Cookbook:Lemon Pickle II

| Cuisine of India

Lemon pickle is a traditional condiment used with Indian food. Many pickle recipes from India have oil to help preserve the pickle, but this recipe uses no oil.

Ingredients

 * 8 small or 4 large lemons
 * ½ cup salt
 * ¼–½ cup sugar
 * 4 small green chiles, finely chopped
 * 1 tablespoon yellow mustard seed
 * 1 tablespoon ground ginger
 * 1 teaspoon fenugreek seed
 * ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
 * 1–2 star anise pods

Procedure

 * 1) Cut lemons into small pieces, and place in a bowl.
 * 2) Cover with salt and set aside for at least 4 hours (24 is better).
 * 3) Dry-roast the yellow mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, star anise, and chopped chilis in a pan over high heat, shaking constantly—don't burn them!
 * 4) Strain the juice from the lemons into a small saucepan, add the turmeric, ginger and sugar, and simmer for 2–3 minutes until the sugar has dissolved. If there isn't enough juice, add 1–2 tablespoons water.
 * 5) Add the spices and sugar mixture to the bowl of lemons, and mix together well.
 * 6) Pack into a pint jar, pressing the pieces in if needed, to ensure that the liquid covers all the lemon pieces.
 * 7) Set aside to mature for 1 month.

Notes, tips and variations

 * If you don't have fresh chilis, add some dried chilis or chili powder. The pickle in the photo has three whole dried chilis in it.