Vimala's Makrut Lime Relish / Curry

 When I moved into my house, one of the house warming gifts I got was a kaffir lime tree from my friend Michelle. Every year, this tree produces a lot of fruit which cannot be used due to the thick skin that is very bitter and very little juice.  The fruit also has about twenty seeds inside which can be quite a deterrent when you try to cook with it.  To cut a long story short, I have never used the fruit before.

This morning I woke up dreaming of my aunty Vimala's yummy citron curry.  The citron (Citrus Medica) is a fruit that is the forefather of many of our modern citrus fruit and it grows only in the tropics.  That dashed my hopes of ever having a plant in my  garden.

With this thought in my head, as I went out to smell the fresh citrus flowers, I noticed this kaffir lime that had fallen off the tree.  It was a Newton moment for me - and I said - "what if I tried substituting this instead?" ......well, the rest is history.  The idea is a huge success and this is going to be a regular feature in Kitchen Anugraha.

My aunty Vimala makes the best Citron curry (Narthangai curry) and this is inspired by her recipe.  Thank you, athai!  This dish is uniquely Nagercoilian - the place where generations of my family live.

There is even a saying dedicated to this relish - "Naaranga illenki Paayiram Kollanji" - it means - "if it were not for the citron relish, the dessert would have killed me (with its cloying sweetness)."

Update:  Just found out that the name for this beautiful lime is actually Makrut!  Thank you SBS Food.

Ingredients:

1 Makrut (kaffir) lime - still young, with soft under developed seeds

1 ball of tamarind similar size as the kaffir lime - slightly smaller  

2 - 3 green chillies

1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder

1/4 teaspoon chilli powder ( just for the rich colour)

1/4 teaspoon coriander powder

1/8 teaspoon fenugreek seeds, toasted and powdered

1/8 teaspoon asoefetida

1/8 teaspoon mustard seeds

1 inch piece of jaggery

salt to taste

2 tablespoons of Indian sesame seed oil 

Method:

Soak the ball of tamarind in hot water.  Chop the lime to small pieces, skin pith and all and remove the seeds.  The seeds are soft and you can just scrape them away.

Chop the chillies. 

Squeeze the tamarind juice out of the tamarind twice or thrice - you should be able to get about a cup of juice.

In a saucepan, add the chopped lime, chillies and tamarind juice and cook in a low flame.

When the lime pieces start getting soft, add the turmeric, coriander and chilli powders.  add a little bit of salt and continue cooking.

In a separate pan, heat sesame oil.  When the oil gets hot, add the mustard seeds and asafoetida powder.

Turn off the stove and add the hot oil with the asafoetida to the lime pieces. Immediately add the fenugreek powder and the jaggery.  Mix well and let the sweetness of the jaggery combine with the rest of the ingredients.

The dish is ready when you get a thick dark mass with oil floating on the top. Check for salt and add if needed.

The dish is a beautiful marriage of hot, sweet, sour and bitter and is served at all weddings in Nagercoil along with dessert.  Just a teaspoon of it is said to be very good for digestion.

I served it with yogurt rice and some fried bitter melons today.