Nimbu Ka Achar or Indian Lime Pickle is one of the perfect Indian condiments that goes well with vegetarian food especially with daal and rice.

Though the method to prepare Lonche or pickle varies from place to place, the mere thought of it makes you salivate .

This Indian Lime pickle has many names. Some call it nimbu ka achaar, while some call it limbache lonche. Name doesn’t matter, right? What matters is the taste and the thrill you get while preparing any food.

I learnt how to prepare this spicy lime pickle from my dear friend Anita. She is a great cook and a great friend too. To try out, in the beginning I prepared using only 4 limes. But it became so tasty that the minute I made it, it was over. You can’t just stop after 1 or 2 pieces.

So, I decided to prepare it again and called my friend to try it out. And she said it was perfect and I should blog about it. And here I am with this mouth watering , stupendous Indian lime pickle. Some people use mustard oil for preparing pickle but I have used olive oil .

Preparation Time: 7-8 Days

Yields :2 Cups

Ingredients : 

• 10 whole Limes
• 2 Tablespoons Salt
• 1 Tablespoon Red Chili Powder(can adjust according to your preference)
• 3-4 Tablespoons Grated Jaggery(Panela)
• 1/2 Cup Olive Oil(Can use mustard oil too)
• 2 Teaspoons Mustard seeds
• 1/2 Tablespoon Hing/Asafoetida

Method:

Wash limes well with water and pat them dry.

Use half the quantity of limes to make the pickle. Cut them into 4 pieces. If they are big , cut them into more pieces.

Squeeze out the juice from the remaining limes in a bowl.

Add chili powder and salt in the juice and mix well.

Add the lime pieces in this mixture and mix well.

Pour everything in a broad mouth glass bottle and close the lid. Keep it for fermentation.

Let the bottle stand for 2-3 days. After 3rd day remove the pieces out in a big bowl and mix. pour it back again in the bottle. Repeat this process of mixing every alternate days until the lime peels turn yellow from green and soft. That means it is fully fermented. For me it took 8 days to reach to final stage to give tempering.

After the peels are softened, remove the fermented pieces in a bowl and add grated jaggery. Mix well.

Heat the oil on medium high heat in the small saucepan pan and once the oil is nice and hot, adjust the heat to low and add mustard seeds. Close the lid. Let the seeds crackle. Once the crackling stops, add asaefoetida(hing) and remove from heat.

Let the tempering cool down completely. Once it is cooled down, pour it over fermented lime and mix well.

Store this pickle in airtight glass bottle . Do not refrigerate. Make sure that the oil is floating above the pickle. If not, add little more oil to keep it fresh. Enjoy lime pickle anytime during lunch, dinner or even for breakfast with chapati or roti.

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