Lemon pickle

Written By Reena on 4 Jun 2010 | 05:00



This is a fantastic pickle recipe - sweet, sour and spicy all at the same time.  I also love the fact that the cooking process requires a hot, sunny day.  During the summer months I keep an eye on the weather forecast and as soon as I see a heatwave on the horizon I start collecting fresh juicy lemons.  The preparation is very quick and simple - the time is in the natural drying process.  Personally I'd like to know who came up with these methods so that I can shake their (probably skeletal) hand.



Makes 1 jar of pickle

Ingredients
  • 5 unwaxed lemons
  • 5 teaspoons chilli powder
  • 3 teaspoons turmeric
  • 3 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon asafoetida
  • 250 grams sugar
  • 2 tablespoons light tasting vegetable oil
Method
  1. Place the lemons in a pan and cover them with water.  Place a lid on the pan and bring the water to a boil.  Let the lemons simmer until they are very soft - in the region of 20 minutes.
  2. Drain the lemons and let them cool until they are easy to handle.
  3. Now cut each lemon in half lengthways.  Cut each half into three or four strips and then cut each strip into bit sized pieces.  
  4. Arrange the lemon pieces on a plate and place them in the sun to dry.  They are ready when the skin has become slightly firm and you can see the sugar from the lemon starting to crystallize on the surface of the skin.  There should still be some moisture in the lemons as you don't want the pickle to be too tough.  The length of time this will take depends on the weather and the size and variety of lemons.  I made these on a glorious sunny day and they had finished drying within 4 hours.
    Now place the dried lemon pieces in a mixing bowl and add all of the remaining ingredients.  Stir well.  Taste the pickle and add more chilli or salt if required.
  5. Cover the bowl with cling film and leave to one side.  Give the pickle a quick stir if you are passing by.  You will notice the consistency of the pickle change with time.  It is ready when the sugar has dissolved completely and the mixture is runny.  Again the time this will take depends on various factors but don't be surprised if it takes 2-3 days.  
  6. When it is ready, place in a clean dry jar and store in a cool, dark place - but not a fridge as it will cause the sugars in the pickle to solidify. 
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23 comments :

  1. Anonymous7 June 2010 at 09:08

    is there another way to dry the lemons? Currently we hardly have sunshine :-(

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  2. Reena7 June 2010 at 09:13

    Hello! I'm not sure that there is :-( I'm sure that some good weather will come along shortly. Reena

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  3. Peanut Butter and Jealous!8 June 2010 at 16:26

    I'm not sure either - but if you're really in the mood for this, it might be worth it to try placing them on parchment paper in the oven on a really low setting (mimicking the heat from the sun). I've dried things this way before (but not lemons) so before you ruin a whole bag based on this advice, try one or two lemons! :)

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  4. Reena9 June 2010 at 07:10

    That's a good idea PB&J - I'll give it a go and comment on how it comes out. Reena

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  5. Anonymous9 June 2010 at 11:23

    thanks for the hint PB&J! I might try it or go on hoping that the summer will finally arrive ;-)

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  6. Anonymous9 June 2010 at 15:24

    one question: what is asafoetida??

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  7. Reena9 June 2010 at 18:17

    Hi Angel. Asafoetida is a digestive aid. It is bought in powder form and smells awful! You should be able to buy it anywhere that sells a comprehensive range of spices. Hope this helps. Reena

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  8. The Purple Foodie9 June 2010 at 20:47

    <3 lemon pickle! i also have recently developed a liking for lotus root pickle

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  9. Reena9 June 2010 at 21:30

    Ooh lotus root pickle sounds interesting. Korean I presume?

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  10. Reena10 June 2010 at 12:34

    Hi Karin. This link talks about asafoetida: http://bit.ly/anPqdb. Apparantly you can substitute a teaspoon of asafoetida powder with equal parts garlic and onion powders. I've never tried it but I can't see why it shouldn't work. If all else fails I can't imagine that it would be a problem to miss out the ingredient. All the best. Reena

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  11. Reena10 June 2010 at 13:36

    Hi Karin. I've just tried dried a lemon in the oven. I used the lowest settings (50 degrees centigrade - although my oven thermometer read 70 degrees) and within an hour it was dry. However the texture wasn't right - it wasn't sticky and the sugar hadn't crystallized. I've made the pickle anyway (omitting the asafoetida) and will let you know in the next day or so how it turns out. Take care. Reena

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  12. Reena10 June 2010 at 17:07

    Hi Karin - I've just tasted the lemon pickle using the oven drying method. You can miss out the asafoetida without too great an effect but you can't dry out the lemon in the oven; the texture is all wrong. Essentially the lemon should be soft and juicy but with a little chewiness. With the oven drying method the lemons are dry and chewy and taste bitter. Looks like you will have to wait for a heatwave! Fingers crossed. Reena

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  13. Jeanne @ CookSister!10 June 2010 at 18:08

    Hi reena - I've just been browsing all the gorgeous pictures on your blog! It was lovely to meet you, albeit briefly, at Food Blogger Connect last weekend. Hope that you found our talks to be entertaining and useful? I'll definitely be following your beautiful blog from now on and I hope we meet up again soon :)

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  14. Reena10 June 2010 at 18:18

    Hi Jeanne. Thank you for stopping by! The talks were fantastic and you made some really useful points about recipe writing. I have created (a rather long) things to do list following the conference and a substantial number of these were from listening to you speak! Entertaining and useful - now those are skillsets sadly lacking in the (mostly male?) workplace! Speak soon. Reena

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  15. Anonymous10 June 2010 at 19:26

    Hi Reena! I had good luck today. When I got home the sun was shining and it was still around 40°C warm/hot. So I cooked the lemons and put them into the sun for 2 hours. Looks like it was enough for them to crystallized. Also I could find asafoetida in an indian shop in Basel. So fingers crossed, that it turnes out great ;-) What do you eat it with? Meat?
    Cheers, Karin

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  16. Reena10 June 2010 at 19:49

    Hi Karin. 40 degrees??!!!! I am soooo jealous. You have had good luck today. I hope you enjoy the pickle. I eat it with most curries - Steve (my hubby) eats it with almost anything savoury including pizza! Reena

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  17. Anh11 June 2010 at 00:10

    The idea of lemon pickle is awesome! I've bookmarked this one

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  18. tasteofbeirut11 June 2010 at 01:58

    I have always wanted to make lemon pickles but always decided before even trying that it would be too demanding of a task; you have convinced me now to try it as the sun will be doing most of the work!

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  19. Reena11 June 2010 at 06:12

    Hi Anh - I hope you give it a try!. Reena

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  20. Reena11 June 2010 at 06:15

    Hi Joumana (tasteofbeirut). I'm guessing that living in Dallas means that you should soon have a steady supply of sun! I'm not jealous at all! Enjoy the weekend. Reena

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  21. bron16 June 2010 at 15:38

    Reena I love that you believe the sun will shine again in London! Beginning to wonder myself.

    Great blog, I will try some of your recipes and let you know how i get on.

    Enjoyed meeting you at FBC - hope we do again.

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  22. Reena16 June 2010 at 22:23

    Hi Bron. It was great to meet you too. Let me know what you think of any of the food you try. Speak to you soon. Reena

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  23. Reena28 June 2010 at 20:27

    Hi Akshay. Thank you for your comment. The processes are incredible. Take care. Reena

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