Pickled Ginger – Ginger Pickle

This week I chose a theme that is slightly out of my comfort zone. I chose Root vegetables as the theme where I will be highlighting recipes made with root vegetable. The first vegetable or root that I chose is Ginger, which is also referred to as ginger root. Ginger (Zingiber officinale), is a flowering plant and we use the rhizome (root) as a spice. I remember growing up that they grew turmeric and ginger plant at home around January to use the leaves for the Pongal/Sankranthi festival.

Ginger roots, when harvested young, is very tender and have very thin skin / peel.  For recipes where we use raw ginger like this one, the tender ones are the most preferred. Ginger is available year around very easily and is also very easy to grow at home in a pot.

This ginger pickle is very simple to make and involves no cooking. It pairs great with stuffed paratha or as a garnish on subzis. I loved the crunch it had along with the tangy flavor from the lemon and the spiciness from the green chilies. We can store this pickle for couple of weeks in the refrigerator.

Preparation time – 15 minutes
Cooking time – none
Difficulty level – easy

 

Ingredients to make Pickled Ginger – Makes 1 cup

• Ginger – 1 cup (thinly sliced)
• Lemon juice – from 2 small or 1 large lemon
• Green chilies – 3 or 4 (sliced lengthwise)
• Salt – to taste

Procedure to make Pickled Ginger –

• Wash the ginger well. Remember ginger is a root that is under the ground and hence has lot of dirt in it.

• Peel the skin using a peeler. A good peeler comes in very handy for this messy job.
• Now cut the ginger into very thin slices and then julienne them into thin strips. Ginger root could be fibrous especially if it is a mature root and cutting it in one direction works better. You will realize which direction is better as you are slicing the ginger.

• Place the chopped ginger in a bowl and add the salt needed. Toss it well and leave it aside for 10 to 15 minutes for the ginger to become a little soft.
• Now add the sliced green chilies and the juice of the lemon and mix well. Let the pickle marinate for at least couple of hours before serving. I left it overnight in the refrigerator and then served it the following afternoon for lunch.

• Keep any unused pickle in an air tight jar in the refrigerator.