Nimbu ka Achar (Pickled Lemon)

My household loves fresh, traditional methods of making Indian food. We make our own dahi, grow and grind our own spices, and make our own chutneys and pickles! There's so much power to preserving and passing on these recipes.

I especially love my mother's Nimbu ka Achar. We get lemons from our own citrus trees or from family and friends. I mean, what can you do with pounds and pounds of fresh lemon but pickle them?

She'll frequently have jars of achar in different stages of the pickling process. Some of them freshly coming in from days of sunning, some of them 1-2 years old, and some that are 6 months old. It's fascinating to see her experiment on a recipe she's been making for decades.

Her recipe uses minimal ingredients and doesn't require any oil. The lemons are tangy and lightly spiced.

There are a ton of different ways to make Nimbu Achar. It varies considerably between regions in India and even between households. None of them are wrong, but here's why I love the one by my mother -

1. It relies on a few ingredients, only 5 total! The flavor of fermented lemon stands out. Garam masala is a blend of spices, so it doesn't require a trip to the grocery store to find a bunch of Indian spices or roasting and grinding whole spices.
2. The method is traditional, even though it takes a while. The Instant Pot can make the lemons mushy instead of soft, and instant pickling sacrifices a lot of flavor development.
3. This recipe uses no oil and no vinegar.
4. With proper sanitization and handling, the achar can last in the pantry for literally years. The flavor will just keep getting better and better.
5. Unlike most achars, it's low calorie due to having no oil. It's also vegan!

Nimbu ka Achar is fresh lemons pickled with Indian spices. Nimbu translates to lemon and achar refers to fruits or vegetables that have been pickled using various methods.

It is traditionally mixed with spices and salt and left in the sun for up to 3 weeks until it ferments. It's the perfect project for the summertime. The flavor is lightly spicy, sour, and tangy while the texture of the lemon becomes soft.

Every recipe differs between households across India. Some of them use more spices or seeds, some of them use a pressure cooker or hot oil to instantly pickle the lemons, and some go for a sweet and sour taste by adding jaggery.

Achars are almost like side dishes in Indian cuisine. It's common to roll up a paratha with achar and eat it plain. I especially love Nimbu Achar with something on the blander side, like Khichdi, since it's so tangy and strong.

When you hear the word "pickle," you're most likely thinking of a fruit or vegetable pickled in a perfectly measured brine. Maybe you're thinking of red onions that need a certain amount of vinegar, salt, and sugar.

Well, sun fermentation is extremely common in India as a method of pickling or fermenting vegetables and fruit into an achar. Some recipes use oil, and some recipes are completely oil-less. All the better when you have an addicting achar you can eat right out of the jar!

We prefer sun fermentation because it keeps vegetables crisp compared to methods that use hot oil, an Instant Pot, or refrigeration aging which results in a more controlled, mild tangy flavor. The summer heat allows the spices to slowly release flavor when the heat in the jar builds up during the day, resulting in a stronger, more complex umami taste over time.

That being said, it's best to pickle during the summers when dry, hot sunny days can be anticipated. It's harder when there's less sun or cloudy days.

Here are some other popular variations:

• Add more spices - Some versions add more spices like turmeric, asafoetida, cumin, or coriander.
• Seeds - Mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, ajwain, and fennel seeds are dry pan-roasted, ground finely or coarsely, and mixed in with the other spices.
• Instant pickling - There's a version of this achar that "instantly" pickles the lemons by using oil. This method involves boiling the whole lemons to soften the skin. Then, heat ¼ cup of mustard oil or a neutral oil until hot (not to its smoke point) and pour it over the lemon wedges that are tossed in spices.
• Lime - Lemons tend to have thick skin except for some varieties, so sometimes limes can be used.
• Sugar - Nimbu ka Achaar is sour and pungent! Some households will sauté the lemons in melted jaggery along with all the spices to mellow out the sourness. Alternatively, just add 2 tablespoons of sugar to the sun method for a sweet and sour result.

Store nimbu ka achar in a pre-sterilized mason jar. Keep the mason jar in a cool, dark part of your pantry for up to two years. This pickle is often made in large batches and stored for months, developing deeper, richer flavors as it matures.

Be sure to only use clean spoons or forks to retrieve wedges.