Indian Lime Pickle
I have always loved spicy Indian-style pickle dishes, especially lime pickle. There’s something about the sour tart lime combined with hot spices that my own palate finds very infatuating. Since I’ve been fermenting actively over the past many years, I am always looking for new experiments and this lime pickle recipe happens to hit a home run in my book. Although the fermentation time can be a little on the long side for the impatient among us, if you appreciate hot condiments, this one is definitely worth the wait.
While I imagine you can make this without asafoetida, it is an interestingly pungent spice that adds a wonderful nuance to the flavor. I used 4 tablespoons of cayenne pepper when I initially made this, and while deliciously edible, I’ve since lowered the heat of this lime pickle recipe by limiting the cayenne to two or three tablespoons. Be your own best judge for that.
When shopping for limes, it’s best to seek out thinner-skinned limes. It will make the texture that much better.
If you’re a fan of Indian-style pickles, you’ll be really glad you made this.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds of limes (for me that was 18 limes)
- 4 Tablespoons Sea Salt
- 3 Tablespoons turmeric powder
- 1 Tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 cup olive oil (or mustard oil for more authentic taste)
- 1 Tablespoon Asafoetida Powder
- (optional but very helpful for flavor)
- 1/2 cup mustard seeds
- 1/4 cup fenugreek seeds crushed - can be purchased pre-ground as Methi Powder
- 2 Tablespoons cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Prepare the limes - Cut each limes into 8 wedges
- Place ingredients in fermenting vessel - Place the cut limes into a small fermenting vessel (I used a 1/2 gallon glass wide-mouth jar) and toss with the salt, turmeric and vinegar. I now prefer using a 1/2 gallon Mason Jar with an airlock such as this.
- Cover and wait 4 weeks - Cover with a lid (not screwed on as you need to allow gas pressure to escape), a towel, or better yet an airlock. Let it ferment for 4 weeks, stirring every few days. This initial fermentation period helps to tenderize the lime peel and to make them more edible.
- Toast the Mustard Seeds - After letting the limes ferment for 4 weeks, begin the next stage by toasting the mustard seeds in a pan. Toasting the seeds helps to moderate their heat and enhances the flavor.
- Add in the other ingredients - Once the seeds have cooled add the mustard seeds, oil, asafoetida powder, fenugreek (methi powder
- ) and cayenne pepper
- Allow to sit for 2+ weeks - This resting period will allow the fermentation to continue and also for the flavors to merge and settle in.
- Jar it up and refrigerate - This should keep fairly indefinitely when refrigerated. I've actually enjoyed the last bit of an old batch recently after about 4 years and it was still as potent and delicious. Always be your own best judge when it comes to food safety, however.
Serving Suggestions
This is not a recipe for a full dish but rather a condiment to place on your plate when eating other Indian food, or just when you want a jolt of something hot. It’s also delicious as a snack sandwiched between a couple of wheat crackers. I love this stuff.
I think I inherited loving these Indian lime pickles from my mother who always had a jar of something or other like this on the door of her fridge. In her honor, I also have created a recipe for fermented horseradish which she used to eat by the teaspoon like it was crack. I miss you momma.
Other related recipes
Indian Spice Cauliflower Sauerkraut
Hi Ted: This site is FANTASTIC! And so are these recipes. I just checked them all out and I am anxious to make the lime pickle dish. You are really good at this fermenting thing and this site is right on. Love the pictures and instructions. Thanks so much for making this site for those of us interested. Love it. SANDRA
Sandra, if you are concerned about too much salt, I imagine that after the initial salt curing process that you could rinse a lot of the salt off the limes before finishing the fermentation with the added spices. Would love to hear about variations of some of these recipes you have.
Hi,
Love the recipe! I made the limepickle.com version for a couple of years but never took down the recipe. I was gutted when I could no longer get it. Would you be able to divulge the original recipe? I would be eternally grateful!
Hi,
This seems like a fantastic recipe. I went out and purchased 36 limes (they were on sale for $1/bag of six). However, 18 limes doesn’t even fit in a one gallon wide mouth jar. Are you talking about key limes? If not regular limes, what should I change the ingredient measurements to? I already did the salt/turmeric/vinegar (used apple cider because I was out of white). If I need to increase amounts, what should I increase them to?
Thanks!
