Ingredients:
- Whole lemons – 10 nos
- Salt – as req
- Water – as req
Tempering:
- Gingelly oil – ½ cup
- Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
- Asafetida – 1 tsp
- Plain red chili powder – 1 tsp
- Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
- Pickle powder – 2 tsp
- Curry leaves – 1 sprig
- Jaggery – 1tsp
Pickle powder:
- Mustard seeds – 1 tblsp
- Fenugreek/ methy seeds – 1 tblsp
- Cumin seeds – 1 tblsp
Procedure:
- Wash and clean the lemons and pierce it using fork or some sharp knife edge.
- Now blanch the pierced lemons into a pot of hot water and let it sit in the same water for another 2-3 hours
- Later, cut the lemon into small pieces and put it into a jar with handful of salt (rock salt preferably)
- Let the salt and lemon mixture sit for some months (approx 2-3 months; or even you can leave the mixture as it is for year and use it as it is called “salt pickle/ uppu oorukai”)
- In between you have to keep the pickle jar in the sun once in two days.
- After a month, you can able to see the color change. Now it is ready for tempering.
Pickle Powder:
- Dry roast the mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds and cumin seeds individually and grind it finely altogether. Store it in a air tight container
Tempering:
- Wash the salted pickled lemons in warm water and keep aside
- Heat the gingelly oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds and allow it to splutter
- Turn off the flame and add the turmeric powder, plain red chili powder, salt (little) and pickle powder. Mix well
- Now add the lightly washed pickled lemons into the mixture and turn on the stove.
- Mix well and sauté it in the hot oil for about 4 mins and add the curry leaves, asafetida and jaggery powder. Mix well and turn off the flame.
- Cool completely and transfer into a clean glass pickle container and use a clean dry spoon every time for more shelf.
- The lemony, pickly and tasty “LEMON PICKLE” is ready to serve.
