To me there is nothing that screams ‘I care for you’ than receiving a jar of homemade pickle made with care, love and dedication! When I first tasted a Spicy Lemon/Lime Pickle or Nimbu Ka Achaar made by my good friend Vidya, I almost fell on her feet begging her to share the recipe. OK, I am exaggerating here! She is such a considerate and sweet person that she gave us a jar of Pickle as well as the recipe which she learnt from her mother. The recipe for this pickle is nothing like what my mother makes. The first step involves curing the wedges of lime or lemon pieces with copious amount of salt for few weeks before adding spices. The most interesting part of this recipe is the cured lemon pieces are cooked with the spices before finally storing in a sterilised jar. The curious ingredient other than the usual pickling spices is something I have unheard of, few garlic pods! Yes, garlic pods are used in making this pickle and surprisingly the combination of lemon/lime and garlic works quite well.
Like any other Indian pickle, this Spicy Lemon Pickle is time consuming as well as little bit of hard work. But like every Indian pickles, it is the most rewarding experience when you finally get to lick and bite the final product. Although some pickle tastes great when consumed at the earliest, this pickle gets better with age.
Ingredients:
4-5 medium Limes or 8-10 Indian Lemons
5-6 Green Chillies, finely chopped (Adjust as per taste)
3 large cloves of Garlic, finely chopped
1 ½ – 2 cups Salt or as per taste (I used rock salt)
Spices Used:
2-3 tbsp Red Chilli Powder (Adjust as per taste)
½ tsp Haldi/Turmeric Powder
1½ – 2 tsp Fenugreek Seeds
For Tadka/Tempering:
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
½ tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
½ tsp Hing/Asafoetida
2 springs of Curry Leaves
1 tbsp Oil (any neutral vegetable oil)
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