In almost every culture, preserves, Pickles, Condiments are a part of meals.
Most of these are cured or preserved and some are made fresh. green Chutney is made fresh and many other pickles are cured with salt and baked in the Sun. Most of these pickles and condiment can last up to a year without refrigeration. This tradition has been going on in India for generations.
This process is long-takes many days. A friend of mine sent me some Yellow limes-small yellow lime size-thin skin and seedless lemons-I really do not know if I should call them Lemons or Limes. These were so nice and just perfectly ripe.
Anyway I decided to try different method to shorten the time before the Pickle is soft enough and it is just as tasty. I wanted to make something that saved time.
I cut the lemons in to 8 pieces and added salt and Turmeric, mixed them and kept it in a mixing bowl-covered for 3 days-mix it twice a day but keep it covered in a Glass bowl or a Jar. Generally the Original recipe takes about two to three weeks but I wanted to make it a bit faster and see if it works.
I wanted to make it with less sugar or no sugar. Most of cured pickles have sugar added.
This was an experiment that turned out better then I expected.
I made it with Agave nectar sent it to the friend who had given me the lemons. She called and really was pleased with the taste and the fact that there was NO sugar, it was even better then a regular pickle with sugar.
THIS CONDIMENT HAS TO BE KEPT AT ROOM TEMPERATURE FOR A FEW DAYS BUT HAS TO BE STORED IN THE REFRIGERATOR AFTER IT IS MADE.
Special Item needed- Indian Pickle Masala-available in Specialty store-comes in a plastic bag in a box. This pickle will not taste the same without the Masala. If it is not available in your area, you may want to order online from an Indian spice store.
The recipe is great the way I have done it but you may need to add or reduce spices-per your taste. The Indian pickles are used with meals like condiments. Please taste a little before using.