Lime Pickle

As it always happens, I had an extra stash of tart, green limes. So I thought, why not try pickling them? My mother-in-law obliged me with her recipe. It is indeed simple and a nice treat when all you want to eat (and all there is to eat) is curd rice. But, we South-Indians never complain. Curd rice and pickle is our classic staple food.

Ingredients:

1. 5 limes (or 4 lemons)
2. 2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon of salt
3. ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon of sesame oil
4. 1.5 teaspoons of black mustard seeds
5. 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder
6. ¼ teaspoon or a small piece of hing
7. 1 teaspoon of fenugreek seeds
8. 4 teaspoons of chilli powder (or according to preference)

Preparation:

1. Cut the limes into small bite-sized pieces.
2. Transfer them into a clean, air tight container and add two tablespoons of salt. Shake and stir well to coat the limes. Marinate the limes for about 8-10 days. Some say it's best to leave the jar out/near the sun, but in dark dreary places where the sun plays hide and seek, we don't have much option but to keep the jar in a relatively warm, sunny place. Periodically (twice a day) shake the bottle to evenly distribute the juice and salt.
3. When the limes are marinated well, the briny juices will collect at the bottom of the jar and the limes will be soft.
4. Dry roast the fenugreek seeds until they turn reddish brown. Don’t let them burn/brown.
5. Slightly fry the hing in a teaspoon of sesame oil.
6. Grind the roasted fenugreek seeds and fried hing and keep aside.
7. Heat ¼ cup of sesame oil. Splutter mustard seeds. Add turmeric and chilli powder. Reduce the heat to low and mix the spices in the oil for a second or two.
8. Add the marinated limes (juice and all) and coat them in the spices.
9. Add the ground fenugreek + hing powder and stir well.
10. Saute the limes for about 5-7 minutes. Then remove from heat. Let cool.
11. When cooled completely, transfer to a clean, dry, air-tight container. In order to increase shelf-life, ladle 1 tablespoon of sesame oil on top of the pickled limes. Refrigerate.

The shelf-life of this pickle would be at least 1 month. I also believe that this pickle would be much much better with regular lemons. Limes are a little too tart for my liking. But the spice, the subtle bitterness, the finger-licking limey saltiness, and the tongue-clicking tartness are awesome complements to curd rice.