Lime pickle {part 1}

It's Monday and it's cold and I had to use my whole reserve of getupandgo to make it out of bed this morning. 

As in all times of utter despondency I am comforting myself with the thought of food. Lime pickle to be specific. I absolutely love the stuff and have it with almost anything, which it turns out, is kind of an expensive habit.

So tonight I am going to have a crack at making it myself. There are tons of recipes online, but this one appealed the most. Mainly for the word quick. 

Photos and taste report to follow.

Ingredients.

500 grams of chillies (About half and half mixed red and green)
1 kg limes
200 grams chopped fresh ginger
15 chopped garlic cloves
6 chopped fresh curry leaves
4 cups distilled white vinegar
1 tsp turmeric
1 Tbsp salt
3 Tbsp mustard seed
2 Tbsp fenugreek seeds
3 cups vegetable oil (If you have mustard oil, use 2 cups vegetable oil and 1 cup mustard oil)
5 Tbsp vegetable oil

Prep.

Make sure you have sterilised jars and lids prepared for bottling. They must be thoroughly dried

Method.

1.  Heat 3 Tbsp of oil in a large frying pan until hot.

2. Sauté the limes turning them over until their skins are a golden brown.

3. Dry the limes and cut them into about 6 thick slices and then half the slices.

4. Put 2 Tbsp of oil into a blender, add the chillis, chopped curry leaves, chopped garlic, chopped ginger and curry leaves. Blend to a paste

5. Heat the remaining oil in a pan until hot. Add mustard and fenugreek. Heat the seeds until they pop open.

6. Add the paste, stir and simmer for 15 minutes. Turn off heat.

7. Add the turmeric, pieces of lime and vinegar and stir until thoroughly mixed.

8. Using a slotted ladle or spoon, put the limes into jars, and pour the remaining fluid over the limes ensuring they are just covered.

9. Stir to remove any air bubbles and seal jars.

Aubergine Curry

I am not going to make a habit of posting recipes or pictures of food BUT a friend asked me for this and as I was writing it out, I thought I might as well share.

At home this was my all time favourite dinner and it was simply called Aubergine Curry (big on creative writing, my lot). It is actually based on the much more romantically named Lake palace hotel's aubergine cooked in pickling style by Madhur Jaffrey, but over the years we've all tinkered with it a bit.

It turns out different every time, equally delicious but different, so I am never too fussy about measurements. 

It also freezes and keeps really well so it's still a pretty popular staple in our kitchen too.

Ingredients for four. 

One smallish (normal) aubergine per person

A tin of chopped tomatoes 

An inch cube of fresh ginger

Four large garlic cloves

Tbsp water

1 Tsp fennel seeds

1 Tsp coriander seeds

1 Tsp kalonji seeds (black onion)

1Tbsp ground coriander

1/4 Tbsp tumeric

1/4 Tbsp cayenne pepper

1/2 Tbsp sea salt

Table spoon of  veg oil for frying spices

Extra veg oil for brushing aubergine slices

1.

Slice your aubergines into generous 1 cm rounds. Brush them with a little vegetable oil, lay them on a baking tray and bake in a medium oven until they are cooked through and the skin is curling.

2. 

While your aubergines are cooking, finely chop your ginger and garlic, then add them to a pestle and mortar/mixer with a Tbsp of water and bash up till you have a watery paste.

3. 

Heat up a decent size frying pan (everything will end up in it) and add a Tbsp of oil until it's hot. Then toast your three spice seeds (coriander, fennel and kalonji) until they release their scent. 

4.

Add your tin of chopped tomatoes, the ginger/garlic mix and the ground spices. Give it a good stir, add a little extra water you want the sauce to go a bit further and then let it simmer away for 15 minutes or so.

5.

When it's got a bit sticky and everything has cooked together, chop up your cooked aubergines into smaller pieces and mix in gently.

6. 

Cook for another 10 minutes of so and you're done. Serve with rice or flat bread. It also goes really well with white fish like cod if you fancy a bit of protein (who doesn't?).

{Aubergine by Tartelette.}