Our Achaar

For health and South Asian flavor seekers, Apasa's™ Green Chili Achaar offers adventure and authenticity in every bite because our handcrafted spicy and tangy fermented relish uses age-old fermenting techniques, 100% organic ingredients, and retains our gut-healthy probiotics.

What is Achaar? Originating thousands of years ago, achaar is a staple in most South Asian meals. Traditionally, it can be made with different vegetables, spices and oils, which are fermented for weeks or longer to preserve the food and infuse them with a rich and tangy flavor. There are many variations across regions of South Asia, all delicious and dynamic. Apasa's achaars are infused with organic spices such as turmeric and mustard seeds. Achaar is largely used as a spoonful side to a meal to add a punch of flavor and were, traditionally, used to aid in digestion from the naturally occurring probiotics generated during the fermentation process.

Why is Apasa's™ Achaar better? Most of the shelf stable (meaning they are not in the refrigerated section) achaars found at Asian stores and other groceries kill off their beneficial probiotics in the sterilization process and use cheaper ingredients to reduce costs. At Apasa™ Achaar we KEEP our gut healthy probiotics - just like our ancestors - and use only the healthiest organic ingredients and locally sourced, cold-pressed high oleic oils - with a commitment to fair labor practices and methods that regenerate our land and climate.

How to eat Apasa™ Achaar? Eat it with anything you want to add a probiotic punch of flavor and spice! Our customers eat it as a side with South Asian food (roti, naan, rice, daal, etc), as a condiment on a sandwich, with mac and cheese, egg rolls, bratwursts, fish - whatever you can dream up! A small spoonful goes a long way.

Where to find us? Look for us at the stores below in the refrigerated grocery aisle with the kimchis and sauerkrauts! Stores you can purchase us at:

Ferndale Market, Cannon Falls
Seasoned Specialty Foods Market, St. Paul
Seward Coop, Minneapolis (coming soon)

Upcoming Events we'll be doing tastings and selling at:

FEAST!, Rochester, MN, Nov 2nd
TurkeyFest at Ferndale Market, Cannon Falls, Nov 24th

- Ask your local stores to carry us!

- Follow us on Apasa's Instagram Page!

- Join our Newsletter to get deals and insights on healthier South Asian food!

Our Story

Apasa Foods™ was founded by Shalini Gupta in 2022 as a search for tasty, healthy south asian staples that were grounded in a practice of place, history, and social justice. Born in New Delhi, India, Shalini immigrated to Minnesota as a child with her family at the age of 7. Through research, writing and activism, she has committed her life's work to environmental health, climate justice, and fighting toxic polluting industries. Seeing the high rates of diabetes, heart disease and asthma in the South Asian community and her own family, she became committed to exploring what balance and belonging (in body and spirit) looked like, through Apasa.

Pramila Vasudevan, Apasa's creative director, has been with Apasa since its inception, and plays a critical role in the research and development of new products, and our company's practice of being in good relationship with place and community.

What does Apasa™ mean? The name Apasa™ plays off the Sanskrit word "ap" for water and reciprocity. It is an offering to be better connected and in reciprocity with the ancestral lands of the Dakota and Ojibwe people (Minnesota) - these lands that sustain us and that we now call home.

Shalini Gupta, Founder/CEO

shalini@apasafoods.com

Integrity in our Ingredients

We are committed to supporting small organic farms and just labor practices across our supply chain

Co-op Partners Warehouse

Co-op Partners Warehouse is a certified-organic, wholesale distributor in the Upper Midwest.

Apasa™ partners with CPW to source our organic peppers, heart healthy sunflower oils, and lemon juice - because CPW believes in partnering with small farmers and family farms who practice sustainable, organic agriculture.

Frontier Co-op

Apasa™ partners with Frontier Co-op to source our organic, fair trade spices. We support their mission to provide high quality, socially responsible products that include commitments to product quality, Fair Trade, organics, integrity, social responsibility and sustainable operations.

Redmond Real Salt

At Apasa™, we wanted to find a domestic mineral salt where labor practices were transparent. We like Redmond Real Salt because:

It comes from a pristine, underground salt deposit in Utah left behind by an ancient sea, containing 60+ trace minerals.
Real Salt and Himalayan salt (mined in Pakistan) are similar.
It's is sustainably mined with an awareness of environmental impact and ethical labor practices.

Watch the process: Mine to Table

Charu G.

"Apasa's probiotic pickle tastes exactly like the achaar I grew up with in Mumbai!”

Pat S.

"Apasa Achaars spice up our barbeques, they are great on top of hot dogs and burgers!"

Kate E.

“I love that Apasa uses sustainable ingredients, its a woman owned company, its local, its delicious."

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