Puthenpura Lime Pickle - Almost Instant Lime Pickle

 Puthenpura is the family name of the group of neighbours in my youth.  All of them, brothers and sisters, children and grandchildren, built their houses in the acreage and we were pretty much the outsiders who bought into the block of land. Our family were the only Christians  in our locality.  We were flanked by a Muslim family on the right and all the rest of them were devout Hindus.

In the big block of land that was known as Puthenpura the brothers and sisters had made pathways and small lanes to go to each others houses. There was a small piece of open area in the front of the group of pathways.  This is where the women of the houses congregated without fail everyday after the daily chores were done. 

This was the "Communication Centre" of our neighbourhood. We became part of the Puthenpura family soon after we moved in and we shared our joys and sorrows - and our recipes. We used to go over for Onam meals and Hindu festivals and in turn, we would send them home made cakes and cookies at Christmas.  Beautiful tradition that I miss here!  This recipe was shared by one of the ladies before I migrated to Australia to help me make all the items in a sadya.  I miss them all so much.

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.

Yellow Lime pickle - 3

 One of the issues with the recipes written in my little diary from 27 years ago - is that they are all transcripts from verbal recitations of how to cook a certain dish.  They often do not have exact measurements and I have to try and remember the taste, smell and vibe of the dish and then try to recreate.  It is not an easy job.  However, once I finish documenting all that I have, I hope it will make it easier for my children.

This lime pickle is one of amma's recipes and we love it and I hope you will love it too. It is a perfect accompaniment with any rice dish - particularly biriyani and yogurt rice. It is hot, tangy and sour and really gets those digestive juices flowing.

I am making this in readiness for our Onam Sadya - over the weekend.

Lime Pickle 2- Achari Nimbu (North Indian style)

Since I have stacks of lime soaked in brine, I am always checking out new lime pickle recipes.  Here is one I recently adapted from the web: