Lemon_Pickle - Vadu_maanga_style

 Lemon Pickle - Vadu maanga style [ Lemon in Brine ] :

I didn't know this method of preserving lemon until I made it myself just like the way vadu maanga [ baby mango in brine ] has been done.

We are having three lemon trees in my garden. They are giving a steady supply of lemons throughout the year. We used to get plenty of lemons during the peak season from June to August.

I have preserved lemons in different ways. I have made spicy mouth watering Lemon pickle, squeezed juice from these fruits and stored in the refrigerator, after squeezing out juice, discarded the white inner skins & dried those yellow skins [ rinds ], dried lemon slices in the Sun for tea.

I got the idea of making this pickle when a local person from Chittranjan,West Bengal told me that they would pickle the whole lemon after rubbing the lemon on a rough surface to remove the outer yellow/green skin.  

I washed the lemons in water and then pat dried with a clean kitchen towel. I pricked the skin with a sharp toothpick here and there. Then I arranged salt and lemon in alternate layers inside a clean and dry glass bottle.  I kept the bottle on the dining table after closing it tightly with its lid. The juice oozed out from the fruits and dissolved the salt present around them. Day by day the amount of salt water [ brine ] increased. Daily the bottle was gently rotated to wet all the lemons with brine.

Ingredients :
10 - 15	Lemon
3/4 Cup	Sea Salt [ kal uppu/crstal salt ]
1 or 2	Glass bottle or Porcelain jar

Wash the lemons in running water. 

Pat dry with a clean & dry cotton cloth/kitchen towel.

Prick holes here and there over the skin using a sharp tool or toothpick.

Spread a tablespoon full of sea salt as a first layer in the bottle.

Now arrange 4 - 5 lemons over the salt layer.

Again add a tablespoon full of salt.

Then arrange the next layer of lemons.

Follow the procedure till all the lemons are being arranged.

Put salt finally as the top layer.

Close the glass bottle/porcelain jar with a tight lid.

Save the bottle/jar in a place without disturbance.

Slowly the salt melts in the water that oozes out from lemon and thus the brine level steadily goes up as the days pass.

Daily rotate the bottle gently so that the lemons which are present above the level of brine become wet.

In the figure below, the bottle on the left is freshly arranged lemons and salt & the other one is one week old pickled lemon. It takes around 20 days to a month to completely dissolve the salt and get pickled lemon.

We have to wait nearly 20 days to one month to taste soft pickled Lemon.

A very good accompaniment for Kanji.

Spicy Lemon pickle can be prepared from Lemon-in-brine. But we don't have to add salt at all as it is already salted and also we don't have to steam cook lemons.

Finely chopped pieces of these soft lemons can be added in salads.

Here I have presented a crunchy Mixed vegetable pickle using these soft salty lemons.

A few days back I shared a mixed vegetable pickle where fresh lemons were used. The pickle has to be allowed to stand for 3 - 4 days as lemon rinds take some days to get cured.

But here pickled lemon has been used and the crunchy mixed vegetable pickle can be relished as soon as it is made.

Mixed Vegetable Lemon Pickle :

Ingredients :
2	Pickled Lemon
1/4 Cup	Carrot finely chopped
1/4 Cup	Radish finely chopped
1 Tsp	Ginger finely chopped
1 Tsp	Turmeric tuber finely chopped
4 - 5	Green chilly finely chopped
1 Tsp	Mustard seeds
1/4 Tsp	Asafoetida powder
1 Tsp	Mustard powder
1/4 Tsp	Fenugreek powder
4 - 5 Tsp	Gingelly oil [ sesame/til oil ]

Method :

Chop carrot, radish, ginger, turmeric tuber and green chilly.

Transfer all the chopped items into a porcelain or glass bowl.

Take two pickled lemons from the bottle and chop nicely.

Transfer finely chopped pieces of pickled lemon into the bowl containing other ingredients.

Add mustard powder and fenugreek powder.

Now heat a kadai with oil on a stove over medium heat.

Crackle mustard seeds once oil starts fuming and then add asafoetida powder.

Turn off the stove immediately.

Cool down to room temperature.

Then pour the tempered mustard seeds with oil over the chopped ingredients in the bowl.

Combine well using clean and dry spoon.

Mm... Ah! crunchy mixed vegetable lemon pickle is ready to relish.

Store in a clean and dry glass bottle. It will be good for three to four days at room temperature.

If the mixed vegetable pickle is saved in a fridge, it will be good for a week to 10 days.

The pickle loses its crunchiness as the day passes.

It is advisable to consume the pickle within a week.

Other pickle recipes you might like to try

Maangai thokku [ Mango pickle ]

Avakkai - mystyle

Kothamalli thokku -Coriander Pickle

Thakkali thokku - Tomato Pickle

Nellikkai urugai - Amla Pickle

Ponderosa Lemon Pickle [ Citron pickle ]

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