kalakkalsamayal: Ponderosa-Lemon-Pickle-Salted-Method

Wednesday, August 12, 2020

Ponderosa-Lemon-Pickle-Salted-Method

#PonderosaLemonPickleSaltedMethod #CitronPickleSaltedMethod :

A few days back I received a big lemon from my neighbour. I have found out the name of that big lemon through web search. The big lemon is called #PonderosaLemon. It is actually a citron fruit but taste like a true lemon. I made a tasty pickle from it.
Now again I got another Ponderosa lemon from my neighbor and this time it was even more bigger in size than the earlier one. It was approximately 15 cm long on the lengthier side and might be 7 - 8 cm wide at the middle. I have clicked through a camera by keeping it next to a normal sized guava just to show how big the lemon was!

I made Puli Pachadi from the chopped pieces of one half of the fruit. I chopped another half into small equal sized pieces and mixed with sea salt [ kal uppu ] & green chilly. I stored them in a bottle and allowed to cure. It was done roughly a month back. Daily the bottle was rotated to allow the pieces to be evenly coated with salt. The salt absorbed the water from the pieces and dissolved in it & became watery. Day by day the amount of salty water increased and pieces drowned in it. After that the citron pieces absorbed the salty water and blended together. In this process the rind of ponderosa lemon pieces [ citron pieces ] has become soft and lost its bitter taste. The pieces also have lost its bright lemony color and become dull brown.

Now I made tasty pickle from the salted ponderosa lemon pieces [ Citron pieces ] adding red chilly powder, mustard powder and turmeric powder. It took very less time to make this pickle and the taste was too good compared to the pickle made from fresh pieces.

#PonderosaLemon was originally developed in Italy as a hybrid between a Citron [ which has large pointed fruit ] and a table lemon. Ponderosa lemon tree is often grown as an ornamental tree in the garden. It is also called by a nickname - " the five pound lemon " as they are massive when compared to regular lemon sizes. These lemons do not often grow quite that big every harvest but they do often reach three to four pounds at the end of the season.
Ponderosa Lemon bears medium to large fruits that have a thick and bumpy rind [ skin ]. The fruits are seedy and white. They look similar to a citron [ நார்த்தங்காய் ] but taste like a lemon. The rind is thicker and bumpier than true lemon, with a typical yellow lemon color. Inside the fruit is pale yellow-green, juicy and seedy. The taste is very acidic, similar to true lemon.

Nutritional value of Ponderosa Lemon :
They are very high in Vitamin C like lemons.
One half cup of ponderosa lemon juice contains the full daily recommendation of Vitamin C.
It also has small amount of dietary fiber and Iron. Low in Calories.
The juice contains antioxidants which promote health and strengthen the immune system.

Whenever a large quantity of citron fruits are available, preserve them with salt. Later pickle can be prepared at short notice within minutes. I have mixed 1/4 cup of sea salt [ kal uppu ] for every one cup of ponderosa lemon pieces [ citron pieces ]. I have added 4 green chilly [ splitting lengthwise ] for one cup of citron pieces. The citron pieces & green chilly and salt are being layered one after the other alternately in a bottle or porcelain jar. Or they can be mixed in a big vessel and then stored in a bottle or porcelain jar. Every day keep shaking the bottle once.

It takes around minimum of 20 - 25 days to get cured.

Cooking Time : 10 - 15 mins

Quantity made : 1 cup

Ingredients :
1 Cup	Ponderosa Lemon [ Citron ] pieces salted
3 Tsp	Red Chilly Powder [ Adjust ]
small piece	Asafoetida
1/2 Tsp	Turmeric Powder
1 Tsp	Mustard Seeds
1 Tsp	Mustard Powder [ optional ]
1/4 Tsp	Fenugreek powder*
1/4 Cup	Gingelly oil [ Sesame/Til oil ]

I always use Gingelly oil for pickle. It can be replaced with any oil of your choice.

*Fry fenugreek [ venthayam ] in little oil till it turns golden brown and then powder it.

Method :

Heat a kadai with oil on a stove over medium flame.

Crackle mustard seeds once oil becomes hot and then add asafoetida.

Now add salted ponderosa lemon [ citron ] pieces and saute for 2 minutes.

Next add chilly powder, turmeric powder and mustard powder.

Mix well and reduce the flame.

Let it be on the stove and keep stirring at regular intervals.

Slowly the oil we added at the beginning starts coming out and the mixture becomes shiny.

At one stage when we stir it with ladle, the mixture rolls smoothly as a ball.

Now add fenugreek powder and mix well.

Check the taste and adjust red chilly powder.

Turn off the stove.

Transfer into a porcelain or glass bowl.

Pickle is ready to relish.

The pickle can be stored in a clean and dry bottle at normal room temperature.

It can also be saved securely in the fridge.

Only use a clean and dry spoon to take pickle from the bottle.

The Ponderosa lemon pickle [ citron pickle ] goes well with hot white rice mixed with lentil
and also curd rice.

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