Hi Michelle, and thank you for your question. It seems all the limes around the markets I shop at are the same smaller size (kind of slightly larer than a golf ball, so it didn’t occur to me that some folks might have very different sized limes. I’ll start working a lot more with weights rather than simply counts from now on. Once I cut my limes, they fit approximately into 1/2 gallon. I can’t know quite the size of your limes, but once cut, I would compare that to the 1/2 gallon figure and if 1 full gallon, I would then double all the ingredients. I’ll go to the market later today and weigh limes and update this recipe so it’s more clear for future lime pickle enthusiasts. thanks again for writing.
I’ve done some Moroccan Preserved Lemons before and was at first a bit stumped on how to get them all in the jar. The answer ended up being brute force! Stuff them in and cram them down with stout utensil handle or pestle. Really squish them in there! Most of them will fit. The squished shapes does not seem to effect the process or the later product. Not only does this get more in, but it releases the juice, which helps to cover the whole pickle/ferment.
Looking above, however it seems that the oil is important, as is the shape of the pulp…Well, if you ever make Preserved lemons, you know what to do!
Hi Brian, Thanks for the tip and also for the inspiration to try some Moroccan Preserved Lemons. I’d love to hear more about that too? Is it a fermentation process? What’s the basic procedure?
Thanks for the feedback! My experience with Moroccan preserved Lemons has be a long and fun one. They are lemons (Meyer lemons are supposed to be closest to Moroccan ones, any will do)split, rubbed with salt and crammed in a jar. I add spices such as peppercorns cinnamon and bay leaves to the brine but they can be put in alone, too. The lemons release juice as you salt them and stuff them in the jar, but sometimes you need to add extra lemon juice to cover them. They can be unrefrigerated for a really long time ( A year?) but I usually let them ferment/brine for a few months and the put them in the fridge to store.
I’m not too sure whether this is simply a brine or a ferment. There’s a ton of salt in there and just lemon juice, so I’m not sure if it’s friendly to bacteria. The lemons are quite transformed by the time you pull them out to use. The rinds are the part most folks use and they are supple and easy to dice or slice. The taste is really neat too, lemony, salty but with little acidity or the bitterness of the rind. A lemony but unique taste. A white sort of lacy stuff forms in the brine, but it seems to do little to the taste, good or ill. This may be and indication of some bacterial growth, however. A quick look at some other parts of the internets show that people refer to them as lacto-ferments..who knows if they’re right?!
As far as using them: I slice them thin and put them in a salad. I line the bottom of my slow cooker with them to make a Moroccan inspired dish. Throw them in a tagine. Slide them under the skin of a chicken you want to roast. Throw the rind and the pulp in a soup that you want to add a rich briny, lemony flavor to.
Here’s the recipe I’ve been using for years:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Preserved-Lemons-231570
You really don’t need to follow the salt proportions exactly. Anymore, I just put some salt in the bottom of the jar, slice and salt the lemons add spices and get them in there! Keep adding any extra lemon juice or lemon halves you end up with after cooking over time.
Enjoy!
Brian, a lacto-ferment is the same as a ferment or a brine, it’s done with salt and veggies (or lemons) rather than vinegar (which would make it simply a marinated product). The salt inhibits the ‘bad’ bacteria for long enough that the ‘good’ bacteria is able to get a foothold- lactobacilli. Essentially it’s like making lemon vinegar, or cabbage vinegar for sauerkraut. I even use the extra juice that’s left from my kimchi/sauerkraut/pickles for salad dressing. It’s delicious and also happens to be great for replenishing the gut ‘microbiome’! Thanks for offering the Moroccan Preserved Lemons recipe, it sounds great!
Thanks Brian, I’ll give it a shot once I can scavenge up some lemons. I appreciate your support and inspiration. Funny, just as I was typing this, I smelled lemons. None anywhere near, but it’s the power of suggestion at work….
Hi Ted,
I love your website your recipes are so useful and easy to follow…I have recently tried out your lime pickle but was wondering what variations can you use…would it work with figs? What about lotus fruits?
Look forward to hearing your suggestions! Peter
I honestly don’t know but am always willing to experiment. I tried mangoes this summer, but I didn’t give it much attention and it got very moldy. I think they were a little too ripe and I didn’t use an airlock or anything beyond a cloth to cover it. I’d try green mangoes with an airlock next time. Figs would be fun, but I think they might just disintegrate once the liquid leached out due to the heavy salt load. Worth trying though. Dried figs might be interesting to try too. Maybe a rind like watermelon would work. Would love to hear of your experiments and see what happens, or if others have suggestions…
Hi Ted!
