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This lemon pickle is easy to prepare and has a very good shelf life. Though it takes a few days for the lemon to soften, it is worth all the wait. It is also called Nimbe Uppinkayi in Karnataka.
Ingredients:
Lemon/Nimbehannu – 12 large (or 25 smalls ones)
Red Chilli Powder – 2/3 cups
Salt – 1/2 cup
Turmeric Powder – 2 tsps
Sesame/Gingley Oil – 1/2 cup
Asafoetida Powder – 1/2 tsp
Mustard Seeds – 1 tbsp
Fenugreek Seeds, dry roasted and powdered – 2 tsps
Method:
- Wash lemons and pat them dry using a clean dry cloth.
- Cut them into quarters or 8 pieces.
- Take a clean and dry bowl. Mix turmeric powder and salt.
- Add lemon pieces and mix well.
- Store in a glass/ceramic jar for 3 days.
- Heat oil in a pan.
- Add mustard seeds. When mustard seeds start spluttering, turn off the heat.
- Add asafoetida, mix well. Let it cool down completely to room temperature.
- In another clean and dry bowl, take chilli powder and fenugreek powder. Mix well.
- Add this to the cooled oil. Mix well until it blends well.
- Now add the salted lemon pieces to the oil mixture. Mix well.
- Store in glass/ceramic jar for 2-3 days. Mix thoroughly.
- Serve with curd rice.
- This can be preserved for a long time; atleast a few months.
Note:
- All the ingredients and the tools or utensils used must be absolutely free from any trace of water.
- You can discard the seeds of the lemon if you want to.
- While dry roasting fenugreek seeds, make sure that they roasted on medium flame and are not charred. The seeds must just be browned. Cool the seeds completely to the room temperature before powdering. I dry roasted about 2 tbsps of seeds so that my blender has the minimum quantity atleast to blend. You can store the remaining fenugreek powder for later use in any other recipes.
