Comments on Indian Food Rocks: Make Lime Pickle (sans oil) while the Sun Shines

You make me feel like going to the market right aw...

2009-08-31T07:01:49.555-06:00

You make me feel like going to the market right away & making this Manisha!It rocks...& I have to make it soon. Has all my fave flavours. Wondering if I can wait two months though...YUM!! My mouth's watering!

Hi, I have published the recipe here. Have a look...

2009-08-13T10:00:37.114-06:00

Hi,

I have published the recipe here. Have a look when time permits.
http://nsushma.blogspot.com/2009/08/lime-pickle.html
The pickle tastes great, thanks for the recipe.

Thanks a lot for this wonderful pickle. Though my ...

2009-08-12T22:11:20.220-06:00

Thanks a lot for this wonderful pickle. Though my granny used to prepare this, I dinot have any clue about the things that went into making them. I prepared this pickle & it took almost three months to get the softness. I replaced limes with lemon once & it was done in 20days. I am going to make this again soon. I am planning to post this in my blog too :)

Tina, in my comment above I talked about fermentin...

2009-06-19T09:10:52.624-06:00

Tina, in my comment above I talked about fermenting. I wish to retract that statement after much delving this past year into pickle-making: already-sour things (like limes, mangoes, amla, etc.) are usually NOT fermented; they are salt-cured. For nimbu/key limes (Citrus aurantiifolia), recipes should use (as a minimum) 4 teaspoons of salt per cut-up cup, or about 6 nimbu if you leave them whole. Use 6 teaspoons of salt per cup of juice.
So, Tina... perhaps you used the larger, Persian limes (Citrus x latifolia)? For these, 5t of salt per cut-up cup is needed (2 or 3 of these will make a cup's worth), as they are juicier. So...you could compare this amount of salt with what your recipe used and adjust it by adding more to stop the fermentation. The bacteria which caused the fermentation are not poisonous (as long as there WAS some salt in the mix), and can be safely halted by adding more salt, but... (!) if you have a pale discoloration on the top of the jars I'd toss it... email me if you need more info or want me to check out your recipe: labaloo(at)yahoo(dot)com. Hope this helps...I've been there! :-)

Hi Manisha, I wondered if you could help me I foll...

2009-06-09T00:13:08.099-06:00

Hi Manisha,
I wondered if you could help me I followed a recipe for lime pickle from an Indian cook book. put the pickle in the sun for 4days(Spain)then put in cool larder for 1month now it is fermenting and squeezing out of the kilner jars(a feat in itself!)I now don't know if it is safe to use, any ideas?
I will be making your recipe for lime pickle today,but don't want to waste what I have already done.
Thank you,Tina

Hi ManishaI made both of your pickels Lemon and Li...

2009-03-02T22:33:00.000-07:00

Hi Manisha

I made both of your pickels Lemon and Lime, giner , chilli pickle...both pickels taste awesome, I live in Canberra city in Ausland..which gets very hot during summer...so I think I saw your recipe on time .... I hae made Lemon pickle twice so far.

Thanks for sharing...

Cheers

Rupsana

I just started my 2nd batch of lime pickle, this t...

2009-01-13T16:22:44.104-07:00

I just started my 2nd batch of lime pickle, this time with key limes & chili powder. The first batch was terrific, just not quite spicy enough. I think the fermentation process must break down capsaicin somewhat, as those Thai chilis were hot as the hinges on the door to hell when fresh. After pickling, they weren't any hotter than the lime pieces...

I tried blood oranges too, using the lemon pickle recipe. The peel was WAY too bitter. As I was throwing it out, I realized that the, um, goo was not intolerably bitter, so I saved that & threw the peel away.

So, what do I have left over? Is there a name for it? I'm afraid my Hindi only goes as far as the really bad words I learned reading "Sacred Games"...

I spoke too soon. Even though the peels had soften...