Love your site. Just a quick question – do you cover your lime pickle with a cloth or weight it like you would with kraut?
Thanks so much for sharing all these great recipes, Dina.
Hi Dina. I don’t use a weight with this. I just cover with a cloth. Let me know how it goes.
YOU DON´T INDICATE WHETHER A T IS A TEASPOON OR A TABLESPOON.YOU DON,T SAY WHETHER TO USE FENUGREEK LEAVES OR SEEDS.PLEASE REPLY AS I AM OTHERWISE INTERESTED IN YOUR RECIPE!
Sorry about the confusion. I use “T” for tablespoon and “t” for teaspoon on this site. I’ve only used fenugreek seeds as I haven’t run across fenugreek leaves. It’s a flavor thing so if leaves are similar in flavor to the seeds I’m sure they are fine too. Good luck!
Oh – so glad I found the blog. I have never fermented anything ( intentionally) so this is a first for me and I’ve just made it interpreting T as teaspoon … ok, I’ll now add the extra using Tablepsoons!!!
I have the mixture in a glass / pyrex bowl with a lid that is far from airtight. Should I cover it with cling wrap to keep it airtight? The mixture is sitting on the bench in the kitchen, no direct sunlight & temp of about 20c during the day. Trust that is ok.
regards
Kay
Hello!
Could you also explain what the ‘c’ stands for? If it’s ‘cup’ could you let me know what that measurement is in millilitres (I’m British, it’s the way we do things over here :-)..)
Thanks!
c=cup; 1 cup = 236.588 millilitres
Cheers!
Hi Ted,
Thanks for explaining the cups to ml conversion…could you also tell me what 1/2 cup of mustard seeds and 1/4 cup of fenugreek seeds is in tablespoons or grams? Thanks so much…I’m British too and never understand the cups thing!
Hi Daisy, 4 Tablespoons is equivalent to 1/4 cup, so 1/2 cup would be 8 Tablespoons.
Thanks so much! In the process of making this now, can’t wait to taste it!
Awesome, Daisy. Good luck!
Sigh … total bliss. Although I was a tad impatient and tried them a week early … my dosas sang with delight … Thank you and am looking forward to trying more of your recipes … Don’t know if you have tried curries with mango powder … addictive as well. Cheers, Dina.
I have been looking at the lime pickle recipe for months and finally made it a few days ago. I have never fermented anything deliberately before so am unsure whether it is supposed to look as it does. Isn’t a ferment supposed to be without oxygen? The lime mixture is fairly dry so the juice generated by cutting them all up isn’t enough to cover the limes. Is this ok or am I supposed to cover it all with brine or something?
Emma, it’s definitely wise to keep air and potential mold spores from settling in here, but it’s not a fully-anaerobic-submersed-in-brine type of environment. The higher salt content of this fermentation helps keep the environment stable.
Oh – so glad I found the blog. I have never fermented anything ( intentionally) so this is a first for me and I’ve just made it interpreting T as teaspoon … ok, I’ll now add the extra using Tablepsoons!!!
I have the mixture in a glass / pyrex bowl with a lid that is far from airtight. Should I cover it with cling wrap to keep it airtight? The mixture is sitting on the bench in the kitchen, no direct sunlight & temp of about 20c during the day. Trust that is ok.
regards
Kay
You should definitely cover it up. I just updated the post to better explain that. Check it out again. Thanks for the question. Readers questions can often lead me to revise posts for better clarification. Enjoy and let us know how it comes out!
Your reply has just come through! Thanks. Great to read the responses.
Yesterday I completed the 2nd stage, ie week 4. Took a while to find fenugreek seeds in our stores, and then I tried to grind them – oh boy, thank goodness I had an electric grinder! Forget the mortar & pestle! Two weeks to go till we jar it up. I’m beginning to think that perhaps I should have cut the lime wedges into smaller pieces as the lime chunks still look very big!
Looking forward to tasting home made lime pickle in 2 weeks!!!
Hi – love lime pickle , can´t buy it where I live (very small town) so am having fun with your lovely recipe. However, just wish to know, should I keep the jar of fermenting limes in the fridge or on the sideboard?
