Lemon Pickle/Nimbekayi Uppinakayi

Pickles are tempting, irresistible and slurrpp.....

For a international reader who requested for lemon pickle recipe...

Pre Notes:

All things which are used for pickle making should be washed and dried including your hands :D

Knife, cutting board, pickle mixing bowl, Measuring spoons and bowl, Jar with a tight lid to preserve pickle are few things which have to be washed and dried.

What you need :

Lemon : Wash, wipe with a clean dry towel. Quarter them with a knife which is precleaned and dried. Try to deseed the lemon as much as possible.

Salt : Iodine free salt

Red Chilli Powder : Buy from Indian stores. These days there are many brands which sell red chilli powder.

Seasoning Ingredients :

Oil (I have used sunflower oil), Mustard and Asafoetida (Mustard and Asafoetida are available in Indian/Asian Stores)

Method:

Same measuring cup should be used to measure all ingredients.

Step 1. 3 Cups of Quartered Lemons = 1/2 cup salt +1/4 cup redchilli powder + 1/2 cup of lemon juice

This is the standard measurement for pickles that I use. Spiciness of the pickle depends in the redchillipowder used. To have good color, add kashmiri red chilli powder. You can use 1 tbsp of kashmiri red chilli powder for this measurement.

Step 2. Mix Lemon and salt and lemon juice in a container and let it stand for 2-3 days. Keep mixing once in 12 hours. Keep the container closed. At the end of 3rd day you can see that salt has dissolved and mixed with lemons.

Step 3. Add red chilli powder and mix well. Transfer to pickle storing jar.

Step 4. This pickle takes atleast 6 -8 weeks to be ready to eat. Mix the contents of the jar twice a week.

Step 5. At the end of Week 8, Spoon the pickle and cut the edge of the lemon. If the pickle is done, you should be able to cut the lemon with minum force. You can feed the softness. Taste the lemon slice you have cut, it should NOT be bitter! Now the pickle is ready to use.

Step 6. At this stage, the consistency of the pickle is thick. To thin it down, we use boiled and cooled water. Water should be luke warm. Scoop out as much pickle as you want to another dry and sterile container which you want to use everyday. Add luke warm water and mix to the desired consistency.

Step 7. Heat a tsp of oil. Add asafoetida, after 30 seconds add 1/2 tsp of mustard seeds. Once mustard stops popping, switch off the stove and pour this seasoned mustard over the 'thined down' pickle and mix well. This pickle is ready to be served!

To increase the falvor and aroma : Dry roast 1 tsp mustard with 1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds separately. Powder them together. Add this powder at stage 3 along with red chilli powder and mix well.