Indian-Style Lime Pickle (Refrigerator Only)

Ingredients

Instructions

1. 1Wash 12 limes well, pat dry, and cut each into quarters, discarding any seeds you can easily remove.
2. 2Toss the lime quarters with 1/2 cup salt and 1/4 cup fresh lime juice in a clean, dry glass jar, cover with a cloth, and let sit at room temperature for 5 to 7 days, stirring once a day, until the peel softens and turns translucent.
3. 3Toast the fenugreek, mustard, and fennel seeds in a dry skillet for 1 to 2 minutes until fragrant, cool, and grind coarsely.
4. 4Heat the mustard oil in a small saucepan until just smoking, remove from the heat, cool slightly, then stir in the ground toasted spices, red chili powder, and turmeric.
5. 5Pour the warm spiced oil over the cured limes and their liquid, stirring well to coat every piece, then transfer to clean, dry glass jars with tight-fitting lids, pressing the limes down so the oil and juices cover the surface.
6. 6This is a refrigerator-only preserve, not a shelf-stable canned product: the traditional oil-and-salt cure does not reliably acidify the lime pulp and pith to a pH proven safe for boiling-water canning, and the oil layer can create a low-oxygen environment that supports Clostridium botulinum if the jar is left unrefrigerated, so no validated home water-bath canning process exists for this style of pickle.
7. 7Store the finished pickle in the refrigerator at all times, use a clean, dry spoon to serve, and let it mellow for at least 1 week before eating.
8. 8Refrigerated, it will keep well for 4 to 6 months; discard it immediately if you notice mold, an off odor, or gas bubbling from the jar.