Thank you.
Thanks for writing Freyja. Keep it out of the fridge during the fermentation stage. You can put it in there if you like but it will significantly slow down the process. Good luck and let us know how it goes!
Thank you for your prompt reply – the jar is now sitting on my kitchen sideboard – looking very interesting. The next few weeks are going to flow very slowly.
I made the original recipe a couple of years ago and have been looking for it ever since – it never occurred to me the site would disappear. So I’m over the moon to have stumbled across this page! I fully agree the chilli powder needed adjusting, but apart from that I thought it was pretty amazing. BUT I seem to remember curry leaves in the recipe? Or am I confusing it with something else? And mustard oil instead of olive oil? You wouldn’t have the original recipe for me to compare with your adjusted one by any chance? Thanks Ted!
Tamara
Hi Tamara. I don’t recall seeing any recipes with curry leaves and mustard oil. Both sound like nice additions. Perhaps I’ll try that in a future batch and see how it goes. Good luck and nice to hear from you!
I have been making lime and lemon pickles for years and never needed to use olive oil. Dry roast the mustard seeds, cool before adding to the limes and use mustard oil instead of olive oil. The result will be nearer the genuine Indian pickle (aachar) recipe.
Hi Ted. I tried this recipe in a Pickl-It jar with a fermentation lock, and got zero bubbles. I was told that adding the vinegar at the beginning stage had killed all the probiotic bacteria. This recipe should work perfectly well as a salt cure, but in that case, there’s no need for an airlock. I added the oil and the remaining spices today, and should have an excellent lime pickle eventually, but I’m wondering if the vinegar is necessary at all. Thanks for the recipe.
To be honest, Ivan, I’m not certain. You are probably right and perhaps this is more of a “salt cure.” Whatever it is, it’s tasty! If you have any further thoughts, please let us know. Thanks.
Well I can tell you it’s a terrific recipe, whether it’s lacto or a salt cure, and I am enjoying it thoroughly. I made it exactly as per instructions, asafetida and all, I recommend it highly, and I thank you for it.
There’s one refinement I’d like to try next time I make this. I have seen essentially the same recipe on several web sites from India, and the ones from Southern India, where pickles generally are more potent, suggest mustard oil in lieu of olive oil.
Mustard oil is readily available in Indian groceries, but also comes with some controversy. The FDA says it is only for external use, because it contains erucic acid, which has been said to cause cancer in lab rats. This, of course, ignores entirely that people have been cooking with it in India for centuries. Supposedly if you heat mustard oil to the smoking point, all the purported bad effects of the erucic acid go away, and it becomes safe to eat. So next time I make pickle, that’s what I’m going to try. I hope this is helpful. Thanks again for this recipe.
Did u try without vinegar, did it work?
Hi Ted!! Was super excited to find your site! I bought just regular limes from the grocery store for this recipe and tasted my pickle just after adding the oil and spices. It tastes quite bitter. Would that just be the type of limes I used, or is there something I should have done to avoid this? Thanks!
Hi Clara, I honestly don’t know what has brought on the bitterness you speak of. Could be especially bitter lime skins, but the most likely culprit is the mustard seeds. When raw, mustard seeds can have quite a bitterness to them. Give it a little time to mellow out over the next few weeks and see what happens. An option for the future, should it remain bitter would be to heat the mustard seeds before using them. Add them to already hot oil and put a lid on the pan. Keep shaking the pan over the heat so they all heat evenly. After they start popping, remove from the heat and allow to cool. This will reduce the spicy heat from the seeds too.
Good luck and please write back and let us know what happens, thanks. Ted
Hi Ted… so I finished my pickle a little while ago, and you were right, it needed time to mellow. The mustard seeds were primarily contributing to the bitterness of my pickle, however, it’s still a little bitter. I think the limes we get here (in Canada) aren’t the freshest… I may try Key limes next for something a bit more pleasant. My husband is refusing to eat the pickle I’ve made… haha. Also, I was wondering, does using a metal spoon to stir the pickle tend to disrupt the fermentation process? I’ve read that sometimes introducing metal into certain fermentation processes can mess with it. just a thought! Thanks so much for your help!
