Sweet And Sour Lime Pickle
fruits, indian, pickles
6 limes
6 fresh hot green chilies
3 1-inch cubes of ginger,
1 peeled
20 cloves garlic, peeled
6 teaspoon salt
2 cup sugar
2 cup distilled white vinegar
Wipe off the limes and green chilies with a damp cloth. Leave to dry in an airy or sunny spot. Cut each lime, lengthwise, into 6 wedges. Cut the stems off the green chilies. Cut the ginger into very thin slices and then cut the slices into very thin strips. Quarter the cloves of garlic lengthwise.
Find a wide-mouthed jar or crock with a 5-cup capacity. Put in a layer of lime wedges at the bottom, with their cut sides facing upward. Sprinkle some of the garlic and ginger over the lime wedges. Lay a green chili over the garlic and ginger. Now sprinkle some salt over this first layer. Make a guess about the number of layers your jar will hold. Mine takes six layers so I sprinkle 1 tsp. salt over each layer. You do not have to be too exact about all this. Keep making layers until the jar is full. Push down a bit, if necessary.
Heat the sugar and vinegar in a 7 to 8 inch porcelain-lined or stainless-steel saucepan. When the syrup begins to boil, turn down the heat to keep up a fairly active simmer. Cook for 12 minutes or until you have alight syrup. Let this syrup turn lukewarm, then pour it over the layered limes in the jar. Cover with a nonmetallic lid.
This pickle must be put in a sunny area every day for at least a month. If it is taken outdoors, then it should be brought in in the evenings. If the top layer seems to float above the liquid, push it down every few days with a clean, stainless-steel spoon. After a month of sun, the pickle will still need another 2 to 4 weeks to mature. Taste it after 6 weeks and, if you like it, begin to eat it. Remember that this pickle, if any is left, will still be good enough to eat a year or more after you have made it. Long pickling makes the lime wedges turn almost gelatinous, and wonderfully tasty. It does not need refrigeration. Makes about 5 cups.
From Madhur Jaffrey's World-of-the-East Vegetarian Cooking
Yield: 1 servings