Lemon Pickle | Instant Lemon Pickle | Boiled Lemon Pickle | Elumichai Urugai | Instant Naranga Achar

I know many of you are not fan of lemon pickle. Even I am not. But the hubby devours this pickle. That is why I make this at least once a year. It is very simple and easy to make. Just make sure that you do not boil the lemons for a long time. Else it will start oozing out all juice and the pickle tends to become very sour. You need to boil just enough to make them soft so that the flavours sink in nicely :) And as far as possible do not use a plastic container to store the pickles. It tends to get spoilt very fast. So let's now see how to make this easy to make, instant lemon pickle, shall we?

Preparation Time : 15 minutes

Cooking Time : 10 minutes

Recipe source : Ma

Makes : A 300 gm bottle 

I Used:

Lemon	-	Around 10-12 normal sized ones
Salt	-	As Needed
Gingelly Oil	-	¼ Cup
Mustard	-	1 tsp
Asafoetida	-	2 tsp
Red Chilly Powder	-	1 tbsp
Turmeric Powder	-	½ tsp
Mustard	-	2 tsp
Fenugreek	-	2 tsp
Mustard-Fenugreek powder	-	½ tbsp

The Way:

1. In a pan dry roast the mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds for 4-5 minutes on low flame. Take care not to burn them. It starts giving a nice aroma and also the mustard will start spluttering. Then off the flame. Allow it to cool and powder them in a clean and dry mixer jar. You can grind this powder in bulk and use it for all of your pickles

2. Rinse the lemons nicely in water. Then pat it dry using a kitchen towel. Then cut the lemons into 4 pieces. Then take the cut pieces in a pan. Add required salt and give a mix. Then boil them in medium flame for 3-4 minutes till they become soft. Then switch off the flame

3. Take a pan and heat the gingelly oil (nallennai). Now reduce the flame. Splutter the mustard seeds

4. Then add asaoetida, don't go stingy here :) Add it liberally

5. Now add red chilly powder, turmeric powder and saute for a minute

6. Pour this tadka on to the boiled lemon pieces

7. Give a nice mix and then add the pickle powder - mustard and fenugreek powder and give a nice stir. Pickle is ready 

8. Store the pickle in a clean, dry, glass container. You should be able to see oil floating on the top of the container else chances of the pickle getting spoilt are very high. Leave in a clean place for a day or two for the flavours to soak in and then refrigerate it

Notes:

• Do not boil the lemon for a long time. It will ooze out all the juice and the pickle will become very sour. Just to make them a little soft is fine
• Store in a clean and dry glass container for longer shelf life
• Refrigerate if possible after a day of making the pickle for longer life
• Always use a clean dry spoon to take the pickle from the bottle
• Allow a layer of oil on top of the container for longer life and it prevents from mold formation on top of the pickle

Cheers,
Chitz