I used this recipe for cumquat (Australian spelling) pickle. I made it with four kilos of cumquats and expected it to last for years but it was gone within a couple of weeks as every guest took a jar. Fabulous.
I love it. Great idea. Thanks for sharing… with me and with your guests. You are a generous soul!
I also LOVE lime pickle with a passion and am trying your recipe for the first time. Tomorrow the four weeks are up
( I am so excited!!!) so I can start phase 2 of the recipe. Will keep you posted….
Good luck!
What kind of mustard seed did you use??? Thanks.
The ones I used were a golden yellow color. I’ve since learned that by toasting the seeds in advance, you can significantly cut the heat of the mustard seeds.
Hey Ted.
Super excited about trying your recipe, it’ll be my first attempt att fermentation. There are a few things I wonder about though, and I hope you can elaborate.
1, As I’ve understood this recipe, the limes won’t be covered in liquid, they’ll just be sort of mixed with the salt, vinegar and turmeric for the first four weeks. Did I understand you correctly so that I won’t have to add water or worry about everything not being covered by liquid?
2, I’m planning to use a glass container, but I’m not sure about what sort of kid to use. Could I use the normal lid but not screwed on, to allow gases to get out of the jar? Wouldn’t that also let air in which could contaminate? And, if using a towel instead of a lid, would any kitchen towel do? And if so, do I just cover the top with the towel and fasten it with a rubber band or something similar?
Cool blog, and I’m really eager to start fermenting.
Sounds like you are on track here with your questions. You are correct with #1, no additional liquid is required. As to #2, I just use a normal lid. Gasses do need to escape. Cloth is not as good a barrier, but I use that kind of method occasionally and indeed fasten it with a rubber band. Good luck! Let us know how it comes out!
Hi Ted – I’m so glad to find this site! I hope you can help me –
I made a batch of lemon pickle from a recipe I have made previously (very similar spices to yours, with about the same ratio of salt, but no vinegar, and it uses oil). Last year’s pickle was delicious, so I was looking forward to making even more this year.
I washed all the lemons, then let them completely dry, sliced off the stem sections, quartered or eighth-ed them, and dusted them with salt and spices, then added to my ceramic pickle crock and poured in enough oil to barely cover. My recipe suggests leaving the lemons in the crock for only a week, covered by a cloth during the day and a loose lid at night, stirring once or twice daily. I tasted the pickle after one week, and it didn’t really taste pickle-y yet, so I left it another week, when it did taste more like what I am accustomed to. It’s been in the mid-60s (F) here, so I wasn’t that surprised it took a little longer.
I put that batch in sterile mason jars, and cut up another 32 lemons to make a second batch. I put these lemons with fresh spices and oil into the same pickle crock (which still had the leftover spices and some oil from batch one at the bottom). After a few days I noticed some small bubbles coming up though the oil in the crock, which I don’t remember seeing before. I felt nervous, so I opened up the closed mason jars and boy, did they bubble for a minute or so! The thing is, I don’t remember seeing any bubbles in the crock last year (although they may have been there and I just never noticed), and certainly nothing like that in the jars before. This year I used Meyer lemons, and last year I used Eurekas — the Meyers are so much sweeter – maybe that is the difference?
So now I’m not sure if I have a potential disaster on my hands, or if this is just the normal process.
How might I reassure myself that I’m not about to poison myself and my friends? I’d hate to throw out all these lemons if they are really fine, but I’d really hate to make everyone sick!
Thanks in advance for any advice or guidance!
Hi Ann,
I can’t say anything definitive for you here, unfortunately. Personally, I get excited when I see things start bubbling up, but I also fully trust in the cleanliness of the environment within which I work. If it were me, I’d let it go and see what happens. There are techniques to avoid poisoning yourself like just dabbing some to your cheek first and wait for a reaction. If nothing, then touch to your tongue and wait again. If nothing, then the tiniest of nibbles and wait, etc. Again, I’m not recommending, but these are techniques I learned in a class on foraging wild plants. Good luck!
So this is years later but I just found this excellent blog and read your comment.
