Oh Meri Sharmili - Lime Pickle -1

Summer time in Kerala is hot and humid and the temperature fluctuates between mid to late thirties during the day time to early thirties at night.  Yogurt rice and a variety of pickles are the meals of choice as it is cooling and light.  Most homes make their own pickles when vegetables are abundant for use all year round.  
Here in Melbourne, my lime tree produces abundantly in Winter.  So I pickle a lot of the fruit for use in Summer.  I have many pickle recipes but this one is special.  It has been handed down from my friend - who got it from her mother - and it is a simple no nonsense recipe with 4 ingredients and no oil.  My friend is Sharmila and O Meri Sharmili is a legendary Bollywood song -a perfect one that reminds me of our happy days when we were at school together! 

Here is the 4 ingredient lime pickle recipe:

Step 1:  8 - 10 Limes cut into 8 pieces and soaked in rock salt for a month – 1 bottle (500 gm glass coffee jar)  The pickle starts off looking green with the skin still tough.  After a month of regular shaking to mix the lime and salt, the salt dissolves completely and the skin turns brown and soft.  This is when you get the ingredients ready for the pickle.

Ingredients: 

Chilli powder to taste (3-4 tablespoons – dry roast)

1 tablespoon fenugreek seeds, dry roast and powder

½ teaspoon Hing (Asafoetida) – dry roast

1-2 tablespoons dry ginger powder – dry roast

Step 2: 

Dry roast all ingredients in low flame and add to soaked lime.  Keep shaking the bottle with the ingredients for a month till all ingredients are blended well.  The end result will be a smooth viscous liquid blended with the lime that is now hot, tart and pungent, the perfect accompaniment to yogurt rice or even biriyani.  It is well worth the wait and once it is ready for use, it gets over in no time!

Top tip:

Use clean dry and sterilized jars and once you put the pickle together, always use a dry spoon to scoop out pieces.  The pickle will stay good for over a year.

This lime pickle is also a perfect accompaniment with roast pork.