Lemon Pickle (South Indian style)

Homemade Lemon Pickle

This is my mother in law’s recipe. Every time she visits us, she makes a huge batch of lemon pickle and somehow it all gets over by the time she’s back next year! That’s how good it is! Its salty and acidic and the fragrance of the fresh lemons linger for a long time even after one year if properly maintained and more importantly if it lasts that long!

Lemons are just wonderfully fresh here where I live and are in season during the summer. They are just slightly sweet and fruity and incredibly juicy. Plus they are larger than Indian lemons, so I have used just 10 of them but if you are making it with smaller ones, you will need to double the quantity of lemons.

Ingredients

Lemons, large	10 approx
Salt	2 heaped Tbsp
Red chilly powder	2 Tbsp
Asafoetida	1 Tbsp
Turmeric	1 tsp
Fenugreek seeds	1.5   Tbsp
Oil	2 Ladles or ½ cup
Mustard Seeds	1 Tbsp

  Sugar                                                                    1 tsp

Method 

Chop the lemons into cube sized pieces and remove the seeds. Then add the cut lemon pieces to a large wide vessel with slit green chillies. You can omit the chillies but I like to add them for that unique flavor. If skipping the green chillies you can increase the red chilly powder slightly to get the required heat. Add all the salt.

 I actually had to stop making this at the time as it was late at night so I left the lemons marinating in the salt. It was all macerated by the morning with all the juices flowing and the lemons slightly tender. This made the cooking process too way easier.

Dry roast the fenugreek seeds in medium flame by being careful not to burn them. Trust me, this would not be ideal as fenugreek seeds by itself are slightly bitter. While switching off the flame add the turmeric in and give one stir. Grind this into a reasonably fine powder and set aside. In fact you can also add some fresh dried red chillies by roasting it the pan and then grinding it.

In a wide pan, add the oil and heat it. Add the mustard seeds and allow it to pop. Add the asafetida and let it slightly cook in the hot oil.

Then add the lemon pieces with all the juices. Give the mix and big stir and add in the red chilly powder. Now let it cook covered on medium low flame, stirring it once a while.

This is for the lemon pieces to cook together and become gel like. Once its thickened nicely, the cooking process is done. At this stage add the ground fenugreek powder and give it a mix.

Store them in clean and DRY (most important) containers once it is cool. You will need to add oil just so the mix is covered in oil. Use a clean spoon to serve pickle every time. Add the sugar in too, this is to cut the acidity of the lemons.

This pickle will get better if stored for a few days before tasting it. By then the salt and red chilly powder would have been absorbed by the lemons and will be infused to give that phenomenal taste! I have always stored this pickle in bottles in the refrigerator and have had no problems in maintaining it fresh for more than a year. It gets better with time!

I know these days most people buy pickles outside. For me I am old school who prefers home made pickles mainly because I don’t like the preservatives smell and taste in store bought pickles. Plus the salt content in them is high too so I prefer them home made. This way you can customize it the way you want plus you can make it organic!

Serve the pickle with rotis, curd rice or just plain yogurt. Need I say more? Enjoy!!

Tips

• More than making this pickle, storing it is key to prolong its shelf life. For that it is absolutely essential that it is stored in clean, dry containers as moisture aids the growth of bacteria and mould.
• Add enough oil to keep the pickle immersed in oil while storage. You can easily just add the pickle minus the oil while serving it.
• If for any reason, you see a while film over the pickle, take it out as much as possible. Then give the pickle a good stir so the surface is coated in oil again. In the rare times that this has happened to me, I end up changing the container that I stored it in.

Baingan Bartha with Green Peas

Baingan Bartha

I know its been a while since my last post, but I dint have the time to take good photos, hence the delay in posting a recipe.

I haven’t had this subzi much to be honest because I am not a fan of eggplant. Eggplant (Baingan) is probably one of the veggies I don’t cook often either especially as a North Indian side dish. Recently though, I have started making this often since my husband V is really fond of this. Plus the smell of roasting eggplant puts me off. But instead of roasting it in the stove, (which somehow fills the house with the aroma of roasting eggplant) I have started roasting the eggplant in the oven. This way, it makes clean up easier and the aroma doesnt fill up the entire house! The big fresh eggplants are available pretty much all year round, so it makes for a lovely side dish to go along with chapatis. It also tastes great with plain steamed Basmati rice or jeera rice/pulao.

Here's what you will need.

Ingredients

Large Eggplant	1
Onion	1 Large
Tomato	2
Green chillies	2
Cumin Seeds	1 tsp
Red chilly powder	½ tsp
Garam Masala	1 tsp
Salt	To taste
Turmeric Powder	¼ tsp
Oil	2 Tbsp
Green Peas	¼ cup
Fresh coriander Leaves/Cilantro	Handful
Ginger Garlic paste	1 Tbsp

Method

Pick a ripe eggplant, where the skin is smooth and without cracks. Brush the eggplant with oil and poke the surface with holes. Place it on the stovetop or on a baking tray in the oven lined with aluminium foil and broil/ grill it on high setting Alternatively you can place it on the stovetop and roast it too.

The roasting is done when the skin is completely wrinkled and the juices have started flowing out of the eggplant. Let it cool by setting it aside. The holes ensure that the skin comes off easily and the eggplant doesn’t burst. Also ensure that the oven is open while grilling the eggplant or for that matter grilling anything!

While the eggplant Is roasting, chop the veggies required for the curry. Once the eggplant is cool to the touch, you can easily pry open the skin from it. Discard the skin and start shredding the cooked eggplant with a fork.

Heat a pan and add oil and the onions. Saute them in the oil with a pinch of salt until they turn translucent. Once that’s done add in the ginger garlic paste and cook it until the raw smell disappears. 

Add in the tomatoes and let it cook. It will start oozing out water. Add in the salt, chilly powder and turmeric powder and give it a mix. Let it cook well and form a gravy. Add the shredded eggplant and give it a mix. It will be a little thick so you can add water to thin it out. I like to add green peas to this gravy, so I add frozen green peas at this stage before adding the water.

Bring it to a boil and add in the garam masala. Cook for 2 minutes. Finally add some fresh chopped cilantro/coriander leaves and serve piping hot with chapatis or rice!

I actually made this without the onion for my husband. It essentially is the same procedure just minus the onions and garlic. 

Tips

1. After roasting the eggplant almost halves in volume, so if you would like the dish to comfortably feed around 4 people, then double the recipe.
2. You can also make this without the green peas, I just love to add green peas in just about everything I can.
3. The onions can probably be added raw to the steaming hot gravy, the heat is just enough to warm the onions a little without cooking them and it makes for a very interesting taste.
4. Btw, this subzi makes for a wonderful stuffing for a panini, go ahead try it!