You had nothing to worry about. All that’s happened is the slight remains of the previous batch in the crock pot jumped in with gusto to your new fresh food (to them) and got busy. Ferments with some starter from a previous batch always speeds up the process because the bacteria is already present
Great site & great recipe, I have bought Patak’s Lime Pickle for years so was delighted to be able to make my own. I paid more to get organic un-waxed limes, I reckon this is worthwhile as the actual skins are included in the pickle. I have had a gentle fermentation going for a month or more & have just added the oil, etc. The skins are still a little tough, this could just be the nature of lime pickle but I would quite like to get them a little softer, I feel a long maturation period might help but did wonder about heat treating the pickle once it is in the final storage jars. This would effectively give the skins a gentle cooking hopefully softening them, & it would arrest the fermentation so the jars could keep almost indefinitely. I know fermentation purists may be aghast at the thought of killing those beneficial bugs but sometimes long storage is useful.
A slight variation to the recipe was to add fresh Aji Limon chillies & a good slug of a yellow Aji Limon & Mango sauce I had made. I toasted & crushed the fenugreek seeds.
Hi,
I’m down to the final 2 weeks with my Lime Pickles & I’m excited, but also rather worried about the asafoetida overwhelming the whole taste! Wow, that stuff is strong smelling – and I’d have to say that to me it is reminiscent of a person with super-strong BO rubbing a raw onion under their arm & then scraping the dried remains of that venture into a jar & passing it off as a herb. Blech! Everything i have read says ‘don’t worry if the asafoetida smells very strong as the cooking process lessons its intensity’ – only there isn’t a cooking process here, soooooo… Fingers crossed that the 2 weeks you’re supposed to leave the mixture to combine after adding it does the same thing, and mellows the pungent odour & flavour (yes, I tasted it already- I’m very impatient!).
I will post an update in 2 weeks & let you know if it settled or if I’ll be skipping that ingredient next time!
Well, OMG – these are delicious! So worth the wait & very, very easy to make, even in a humid, mould prone climate! I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I was concerned about the asafoetida overpowering the other flavours, but with the extra 2 weeks the flavour does indeed settle – and maybe I also got used to its pungent odor, as I smelt the mix most days.
I’ve just had my first real taste of it with lunch & totally love it! I was considering giving away some of the huge jar I’ve made, but I now think that our family of five will go through all of it ourselves, so I think I’m keeping this one just for us!
Thanks for the recipe! Now that I have all the necessary spices, I just need more limes to start on the next jar! It really is as simple as chop, measure, pour, stir!
That’s exciting news! Thanks for sharing!
Can you tell me if you sealed your jars for the 2 weeks or left them open/covered as per the 4 weeks period? I’m at the 4 week mark and am just about to add oil etc. so would be good to know. Thanks.
I left them unsealed for the entire time. Best to use an airlock in general, but just continue on as you’ve been doing. Exciting. If you’re a fan of Indian Lime Pickle and spice, you’ll love these! Good luck!
Hi I’m just wondering whether you heat the oil and burst the mustard in it before you add it to the limes? Also could you use lemons instead of limes?
Heating the mustard seeds would definitely cool the spicy heat of the mustard seeds. Your call on that one. I haven’t tried with lemons so can’t comment unfortunately. If I get my hand on a bunch of lemons I’ll give it a try. If you should try it, please write back and let us know.
Following on from the Jewish festival of Sukkot, I am trying a mix of lime and etrog and await the result with great interest – lime pickle is my favourite!!
How did it go?
This is a superb recipe
The pickle is excellent (although I will stick with just limes in the future as the etrog skin is too thick and they are full of pips so it is a pain to prepare)
Thanks again!
Hi Ted
A friend gave me a jar of this lime pickle the other day it was sensational and I will be giving this a go, would you mind if I share your recipe on a curry forum?
I’m glad you liked it! If you share it, my preference would be to share the link to the recipe rather than copying the recipe.
thanks so much.
Yesterday was the end of the first fermentation period, so it is now in phase two. Looks and smells fabulous. Can’t wait! But I have to….
Hi Ted
I Just put lime pickle into jars do they need to be kept in refrigerator or can they be kept in a cupboard and refrigerated once opened?
just wanting to know what a ‘c’ (I presume a cup??) and also a ‘T’ is this a teaspoon or a tablespoon? thanks
Yes c =cup and T=tablespoon. A small “t” = teaspoon. I’ll go through all the Recipes at some point and spell them all out. Thanks.
thank you I’ll try this, my lime tree is laden, dont know what to do with all of them!! 🙂
Hi Ted
I still have an unopened jar of lime pickle that I made in June 2014. Initially when I first made it, I found the pickle a bit too hot for me, however, it mellowed over time. I’m hoping that the unopened 2014 jar of pickle will still be ok. How long will it keep once opened?
