kalakkalsamayal: Lemon-Pickle

Tuesday, August 18, 2020

Lemon-Pickle

#LemonPickle #ElumichaiUrugai :

This is the first time I have prepared a mouth watering #lemon #pickle. I am not a great lover of Oorugai [ pickle ]. But I used to make all kinds of #urugai [ #oorugai ] except lemon urugai [ #Elumichai #urugai ]. Previously wherever I lived I had to buy lemon from the market. Moreover the quantity of lemons I used to buy would be just enough for regular cooking. There wouldn't be any surplus lemons to try pickle preparation.

Now I am getting plenty of lemons from my garden. I have two Gondhoraj Lemon trees, a local variety of West Bengal and another lemon tree of regular variety. Daily I am getting 30 - 40 fruits from them at the peak of the season and also they give me one or two throughout the year. The peak seasons for these trees are July - August and January - February. Now they are at the peak of the season and I have been collecting approximately 40 fruits/day for the past one month and I have been distributing them liberally to whoever I know here in #Chittaranjan, West Bengal. I have squeezed juice from nearly 100 lemons and stored the juice in the fridge. The lemon skins after squeezing out juice from the fruit were being dried in the Sun and stored in an airtight container. Now in order to preserve remaining lemons for future use and also to avoid wastage of the produce, I am being compelled to prepare oorugai [ urugai ].

Gondhoraj lemon is oblong [ elliptical ] in shape and not spherical. The skin is also thicker than the regular variety of lemon.

Lemon juice is a rich source of Vitamin C. It has 64% daily value of Vitamin C in 100 gm of juice.

There are two stages involved in the preparation of Lemon Pickle

1.The lemons are cut into pieces and cooked in steam till the skin becomes soft.

2. Then the steam cooked lemon pieces are mixed with red chilly powder, turmeric powder, fenugreek powder, asafoetida & salt sauteed in plenty of oil to make a tasty pickle.

Preparation Time : 25 Mins
Cooking Time : 20 - 25 mins
Quantity of pickle : 1 Cup approx.

Ingredients :
1 Cup	Lemon pieces
3 Tsp	Red Chilly powder
1/2 Tsp	Turmeric powder
1/4 Tsp	Fenugreek [ venthayam ]
1 Tsp	Mustard Seeds
Small piece	Asafoetida
1/3 Cup	Gingelly oil [ Sesame / Til oil ]
2 Tsp	Salt

Note : I always use gingelly oil [ Sesame / Til oil ] to make pickle. It can be replaced with ground nut oil or any other cooking oil.

Method :
Cutting and steam cooking lemon :

Wash 5 - 6 lemons well in water.
Pat dry with a clean kitchen towel.
Halve it into two.

Cut into small equal sized pieces. { approx. 1 Cup }
Transfer into a vessel.

Heat a pressure cooker with three cups of water on a stove over high flame.

First place the bottom plate inside the pressure cooker.
Now keep the vessel containing lemon pieces over the bottom plate inside the pressure cooker.
Close the pressure cooker with its lid & without weight over the nozzle.

Allow it to steam cook for 12 minutes.

Turn off the stove and take out the vessel.
The rind [ skin ] of lemon pieces would have been cooked softly.
Set aside.

Making Pickle :

Heat an iron kadai on a stove over medium heat.
Add half a teaspoon of oil and wait till it becomes hot.
Put fenugreek [ venthayam ] and stir continuously with a long ladle till golden color.
Transfer into a mortar.
Crush into powder using a pestle and set aside.

Now add 1/3 cup of oil and heat over a medium flame.
Crackle mustard seeds once oil becomes hot.
Then add asafoetida piece and fry well.
Reduce the flame and slowly add steamed lemon pieces.
Stir well adding turmeric powder and then red chilly powder.
Then add salt and mix well.

Allow to simmer on slow flame and keep stirring at regular intervals.
After sometime the oil drops start appearing on the surface of the pickle.
Let it be on slow flame till all the oil we have included comes out, becomes shiny
and subsequently the pickle drowns under the oil.
Finally add fenugreek powder into the simmering pickle and mix well.

Turn off the stove and transfer into a clean and dry porcelain or glass bowl.
Keep the porcelain or glass bowl on a dry wooden board while transferring hot pickle into it.
Allow to cool down completely and then store in a clean dry glass or pet bottle.

Allow the pickle to stand for 4 to 5 days and then start consuming it.
Use a clean and dry spoon to serve the pickle.
It can be stored in the normal room temperature.
Or can be stored in the refrigerator

Spicy lemon pickle goes well with Curd rice and other tiffin items.