Lemon Pickle

5 from 12 votes

Lemon pickle or Elumichampazha Urugai is a very simple pickle that is consumed a lot in Tamil Nadu. Also called Nimbu Ka Achaar in northern India, it is served in most of weddings in Tamil Nadu.

Prep Time10

Cook Time10

Resting time4

Total Time4 20

Course: pickles, south indian recipe, Summer Recipe

Cuisine: South Indian

Diet: Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings: servings

Calories: 39kcal

Author: Sandhya Ramakrishnan

Equipment

Pot
Spoon
Glass container

Ingredients

5 Lemon I used the US large Lemons
2 tablespoon Salt more if needed
4 tablespoon Chili powder I used medium spicy chili powder
½ teaspoon Roasted fenugreek powder
¼ teaspoon Asafetida
¼ cup Sesame seed oil / Gingelly oil
1 ½ teaspoon Mustard seeds

Instructions

Wash the lemons and peel off any stickers that are on the lemon skin.
In a large pot, heat water (enough to completely submerge the lemons). Let the water come to a rolling boil. Now gently drop the lemons into the boiling water and turn off the flame. Cover the pot with a tight lid and keep it aside.
Let the water cool down to room temperature before we proceed to the next step. I added the lemons in the boiling water at night and then let it sit overnight. I proceeded to make the pickle the next day morning.
Once the water had cooled down entirely, remove the lemons from the water. The lemon would be very soft and squishy and this stage.
Chop the lemons into desired shape. Lot of juice will flow out when you cut the lemons. Save all the juice as we will add it to the pickle. I used a plate to chop the lemons and kept draining the juice and the chopped lemons into a large non-reactive bowl.
To the chopped lemon, add the salt, chili powder, asafetida and roasted fenugreek powder.
Heat the oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds.
Once the seeds crackle, add it to the bowl with the rest of the ingredients.
Mix well and let it sit overnight in the bowl (covered).
Transfer the pickle to a sterilized jar and keep it airtight. The pickle should keep well outside, since it has quite a bit of oil in it. I am planning on storing it in the refrigerator after couple of weeks. This will give time for the lemons to keep getting softer
The pickle can be consumed the next day itself. I found the lemons to be quite soft and delicious to eat.

Notes

Expert tips and FAQ's

This is an instant pickle recipe. This can be eaten the same day as we make it.
Always make sure to use fresh spoon/ladle to take the pickle out each time. This prolongs the shelf life of the pickle.
Using Kashmiri Red chili powder gives the bright red color to the pickle.

Nutrition