Thanks
You have to be your own judge when it comes to food safety, but I have a little left from around the same time, perhaps longer, and I just recently ate some and it was delicious. Mine mellowed as well. For your next batch, toasting the mustard seeds first definitely helps to release some of the heat. Thanks.
Thanks for the quick reply Ted! Look forward to trying it. When we get another bumper crop of limes I’ll make another batch 🙂
So glad I found this site. I’m new to fermenting and very excited about it. I have a week old batch of Ginger Beet Sauerkraut going and yesterday I started the Kimchi. Both your recipes. Thank you have sharing your expertise, its really helpful when just starting out.
You are very welcome Karen. Keep us posted!
Can I skip addition of vinegar.also which salt is to be used iodised or sea salt.thx
I haven’t ever tried without the slight amount of vinegar called for here so can’t say for sure if you can skip it. My hunch would be that you would be fine, especially since the limes bring an acidity which brings the ph down which is one of the functions of adding the vinegar. I always recommend sea salt over iodised salt.
Hi Ted – I got distracted while making this wonderful recipe, and ended up putting everything in the jar all at once – limes, spices, vinegar, oil – before realising I was meant to add half the ingredients 4 weeks down the road! Do I need to start all over? Or can this still work?
I honestly don’t know. My hunch is that it will work out just fine. If it were me, I’d simply roll with it and keep my fingers crossed. Good luck. I’m needing to make more of this myself as well. I’ve eaten the last of my last batch and am missing it so!
This recipe is so delicious! I have just tried a batch with lemons and limes, I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Hello Ted. Your Indian Lime Pickle recipe looks amazing. And I also have quite a lot of limes. My neighbour just brought nearly a kilo of kaffir limes. Can they be used as well? A good mix?
To be honest, I have no idea. Haven’t tried Kaffir limes before. I love their leaves in cooking sometimes but haven’t worked with the lines themselves. I’m pretty sure they’ll be just fine.
Hi. This recipe looked great. But just as I reached my 4 week mark today – it’s suddenly all covered in mold. Don’t know what I’ve done wrong. Disappointing.
I’m sure that is disappointing. Mold growth unfortunately can occur anywhere there is moisture and food. Keeping a good covering on your vessel, not opening it, keeping hands and utensils clean and starting out with clean ingredients all help but can’t ensure. The tiniest of mold spores can be in the air and can take root in non-anaerobic ferments, unfortunately. In several batches of this ferment, I’ve not run across this problem personally but can definitely see how it can happen. Best of luck w future ferments
Fell in Love with lime pickle living in London back in 1989-1991. Have lived in Brazil more or less ever since…but Always stocked up with pakaks lime pickle on my trips to see my parents in Australia… went to open my last jar a week or so a go – to have with some samosas i had Just made…. only to see it was a pakak curry paste 🙁 ….so glad i found your recipe ….because one thing we have here in Brazil are limes and they are Always cheap.
My question is can i use my crockpot for this with the lid on….and if i keep it on ” warm” can i speed up the fermenation?
Sure you can use your crockpot to make this. No problem.
I tried to make the Indian lemon pickle in glass jar and plastic lid. I kept it in the sun and noticed the lid swelled up. When I opened the lid, it made slight wish sound. Has it gone bad? I am really worried about botulism.
(The jar has lemon, squeezed lemon juice, 2 tablespoons salt, 1.5 table spoon red chilli power, I table spoon carom seeds and 4-5 table spoons jaggery. After putting lemon in the jar, I added one table spoon of vinegar too.
It’s hard to say definitivrly. but I always keep my ferments ventilated during their fermentation process, generally with an airlock. Ferments produce gas which likely create pressure inside. The heat from the sun may have increased pressure too.
Hi! I just finished the first four-week stage BUT forgot to stir the pickle every few days. I just gave it a good stir and noticed that there was no bubbling. Everything still smells good and there is no hint of mold. I used glass mason jars with airlocks. Should I go ahead and add the spices now or should I leave it another couple of weeks, stirring occasionally, before I add the spices for the final two-week ferment? Help!
I’d go ahead and add the spices. This ferment may not bubble as others due to the strong acidity of the citrus. Good luck!
