Lemon Pickle

I don't get into making pickles usually. When available in the market why do at home is the attitude I mostly have. Long back for the first time I tried mango pickle and it turned out good. This time, when I was traveling back from Chennai, I got lured to buy a pack of 40-45 lemons for just 40 Rs. It was quite a bargain. As otherwise we get 5 lemons for 10 Rs. So now what to do with that lemons? I decided to make lemon pickle. So here goes the recipe.

Ingredients:
        
Lemon - 40
Salt - 0.5 Cup
Red Chilli powder - 0.5 Cup
Turmeric powder - 1 Spoonful
Fenugreek Seeds/Vendhayam - 1 Spoonful

Sesame Oil - 1 Spoonful
Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
Hing - 1 teaspoon

                       
 Way to go:

• Chop the lemons into 0.5 inch pieces
• Now add Chilli powder, sat and turmeric powder to the chopped lemons, mix well. Now let them rest overnight so they get mixed well.
• The next day, dry fry the fenugreek seeds in a pan and grind it to a fine powder. Keep aside.
• Now take a kadai, and pour the oil and add the mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds begins to crackle add the hing and fry for 2 seconds in low flame.
• Now quickly pour the above to the chopped lemon, and also add the ground fenugreek powder. Now mix this well. 
• Move this mixture to a pickle jar. Ensure the lemon pieces are sufficiently wet and soaked in oil. Else you can heat up few more spoons oil and pour into it, and mix again. Oil helps the pickle from getting stale.
• To prevent the pickle  from becoming stale stir them twice a day for 4-5 days
• After a week, pickle would be ready to have. That is lemons would have softened and would have absorbed the spices well into it.
• Also keep in mind you can always adjust the salt and spiciness anytime for the pickle. But it is easy if the salt/spiciness is less and it needs to be increased than vice versa. So for the former case, just add the required amount of salt or Chilli powder, and pour heated oil on top of it, mix well and keep aside for a day. You will be done.