Sweet Lemon Pickle ( Neembu ka Meetha Achar )

Hello friends,
Namaskar....

I am Sangeeta Agrawal and heartily welcome you at my food blog.

# Pickle is an integral part of Indian food.
It enhances the taste and improves the digestive system.

# Lemons are high in Vitamin C, fiber and improves digestion. Its nutrients are responsible for several health benefits.

# It is the only Pickle that is oil free and needs no preservatives and go long till years.

#  Let us see the recipe....

# Ingredients For Lemon Pickle...

1. Lemons....500 gram ( Kagaji neembu )
2. Sendha Salt...40 gram
3. Black Salt....10 gram
4. Sugar....500 or 600 gram
5. Red chili powder.....1 Table spoon
6. Crushed Ajwain.....1 Table spoon
7. Roasted cumin powder...1 Table spoon
8. Garam masala....1 Tea spoon
9. Black pepper powder....1 Tea spoon ( Fresh and coarsed )
10. Asafoetida....1/2 Tea spoon
11. Suhaga....6 gram..1/2 spoon ( roasted and grinded )

#  Procedure of Making...

1. Firstly, take Kagaji neembu or Lemons for making the Lemon Pickle.
( It is easily available in the market in the end of February and start of March.
Its skin is very thin and you can see its veins. )

2. Then wash it well and place them on a strainer. Clean the moisture with a cotton cloth and let them dry out completely for 1 hour.

3. Now cut all the Lemons in the middle into four pieces and seed out them with the end of a knife.

4. Then take out them in a big glass container or martwan.
Sprinkle sendha salt evenly and mix well.

5. Cover it with a lid and toss it daily for 3 or 4 times till 15 days.

6. Now you will see that lemon pieces have become soft and mashy due to salt.

7. They are ready for making the pickle and further process of adding other ingredients.
Now there are two methods ....
Either in the Sun or without Sun.

# In the first method....just add everything like... sugar, Black salt, red Chili powder, garam masala, roughly grinded Ajwain, roasted cumin powder, asafoetida and roasted and grinded Suhaga in the pieces of lemon and mix well and place it in the Sun light daily till 15 to 20 days.
You can bind a clean muslin cloth over it and toss it daily.
You will see while tossing that sugar is melting with other ingredients and nice aroma is coming.

# The second Method is instant and without Sun light....
It is as follows....

8. Check the lemon pickle if any lemon water is there..just pour it in a clean pan with sugar.
If there is no moisture there...then just add 4 lemons juice in the sugar for making the Sugar syrup.
Or you can add 50 ml.water in the sugar and cook it on the slow flame till it melts well.. stirring continuously.

9. As the sugar dissolves completely, just add lemon pieces in it and mix well for 30 seconds only.
Off the flame otherwise it can be tight.

10. After 5 minutes, add other spices with black salt and Suhaga.
Mix it well and let it remain in the pan for a day so that it could absorb everything well.

Next day, fill it in a food jar or martwan.

Lemon pickle is ready to enjoy.
You can store it till years.

# Things To cosider....

1. Better to take kagajii lemon for the pickle because its peel is thin.

2. Suhaga is that one which is given to the babiies for the digestion by our mother and grand mother.
Just heat a tawa and add Suhaga...as it becomes fluffy...take out in a plate and crush it.

3. Better to use fresh spices and ingredients for making any pickle.

4. You can add more sugar and less Chili powder as your taste.
For 500 gram lemons....500 gram sugar is used traditionallly.

Thanku Friends,
Thanks again.