2008-10-17T17:30:31.113-06:00

I spoke too soon. Even though the peels had softened, it needed just a touch more time to come together. If it doesn't taste quite right, leave it alone until its delicious!

Hi Manisha,I wanted to report that I made this pic...

2008-10-07T13:07:27.073-06:00

Hi Manisha,

I wanted to report that I made this pickle - and it turned out better than all my other attempts at lime pickle so far.

I didn't have much sunshine in the northeast when I made it in September, but I was able to cook it inside my car, which still got hot enough in the sun to cook the pickle. After one too many gloomy days, I put the bottle in my slow cooker on low. It seems to have worked, although I don't have as much syrup as you have - my pickle is nearly dry. Tastewise, it's not bitter like my other attempts - there's just the right amount of sugar to balance it out, and its not sweet - so I like that.

hi manisha .... found ur blog while searhing for a...

2008-08-28T05:44:39.879-06:00

hi manisha .... found ur blog while searhing for a lime pickle recipe .. urs looking so good , I sure will make it , but there is one confusion ... that which limes should be used to make a pickle , i mean key lime or any other variety , from where do u buy ur limes , once i made lime pickle and it was a disaster , it turned out to be toooooooo bitter :( hope u could help .. thnx

Hi Manisha,This summer I've made both the no-oil l...

2008-08-17T17:50:16.519-06:00

Hi Manisha,

This summer I've made both the no-oil lemon and no-oil lime pickle this summer. The lime pickle just became ready last week and it is delicious! It is the lime-pickle I have been wanting to make for years! The lemon pickle should be ready soon, and I can't wait!

thanks for the recipes!

This is a nice touch! I actually just use all the ...

2008-05-27T00:09:44.402-06:00

This is a nice touch!
I actually just use all the lemon pieces left after the juice is squeezed out. I add green chillies and ginger juliennes and lemon juice and lots of salt and leave it in the sun. Never gets wasted! When it is soft my hubby takes out a bit and adds lots of finely chopped green chillies and squishes it well with his fingers- then you can even mix it with left over onion chutney.

Dear Manisha:I prepared the lime pickle and lemon ...

2008-04-28T14:53:45.474-06:00

Dear Manisha:
I prepared the lime pickle and lemon pickle as per your blog and left it in sun for 2 days and after that it started raining cats and dogs here with cloudy skies, all time for the past 5 days. Well, there is similar weather forcast like this for another 10 days.. i am scared abt the outcome of these pickles, i left it in the oven with the lights on... how can i proceed further, can you suggest me some ideas so that i can proceed further.
Thanks a lot dearie..
--Karthi

Hi Manisha I am a chef living in the hi...

2008-04-15T01:22:57.510-06:00

Hi Manisha
I am a chef living in the high country of australia 1000 metres above sealevel. I tried your wonderful pickle, lime and lemon and much to my surprise 15 days later it was thick and the rind was soft. It is currently fall hear in australia very hot days and cold nights . The only problem was that i lost some of the great color due to our very hot sun . many thanks for your fabulous recipes ...Tony(chefgate)

Alrighty...this pickle was the star in my kitchen ...

2008-04-09T23:24:45.926-06:00

Alrighty...this pickle was the star in my kitchen tonight...with onlookers watching the much-chopping. Since I've made your lemon pickle (using blood oranges), and it's really swell (to put it mildly),I thought I'd try your lime pickle...using limes! :-)
What a divine flavour-combo! And you and your sis have great taste adding all the methi- lovely! I saw your note about the carrots...hmmmm orange, yellow, green...nice analagous colour scheme! So I will now add those! You are totally a good pickle-maker! (despite your obstinate resolve to use glass instead of crockery) :-D

Hi Manisha,I've been looking for a lemon pickle re...

2008-02-17T14:14:31.602-07:00

Hi Manisha,
I've been looking for a lemon pickle recipe that I used to love back in India. Of course I can't find that pickle in the Indian grocery stores, so I thought I'd try to make it myself.

