Sweet Lime Pickle Recipe | How to make Lemon Pickle

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Do you love teaming poori with a Sweet lime Pickle?

This Easy recipe of Sweet Lemon Pickle, flavored with Red Chili powder, carom seeds, Black Pepper, and Black Salt (Pink Salt), is made in the Indian classic way by adding sugar to balance the tanginess of fresh lemons..

This Sweet Lime Pickle or Nimbu ka Khatta Meetha Achar (as we call it) is very close to my heart. It was my first attempt to make it around 12 years back and my toddler was the real motivation behind it.

She would eat poori and achar only. So instead of buying store-pickled, I decided to make my own- a super easy, oil-free recipe that is a popular Indian condiment and goes well with several Indian dishes- bathua paratha, roti, poori, jeera rice.

This recipe of Sweet Lime Pickle does not need any addition of oil and can be easily made with very few ingredients. Made with a slow process of fermentation, this is perfectly tangy, spicy, and sweet. Trust me, the patience is rewarding with the fail-proof family recipe.

More Pickles from the blog: Cucumber fermented pickle, Amla Achar Recipe, Gobi Gajar Shalgham Pickle, Sweet Amla Pickle, and Garlic Green Chilly Pickle.

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Ingredients
Best Time to make This Lime Pickle
How To make Sweet Lime Pickle
Step 1 Wash & Dry Lemons
Recipe Insights
Expert Tips
Recipe FAQs
More Condiments
Sweet Lime Pickle Recipe | How to make Lemon Pickle

Ingredients

Lemon- is the star ingredient of this pickle recipe. In India, we make this lemon pickle during December and January. This is the time when we get fresh Kaagji Nimbu (thin-skinned lemons) that are large and very juicy. Since their skin is thin, they can easily be softened up by keeping them in the sun.
Salt- is the main preservative for making this pickle. I start by adding salt to washed and dried lemons. This step makes the lemons soft and tender. I have used both normal salt and kala namak.
Spices-Spices used in making this achar are Ajwain (Carom Seeds), Black pepper, and Red Chili. I have generous with red chili powder. (You may see in the pics below). If you don't like the heat, reduce the chili at least by 70 percent.
Sugar- balances the spicy, salty and tangy flavors. One may skip sugar but then this pickle would be very tangy and spicy. I would suggest adding less sugar to begin with. Sugar dissolves in sun. Taste it after it gets mixed in the pickle and add more if need be.

Best Time to make This Lime Pickle

The best time to make Nimbu ka achar is the months December-January. During winters in India, we get easy access to large and juicy lemons that have thin skin and they are the perfect choice for making a pickle.

How To make Sweet Lime Pickle

Step 1 Wash & Dry Lemons

Wash lemons under the tap and keep them in sun for a day for drying up. I also wash jars and sundry them. Once fully dry, take a kitchen cloth or tissue paper to clean the lemons and jars.

Then chop lemons in quarters and add kala namak along with plain salt.

Step 2 Add Salt to Lemons and Keep in Sun

Mix salt well and transfer the lemons to the jars. Keep the jars in sun for 15-20 days. The sun ensures that the lemon skin becomes soft, shrunk, and tender.

Step 3 Spice and Sugar It

Once the lemons become dark yellow and tender, you may add sugar and spices: Red chili powder, black pepper, Ajwain (Carom seeds) and Garm masala. I like it both sweet and spicy. One may adjust as per the taste.

Keep the jars in sun again for 10-15 days.

Step 4 The Sweet Lime Pickle is ready

It takes about a week for sugar to dissolve in sun's heat. The patience pays and the lemon pickle is ready! Enjoy!

Recipe Insights

Its my family recipe and we have been making this pickle from ages. First, you dry lemons and chop them in any shape. Add just salt and keep it in airtight jar for few days.

This totally depends upon the sunlight you get at your place (also the quality of lemons) It took around 15 days for me to get the peel softened.

I kept the jar in sun almost daily. For salt ratios, I referred to Nisha Madulika's recipe.

Then, add sugar and spices. Mix well and keep again in sun for few days. From the heat of sun, sugar would mix up slowly and gradually.

Expert Tips

The first and important factor for making the pickle perfect is presence of sunlight. I begin making any pickle by keeping the veggies (here lemon), jars, spoons in sun for drying up. Given a peak winter season in India in the month of January, it's tough to get things dried up soon without the sun.
An ounce of moisture can lead to spoiling up of all your hard work. Make sure to dry everything before beginning with this recipe of lemon pickle.
Have patience as this is a slow process. We start by adding salt to raw lemons. It takes about 20 days for their skins to become tender and be ready for the next step. Adding sugar and getting it mixed in sun takes another 20-30 days. This may vary depending upon the quantity of lemons used for making the pickle.
Since the pickles are made using a fermentation process, they can be preserved for a long duration (easily for 2-3 years). Depending upon the type and process used to make the pickle, determine this closely.
Lemon pickle has no oil, and I have jars kept at room temperature for over one year.

Recipe FAQs

How do you make lemon pickles without bitterness?

Make sure to add salt with lemons and keep them in sun for about 8-10 days. The addition of salt helps reduce the bitterness of the skin. Also, make lemon pickle in winters when the skin of the lemon is very thin and soft naturally.

Are lime pickles sweet?

One can make spicy or sweet lime pickle. It's a personal choice. This recipe is sweet and tangy.

More Condiments

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