Nimmakaya Uragaya - Andhra Lemon pickle

The nimmakaya uragaya or simply Nimmakaya in telugu can be found in most of the South Indian homes especially in Andhra pradesh in many weddings.  The pleasure of having Nimmakaya along with Perugu Annam ( curd rice ) is indescribable.  This nimmakaya uragaya is one of the foods that you can "taste" when you are ill and when your sense of taste is dull.  Lemons can be found throughout the year in India.  But the best time to prepare nimmakaya uragaya ( lemon pickle) is in winter when you get the juicy fruit in abundance.   In this article let us see how to make NImmakaya Uragaya - which is a nilava pachadi which means we can store this pickle for 1 or 2 years..

Ingredients required :  

• Lemons -  25 nos
• Turmeric -  2 tbsp
• Salt - 1/2 cup
• Chilli powder -  2/3 cup
• Sesame oil -  1/2 cup
• Mustard seeds -  1 tbsp
• Fenugreek seeds -  1/2 tbsp
• Asafoetida / Hing powder -  1/2 tbsp

Method of making Nimmakaya Uragaya :

• Wipe the lemons dry with a soft, dry cloth.
• Dry them in the sun for about 1 hour.
• Mix salt and turmeric powder in a kadai
• Cut the lemons into quarters or smaller pieces
• Add these lemon pieces to the salt and turmeric and mix well
• Store in a dry and clean air-tight ceramic jar for 3 days
• After 3 days, heat sesame oil in a kadai
• Add mustard seeds and wait till they splutter
• Turn off the heat
• Add the asafoetida powder
• Let the oil cool completely to room temperature
• Dry roast the fenugreek seeds till they just start change color
• Let these seeds cool completely and then powder them
• When oil is completely cool, add the fenugreek powder, chilli powder and the lemon-turmeric-salt mix to the oil
• Mix all these items well

Store this pickle in a dry and clean air-tight ceramic or a glass jar for 3 weeks  Serve this pickle with curd rice and enjoy the freshness of lemon.

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