The pickle I'm looking for almost comes out really dark and kinda dry and really sour rather than hot. Does that make any sense? Please let me know if you know which lemon pickle recipe that could be.

Travelita, I'm sorry I missed seeing your comment ...

2008-01-14T15:39:44.055-07:00

Travelita, I'm sorry I missed seeing your comment earlier. The salt works as a preservative and what I have learned is that the sun provides the warmth for a process of fermentation. So even if there is no sun but it is warm, your pickle should do just fine. It might take longer, that's all. I hope it worked for you! Welcome to IFR!

Caleb & Anthony, welcome! The sugar in this recipe helps with the process of fermentation. So the end result is that this pickle is salty and the green chillies make it spicy. It is not sweet. I wouldn't add more salt as it is already high in sodium and quite salty. Why don't you make a small batch and see how it goes? You can *always* add more green chillies to make it spicier. This past summer (2007), I added some thin sliced carrots to this pickle.

i'm VERY interested in making thise, but i am look...

2008-01-14T14:12:08.983-07:00

i'm VERY interested in making thise, but i am looking for a recipe that yields more of a salty lime pickle than a sweet one.
Are these lime pickles sweet? salty? sour?
i realize that it has to be a combination of all three.
i am just wondering if they are more salty than sweet? is it possible to describe the flavor?
can the sugar and salt ratios be changed to yield a more salty lime pickle? what would you suggest?

thank you for your help and wonderful recipes!

you have an amazing blog!

Using key limes from garden, 1/8 cup gray sea salt...

2007-12-08T22:48:35.325-07:00

Using key limes from garden, 1/8 cup gray sea salt with Herbs de Provence, etc. Hope it works; rain today in San Diego, CA but the sun WILL come out.

Thanks!

Pooja, welcome to IFR! Your sungtache hooman bring...

2007-09-14T11:52:11.839-06:00

Pooja, welcome to IFR! Your sungtache hooman brings back so many memories! Whole methi is my sister's touch. They swell up, absorb the flavors and taste fabulous!

IM, 14 days! I am stunned! Sunny Florida, indeed!

Argus, always feel free to adjust the spices to suit your taste buds once you have the pickle going. Glad you liked it!

Laura, you sure can cook it in your car! Why ever not! If cookies can be baked on the dashboard, why not pickle, eh?! And that is just what Maria has done! It never occured to me as I work from home! I will update both this recipe and the lemon recipe with this suggestion! Thanks and a hearty welcome to both of you!

Hi Manisha,Great blog. I've been reading it for so...

2007-09-14T07:42:35.472-06:00

Hi Manisha,

Great blog. I've been reading it for some time. I just made the lime pickle - it's great.

I started it in the middle of August and used to leave it in my car to cook in the sun as I'm not home all day to keep moving it.

Would it be possible to cook this recipe inside a ...

2007-09-12T15:11:11.319-06:00

Would it be possible to cook this recipe inside a car year-round?? (I know that temperatures can soar inside a closed vehicle!) Just a thought.
Great blog - thank you for sharing! :)
~Laura Soltesz

Manisha, my lime and lemon pickles are just about ...

2007-08-10T04:04:55.167-06:00

Manisha, my lime and lemon pickles are just about done -- just as well, too, as summer seems to be over -- with taste adjustments. Thanks much for the ideas and inspiration.

Just 14 days ... yipeee ( well... honestly it didn...

2007-07-24T11:19:30.572-06:00

Just 14 days ... yipeee ( well... honestly it didn't rain as it does usually ) .. it is ready but I have to confess - err .. its half of what I actually put it .. couldn't help myself ... :) ....

Thanks again

These pickles look so gorgeous n taste must have b...

2007-07-24T07:41:46.516-06:00

These pickles look so gorgeous n taste must have been heavenly. We make similar pickle back home in goa but without methi i thik ( not sure). I will surely try these.