own the brand. Every jar carries the hand-written maker name. Their aam, lemon, and karaunda achars are some of the most-ordered SKUs on TasteLokal.
How They Make It
Raw mango / lemon / chili / kathal is sun-dried for 2-3 days on terrace cots until just-leathery, never fully dry. The dried pieces are then mixed with hand-pounded masala (mustard, kalonji, fenugreek, fennel, asafoetida) and immersed in cold-pressed Kachi Ghani mustard oil. The jars sit in the sun for 7 more days to mature. No vinegar, no preservatives, no commercial spice blends — just sun, oil, and time.