At the peak of summer, pickle-making was and still is a ritual in many Indian households. I remember these rituals of pickle-making, papads, saanage (my kids call it farfar and they still enjoy these) at my grand-mother's place every summer. My aunts in Belgaum also made the pickles with Ambli ( tender mangoes) marinated in salt and I loved to eat them even before they were spiced up.
I started my blog with the intention of documenting and sharing recipes from my family and friends, so we never have to say "Its too late".. to get hold of a traditional recipe..
Last summer we reaped a good harvest of green chilies. After sharing with everyone and freezing some for winter we still had loads left over. "What do we do with these" was my question as I could not share any with my american friends...My husband Salil came up with the idea of making pickle. His grand-mother made the best chili pickle. So I asked his aunt if she had the recipe by any chance..and fortunately she remembered.
So last year we made it together and it was so easy....I started wondering why I even thought it was such a laborious process.
Always store the pickles in porcelain or glass jars with air-tight lids. Though commercially produced pickles use preservatives like citric acid and sodium benzoate, the concentration of salt, oil and spices in homemade pickles acts as preservatives. You can store them in the refrigerator.
So here is grandma's recipe for Lemon Chili pickle - grandma's way - (meaning a pinch of this and a handful of that.....! Enjoy this delicious spicy, and tangy pickle...!
LEMON, CHILI & GINGER PICKLE
INGREDIENTS
DIRECTIONS
- 10 Fresh Lemons (Chop 6 lemons into small pieces and reserve the juice of 4 lemons)
- 3" piece Ginger, chopped fine
- 3 cups Green Chili, chopped fine
- 2 cups Corn Oil
- 3 tsp Mustard Seeds
- 3 tsp Turmeric powder
- 1 tsp Methi (Fenugreek) seeds
- 2 tsp Asafoetida
- 3 tbsp Mustard powder ( Blend mustard seeds in a spice blender)
- Salt to taste
DIRECTIONS
- Chop the green chilies, ginger and 6 lemons into small pieces.
- Reserve the juice of 4 lemons,.
- Combine all the ingredients including turmeric powder, mustard powder, salt and lemon juice, and mix well.
- In a saucepan, heat 2 cups oil. When the oils is heated all the mustard seeds and methi (fenugreek) seeds.
- When the seeds start crackling add the asfoetida and turmeric powder and turn off the heat.
- When the oil cools down to room temperature, add it to the mixed ingredients and mix well.
- Check the taste and add some more salt if you need.
- Transfer to a clean glass jar with airtight lid and store in the refrigerator.
You can keep this pickle in the refrigerator for more than a year. I still have some made from last summer. My family enjoys this with parathas, theplas, rice and even sliced chicken sandwiches.
Hope you enjoy this.....and see you soon.......
