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Nimbe huli & Lime peel pickle

From Bela: Is it probiotic….is it alkaline…does it aid digestion? Traditionally made pickles do all the above, I am made to understand. This is a recipe received from our Akka who unlike others in the family is able to teach with exact measurements. Nimbe huli is a tangy accompaniment to a meal, to be enjoyed with hot rice and ghee.The peels from this recipe can also be pickled (separately) or used to make a household cleaner, the recipe for which is adapted here from Anita of A Mad Tea Party.
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Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

For the pickle masala
  • 1/2 cup coriander seeds
  • 1/4 cup cumin seeds
  • 2 tsp mustard seeds
  • 2 tsp fenugreek seeds
  • 1 inch piece cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp hing
For the nimbu huli
  • 2 cups freshly pressed juice of limes
  • 3/4 cup chilli powder
  • 1/2 cup rock salt
  • 5 cups jaggery grated
  • 50 grams garlic chopped
  • Few curry leaves chopped
  • 1/2 cup oil for tempering
For the lime peel pickle
  • Peels of all the limes juiced for nimbe huli
  • Juice of 4-5 more lemons (or substitute with vinegar)
  • ½ cup or so of rock salt
  • A handful of green chillies, broken into 1” pieces
  • Pickle masala, as above (or use store bought)
  • Jaggery, to taste
  • ¼ cup of oil
  • ¼ teaspoon hing
For the household cleaner
  • 1 part sugar for every 3 parts lime peels
  • 10 parts water for every 3 parts lime peels

Method
 

Make Decisions first
  1. If you are going to make the lime peel pickle jointly with nimbe huli, do not squeeze out every last drop of the lime juice. Leave the lime peels juicy enough to add sufficient acid to the peel pickle.
  2. If you want only the nimbe huli, then juice vigorously away.
  3. For a zero waste option, you can make a nice lime-scented household cleaner (which folks loosely call “bioenzyme” though it’s unclear what enzymes are in this exactly and whether they’re doing much cleaning work for you at all). The recipe follows below.
For the Nimbe Huli
  1. Assemble all the pickle masala ingredients in a small iron kadai or cast iron pan. Roast, stirring frequently to distribute heat and keep the spices from burning. Transfer to the jar of a spice blender, allow to cool slightly, and powder. Set aside.
  2. Heat oil in a kadhai or other heavy-bottomed vessel. Add hing, curry leaves, garlic, chilli powder, lime juice, roasted powder, jaggery, and salt in the order mentioned.
  3. Let this come to a strong rolling boil and thicken slightly. Fill into sterilised jars.
  4. Allow the jars to cool before refrigerating.
  5. Eat with hot rice and ghee.
To make the lime peel pickle
  1. Prepare the pickle masala as for nimbe huli above.
  2. Chop up the peels to the desired size, they can be chunky or fine as you please.
  3. Add the green chillies, salt, pickle masala, extra lemon juice (or vinegar), and jaggery.
  4. Heat the oil in a tempering pan until almost smoking. Drop in the hing, and in just a second or two pour this over the lemon pickle.
  5. Mix well and transfer to a clean, completely dry glass bottle. Keep the hot sun every day for a week.
To make a lime-scented household spray cleaner
  1. Add the lime peels to a large glass jar, measuring roughly as you do in cups or handfuls.
  2. For about 3 parts lime peels, add 1 part sugar and 10 parts water. Mix well and close the jar loosely. Leave this out for several days to become vinegar, giving the bottle a shake or a mix with a wooden spoon in daily.
  3. Once the peels start to get mushy and the smell of the liquid starts to turn slightly vinegary, decant this. Discard the lemon peels and bottle the liquid.
To use the household cleaner:
  1. for each part citrus liquid, add 10 parts water and a few drops of liquid soap, if desired.
  2. Transfer to a spray bottle and use on counters and plants as a fungicide!