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lemon pickle recipe

Easy Sweet Lime Pickle Recipe | How To make Indian Lemon Pickle

Lemon or Lime Pickle or Nimbu ka Achar (as we call it) is an easy oil-free recipe that is a popular Indian condiment and goes well with several Indian dishes.
This gluten-free vegan recipe does not need any addition of oil and can be easily made with very few ingredients.
Prep Time 1 day
Showing Sun 2 days
Total Time 3 days
Course Achars, Condiments, indian pickles
Cuisine Indian, indian traditional
Servings 2 jars
Calories 64 kcal

Equipment

  • large utensil
  • two glass jars (I have used Treo Jars)

Ingredients
  

  • 500 gm fresh lemons around 14-15 medium sized lemons
  • 500 gm sugar more for sweet and less for not so sweet
  • 1 teaspoon Ajwain (carom seeds)
  • 1 teaspoon Garm Masala
  • 1.5 tablespoon Red Chilli powder reduce for less spicy
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1-2 teaspoon black salt
  • 75 gm plain salt

Instructions
 

  • 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 namak.
  • 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.
  • Once the lemons become dark yellow and tender, you may add sugar and spices: Red chilli 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 7-10 days.
  • It takes about a week for sugar to dissolve in sun's heat. The patience pays and the lemon pickle is ready! Enjoy!

Notes

  • 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
Nutrition Facts
Serving size: 1 tablespoon
Servings: 32
Amount per serving  
Calories 64
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0.1g 0%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 0mg 0%
Total Carbohydrate 17.3g 6%
Dietary Fiber 0.5g 2%
Total Sugars 16g  
Protein 0.2g  
Vitamin D 0mcg 0%
Calcium 5mg 0%
Iron 0mg 1%
Potassium 24mg 1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calorie a day is used for general nutrition advice.
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