Finger Lime Pickle
In a previous post, I discussed finger limes and presented a recipe for Honey Meyer Lemon Finger Lime Curd. This time, I have chosen a savoury route: finger lime pickle. Making pickles out of these precious microcitrus fruits is a perfect way of preserving them and enjoying them months after they have been harvested (provided that you have the willpower to resist finishing up these pickles within days of making them).
Finger limes
The pickling process for this finger lime pickle is quite straightforward. After washing the finger limes thoroughly with warm water, I blanched them by immersing them for a few minutes in boiling water, removing them, and soaking them for a few minutes in a bowl of ice-cold water. I then strained them and dried them with a paper towel. Afterwards, I sliced each finger lime in half crosswise, and quartered each resulting half. For the brining step, I placed the finger lime chunks in a glass bowl and added salt and sugar. I stirred the mixture, covered the bowl with cling film, and refrigerated this mixture overnight.
Mixture of finger lime chunks, salt, and sugar - brining step
The next day, I strained the finger lime chunks and reserved the residual liquid for another use (for example, to make a salad dressing). For my spice mixture, I decided to keep things simple and used only mustard seeds, turmeric, and red chili powder. In a dry wok or saucepan, I heated vegetable oil and tempered the spices in the oil until the mustard seeds started to pop. I then added the finger lime chunks to the wok and cooked them together with the tempered spice mixture for a few minutes. For ease of manipulation, I transferred the contents into a clean, dry glass bowl prior to spooning them into sterilised glass jars with airtight lids. Once the mixture has cooled to room temperature, I refrigerated it undisturbed for 4 - 5 days. The pickle is now ready.
Mixture of finger lime chunks and tempered spices
The resulting finger lime pickle is a wonderful combination of tartness, saltiness, pleasing bitterness, spiciness, and a complexity of citrus flavours, allied with the crunchiness of the finger lime peel. This pickle is an amazing condiment and is a beautiful accompaniment for sandwiches, meat, fish, vegetable, and rice dishes. I added the finger lime pickle to a roast chicken sandwich and I found that the pickle was the perfect complement as it provided extraordinary zing, freshness, crunch, and complex flavours to the sandwich.
Finger Lime Pickle
Makes two 125-mL jars or one 250-mL jar
Ingredients
6 finger limes
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse sea salt
1 tablespoon raw sugar (or sugar of your choice)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon chili powder
Method
Wash the whole finger limes thoroughly in warm water. In a saucepan, add the finger limes. Cover them with boiling water and let them soak for a few minutes. Remove the finger limes and place them into a bowl of ice-cold water. After a few minutes, strain the finger limes and pat them dry with a paper towel.
Cut each finger lime crosswise in half. Cut each half into quarters. Place the finger lime chunks in a small bowl and add salt and sugar. Stir gently. Cover with cling film and refrigerate overnight.
The next day, strain the mixture. Reserve the brined finger lime chunks.
In a dry wok or saucepan, under medium-low heat, add the oil and let it warm. Then, add the mustard seeds, turmeric, and chili powder. Stir and cook until the mustard seeds start popping. Add the finger lime chunks and stir the mixture. Cook for a few minutes. Transfer the contents into a small bowl before filling small sterilised glass jars with this mixture. Cover with airtight lids. Once the mixture has cooled to room temperature, refrigerate it, undisturbed, for 4 - 5 days.
The finger lime pickle is now ready.
The pickle will keep for months in the refrigerator.
Stay tuned for more finger lime recipes!
I would love your feedback. If you try this recipe, please leave a comment in the Comments Section below or reach out to me on Instagram: @thelittlekatora.
