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If there’s one thing an Indian meal can’t be complete without, it has to be achar or pickle. This concept has been a part of Indian cuisine for ages, as our mothers and grandmothers have been following the tradition of making pickles at home. The spicy, tangy, sour, and salty side has got a million fans, and has accompanied almost every meal in the Indian household.
Be it your boring dal, which was enlivened by the addition of a tantalising, mixed-veg pickle, or a simple paratha that tastes the best with a nimbu or aam ka achar. So no matter what you are having, pickles just make their own place in every meal of the day. No wonder, one can spot jars full of different varieties of achar lined up in most Indian kitchens. While some may buy them from the market, some choose to make them at home. And celebrity television personality Padma Lakshmi surely falls under the latter, as she was seen making some yummy nimbu achar recently.
Padma is a self-confessed foodie, who often posts about her food shenanigans on social media. And not just eating, if you follow her on Instagram, you will also find multiple short videos of her cooking. For instance, her latest video is all about making a lemon pickle and we are all about it.
In the video, Padma explains how for her recipe, she had pickled the base of the lemons around six months ago by cutting lemon pieces and mixing them with sea salt. She goes on to tell that after 2-3 months, she also added ginger and chilli to it. For seasoning, she roasts and grinds whole spices like jeera, saunf, cayenne, turmeric powder, and more. For the next step, she heats a pan and adds some oil, and throws in the dry-roasted spice mix. To this, she adds the lemon ginger mix and combines it with masala. And that is all, the achar is ready to be noshed on.
In the caption of her post, she also informed her followers that, “This is a classic recipe for a puckering, hot pickle that I learned from my granny, Jima. This is super easy to make, but it does require some planning ahead since the lemons take six months to pickle.” Take a look at her video of making nimbu ka achar here:
The pickle sure looks divine. Padma has been pretty open about her love for homemade food, as just a few days ago, she posted a video on Twitter where she was talking about how she used to lick the spoon that was used in pickle making. Here’s the full recipe of Padma’s nimbu ka achar:
Serving: 2 cups
Ingredients:
6 lemons
6 tbsps coarse sea salt
2-3 tbsps neutral oil
5 big black cardamom pods
½ tsp black peppercorn
½ tsp fennel or anise seeds
½ tsp cumin seeds
3 heaping tsp cayenne
1 tsp turmeric
½ tsp asafetida
Method:
1. Cut the lemons into chunks, place them in a large glass, airtight jar, and cover with sea salt.
2. Store the jar in a dark pantry cupboard for 6 months (optional: add chopped ginger and green chile after 4 months).
3. Put a small, dry pan over medium heat and roast the whole spices until fragrant.
4. When the spices are cool enough to handle, add them to a coffee grinder or mortar and pestle along with the powdered spices.
5. Grind everything into a coarse powder.
6. Set the same pan you used to roast the spices over medium heat and add the oil. Add the spices to the hot oil, stirring for about 10-12 minutes.
7. When the colour changes to a darker brown, turn off the heat.
8. Add the lemon and salt mixture to the spices and stir well.
9. Keep this pickle in an airtight glass jar, where it will last for up to a year.
Have you ever made an achar at home? You can share your recipe with us through Slurrp Community.
