Key Lime Pickle / Naranga Achar

This achar is a must serve at home if we are serving Biriyani/Fried rice. And if stored properly, these tend to stay good for a long time.

Not only are they served while serving biriyani, but its good to trigger your taste buds when they happen to stop functioning esp. if have a bad fever. Some kanji, papadam and this pickle can make for a good lunch when you are sick.

Someone once shared a trick with me that, having this achar while having paysam, helps you drink a lot more even after your stomach has reached his capacity. I tried it while having my favorite Cherupayar Parippu Paysam and it did work :D .

Ingredients

1. 1 kg of key lime
2. 1 tbsp of garlic, sliced length wise
3. 1 tsp of mustard seeds
4. 1/4 tsp of fenugreek seeds
5. 1/4 tsp of asafoetida powder
6. 1/4 tsp of turmeric powder
7. 2 tbsp of kashmiri chilly powder
8. 1 tbsp of chilly powder
9. 3-4 tbsp of sesame oil/nallenna
10. 2 tbsp of vinegar
11. 2 strands of curry leaves
12. 1/2 cup of boiling water
13. Salt to taste

Method

• Wash the lime and wipe it dry with a kitchen towel. Cut them into small pieces (Each lime can be cut into 8 pieces).
• Steam the cut lime pieces in a steamer untill they are soft(about 10-15 mins). 
• Remove it from the steamer on to a large bowl and add salt as per taste. Mix it well. Let it cool. 
• Once it cools down, transfer it into dry glass/ceramic jars and keep it aside. Place it in the sun for about a week.
• To prepare the pickle, heat the sesame oil in a pan. Once hot add the mustard seeds and let them pop. Turn down the heat to medium. Now add the fenugreek seeds and let them turn golden brown in colour.
• Add the sliced garlic and curry leaves and saute it till they loose the rawness. Add turmeric powder, kashmiri chilly power, red chilly powder and asafoetida. Give it a quick stir.
• Carefully pour in the hot water and turn the heat to high. Once it boils, turn down the heat to medium and let the gravy turn thick. Add the lemons to it and give it a nice stir so that the lemon pieces get coated well in the gravy. Cover and cook for another 5 minutes.
• Turn off the heat. Add the vinegar and give it a stir. Adjust the salt if required.
• Let it cool down, before you store it in dry ceramic/glass jars.
• You could leave it at room temperature for about 1 week and then store it in the fridge.

Tips

1. Do not over cook the lemons in the steamer, else they would get all mushy.
2. Make sure that the vessels and the ceramic jars used are all moisture free. This would help the pickle to be less prone to fungus attacks.
3. Once stored in bottles, you could pour a layer of oil on top of the pickle, this too prevents the pickle from getting fungus.
4. Always store your pickle in ceramic/glass jars. Never use a plastic container to store the same.
5. Adding kashmiri chilly makes the gravy thick and also gives the red colour to the pickle, without making it too hot/spicy. However, you could substitute kashmiri chilly with reduced amount of red chilly powder, as required.
6. Sesame oil is preferred, however you could make it in vegetable oil as well.

Recipe courtesy : Adapted from Mummy's recipe