Lemon and Lime Pickle

Written by McDonald, T.  |  Date 29th of May 2021

I love a good vegan curry, but i never tried making my own lime pickle to go with it.  I only had 2 limes and a lemon, so I'm making lemon and lime pickle today.  I used a mayonnaise jar to store it in because it is better to reuse stuff rather than keep buying new things and i ask you to do the same.  This side dish is a great accompaniment to any curry or as a starter.  Sometimes i have it on its own with some bread as a snack.

Ingredients 

• 1 Lemon 
• 2 limes
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1/8 onion  
• 1 tsp ginger
  
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp paprika 
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp mustard powder
  
• 2 tsp of salt
  
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• 4 tbsp of cider vinegar 
• Water
• Rapeseed oil
  

 Apparatus 

• A glass jar to put the pickle in
• Saucepan
• Sharp knife
• Chopping broad
• Wooden spoon
  

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Method

1. Cut up the lemons and limes into bit size pieces then put in a bowl with the salt. Stir until everything is covered in the salt and leave for a day or two in the fridge. You can get straight on with it if you are in a hurry. However, it is much better if you give it the two days. 
2. Add the spices to a saucepan with some oil and heat gently until you can start to smell the aroma. 
3. Finely dice the onion and the garlic then add to the saucepan. 
4. Add the lemon and limes the the saucepan. Stir in the lemon and limes with the spices.
5. Add the vinegar, water and sugar.  Stir it all in. 
6. Bring to the boil and the turn down to a simmer. Leave to simmer for an hour or more until the mixture reduces to the viscosity of a thick paste. 
7. Allow to cool down for 10 minutes before putting into the glass jar.  Add some oil to the top and leave to cool down more before place in the fridge or it will upset the steady temperature in your fridge. 
8. leave for at least 3 days to give the flavours time to infuse. 

Results

The mixture fitted into the jar fine and the lemon and limes where tender enough, but the lemon was a little strong.  The product stored well in the jar in the fridge and seemed to get better as the days went by.

Conclusion

The taste was great, but i kept thinking it needed to be a bit sweeter and more spicy.  Nonetheless, the lemons and limes where tender and tasty.  The sauce was thick, which is what i was looking for.  Overall, i was pleased with the result, but i do have the following recommendations:

• More sugar
• More chilli either powder or pepper finely chopped