Thanks! Added the spices two weeks ago and took a taste today. It’s getting there but needs to mellow a little more. I think I’ll check again next week and see how things progress before I bottle it.
Have you ever canned this, meaning processed it in a water bath or pressure cooker, to ensure it is shelf-stable and doesn’t have to live in the fridge?
Thanks a Holly. I’ve never tried a canning process with the Lime Pickle. Not my area of expertise unfortunately.
Hi, I’ve made this recipe a couple of times now and it’s the best!
My last batch (with 6kg of limes) was particularly bubbly. The bubbling stopped once I put it in the fridge… but I have too many jars for it ALL to live in the fridge. I was hoping I could store it in a cool dark place… but It is bubbling in the jars still and leaking oil everywhere… any ideas?
If you take some out of your jars, they shouldn’t overflow with oil. They may store just fine in a cool dark place, but you’ll need to be your own judge on that. Just keep an eye for growth on the surface just in case. Glad you’re enjoying. This lime pickle can be pretty addictive!
Wow wow wow is all that I can say!
The best lime pickle me and my family have ever had.
I’m about to start a second batch as this one will be gone very soon.
I wanted to ask, can you make a mango pickle following this recipe?
I haven’t made mango pickle yet, but my gut says you’d perhaps need greener more raw mangos. If you try, let us know how it goes. Good luck!
This is a great recipe. I have made it several times, and have a batch going now. We eat it with everything! One thing that I changed was the addition of raw garlic cloves, an idea I got from another lime pickle recipe. Also, I make my own apple cider vinegar, so I add a teaspoon (unfiltered) to help the fermentation process. After 3 weeks, the limes are the perfect texture and ready to be seasoned.
Thanks. Adding the garlic sounds like a great idea!
I’m trying a version of this using limequats. As they have so many pips I extracted these and boiled them in a little water for the pectin. It’s certainly helped the texture. Half way through the maturation it’s a bit salty, but the flavour is fantastic. I’ll under season other dishes when I serve it.
Thanks Meic!
Now it’s been around a bit longer, it’s absolutely gorgeous! Thanks for the recipe.
You’re very welcome!!
Rhubarb?
This recipe was a huge success. Our lime supply has dried up for the time being, but we have lots of rhubarb right now. I am thinking that the rhubarb is sufficiently acidic to work in a similar way. I see some recipes for rhubarb kimchi and several for cooked achar pickles, but none for a ferment like this. What do you think? Might any modifications to the recipe be advisable?
Wow, I love your creativity here. All I can say is give it a shot! My hunch is it will work just fine.
Hi have made this in a glass jar with airlock, the flavour is great, very authentic…. however we are left with a plasticy taste?? made in glass and stored in glass…. any ideas at to where that flavour is coming from??
I honestly don’t know about that flavor. Nothing I’ve experienced before. Wax on the lemons…?
other lime pickle recipes call for setting the salted limes in the sun. Is it reccommended here?
Interesting idea. I haven’t tried that and may give it a shot. Seems like the liquid lost would need to be replaced some how, but also may conc entrate flavors perhaps even more. Let me know if you try it.
I know that it must be ages since the recipe was first aired, but I should like to know if I used a 3 litre jar which is about 0.793 of a US gallon, would the extra air space be a problem? Or should I go with a 1.5 litre jar which is about 0.396 of a US gallon and then just reduce the recipe accordingly.
Sorry if my question seems silly, but apart from doing my own salt preserved lemons and limes I have not done any fermented foods.
The extra space wouldn’t be a problem. Feel free to use a larger container if you prefer.
Hi,
I have made double the quantity stated, using a large rumcoff jar. I reduced the quantity of salt by a small amount and followed the instructions to the letter. I can honestly say that the lime pickle is absolutely delicious. Lovely and zingy and I was surprised not that salty. I will without a doubt make another batch when there is a glut of limes. Thank you so much for the recipe
Thank you Kerry. I’m glad you like it! I’ll start another batch too as my stores are getting low. Thx for sharing!!
Is Anne else having trouble seeing the webpage? I’ve been using this recipe for years as it’s fantastic, but the actual recipe is not longer showing?!
Thanks Nick! Not sure what happened to make the recipe temporariy disappear, but it’s back (and still delicious!). ALl good now. thanks for letting me know.