Just back from a short visit to India! One week was way too short, but got to spend some quality time with my sister (after a long time), and then obviously – lots of food and shopping at my favourite by-lanes of Kochi!

Indians love their pickles, and we Malayalis can do pickles out of almost everything – the regular ones like mangoes, lime, gooseberries, or even fish, beef, or dried prawns. A bowl of rice with some yoghurt and a good serving of my favourite pickle forms a happy meal for me. Knowing our love for pickles, my mother-in-law gave me this jar of mango pickle she made with thinly diced tender mango. It’s her quick n easy recipe, and absolutely delicious;  will post here sometime soon.

I personally prefer mango pickles, but my hubby seems to have a special liking for lime. So I got on with this quick and easy lime pickle which my mom makes very often. Its really easy to do with a very few ingredients to play with. Below is the recipe and a few important points to note.

You need –

• Lime – 500 grams
• Sesame oil – ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon
• Chili powder – 3 tablespoons
• Asafoetida/kayam – ½ teaspoon
• Salt – 2 tablespoons or to taste
• Mustard seeds – 1 teaspoon
• Sterilized and clean jar for storing

How to –

Wash the limes well, dry them with a clean kitchen towel/tissue and set them aside.

In a heavy bottom pan or wok/kadhai, heat about 1 tablespoon of oil. Add the lime and saute till they are just soft. Do not over cook otherwise the limes will start to crack.

Remove and set aside to cool completely. Once cooled, cut each lime into 8-10 pieces. Set aside.

In the same pan or wok/kadhai, heat the remaining oil, add the mustard seeds and allow to crackle. Turn the heat off and add the chili powder, asafoetida. Stir for a minute.

Add the chopped limes, salt and mix well till all the lime pieces  are coated with the spice mixture. Allow to cool completely.

Once cooled, store the pickle in a sterilized jar with a tight lid.

Notes:

• Please make sure that the jar you use to store the pickle and utensils used for preparation are clean, sterilised and completely dry. This will help to keep the pickles stay longer.
• In this recipe, the lime need to be sautéed till soft before you cut them. While sautéing ensure that the lime do not crack; just when they turn soft remove from the pan.
• Please adjust the chili powder and salt to your taste.