Nimmakaya Urugaya (or simply Nimmakaya) can be fund in most South Indian homes and certainly in many South Indian weddings. The pleasure of having Nimmakaya with Perugu Annam (curd rice/thair sadam) is indescribable.
This pickle is one of the few foods that you can “taste” when you are ill and when your sense of taste is dulled.
As children, when we were ill, my mother and grandmother would wash off all the spice/masala from the pickled lemon pieces and give us the piece to suck or with pappu annam or perugu annam. On other days, I would save the “cleaned” piece for the last while having lunch/dinner, only to have my brother steal it! 🙂
You can find lemons all through the year in India. However, the best time to make lemon pickle is in winter when you get the juicy fruit in abundance.
This is a nilava urugaya, which means that you can preserve and use it for up to 2 years or more.
Do also try my recipe for Avakaya, Dosavakaya, Usiri Avakai and Usirikaya Nilava Pachadi.
How to Make Nimmakaya Uragaya | Andhra Style Lemon Pickle in Oil
Ingredients
- Lemons – 25
- Salt – 1/2 Cup
- Turmeric – 2 tsp
- Chilli Powder – 2/3 Cup
- Sesame Oil – 1/2 Cup
- Mustard Seeds – 1 tbsp
- Fenugreek Seeds – 1/2 tbsp
- Asafoetida Powder/Hing – 1/2 tsp
Method
- Wipe the lemons dry with a soft, dry cloth.
- If possible, dry them in the sun for about 1 hour.
- In an absolutely dry wok/kadai, mix salt and tumeric powder.
- Cut the lemons into quarters or smaller pieces.
- Add the lemon pieces to the salt and turmeric pieces.
- Mix well.
- Store in a dry, clean, air-tight ceramic or glass jar for 3 days.
- After 3 days, in a wok/kadai, heat the sesame oil.
- Add mustard seeds and wait till they splutter.
- Turn off the heat.
- Add asafoetida powder.
- Let the oil cool completely to room temperature.
- Dry roast the fenugreek seeds till they just start to change color.
- Let the fenugreek seeds cool completely and powder them.
- When the oil is completely cool, add fenugreek powder, chilli powder, and the lemon-turmeric-salt mix to the oil.
- Mix well.
- Store in a dry, clean, air-tight ceramic or glass jar for 3 weeks.
- Enjoy!
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when to add chilli powder????
Edited the recipe. See Step 15. Thanks for pointing out the oversight!
thank a lot for editing..:)
Looks delicious – I love lemons! Thanks for visiting my blog too.
Thanks for liking my blog posts! Really appreciate!
I am totally bowled over by your recipes, esp the lemon pickle!
Will try and let you know!
Thank you for the kind words. 🙂
Check out the mango pickle which will be up on Thu-Fri. Not to be immodest, but I am in love with it as are my colleagues at work. 😀
Superb recipes, Aruna madam. I tried your theepi pulusu and made lemon pickle. Both taste great. Thank you very much. As it is the mango season now, also please give the Avakkai recipe.
Thank you. I will try to post the Avakai recipe soon 🙂
Please check the blog tomorrow for Avakai… 🙂
This is so yummy! I’m salivating!
Do try it…. It is yummy. 🙂
Definitely making this first thing in the morning . Looks so spicy hot and delicious 🙂 . Perfect to eat with daal and rice or curd rice .
Absolutely!
Mouth watering pickles…. 🙂
Just amazing recipe…can u post recipe for green chilly and lemon pickle which we can store fr long just like lemon and mango pickle
Hi Nisha,
If you want the recipe for green chillies in lemon juice here it is: https://aahaaramonline.com/green-chilli-pickle-hari-mirch-ka-achar-hirvi-mrichi-che-lonche/
If you want the recipe for whole green chillies and lemon, give me 2 weeks. Winter has just set in and we have just started getting splendid lemons this side. 🙂
I made this lemon pickle…mouthwatering
?…very delicious to hv with curd rice…. Can u pls suggest me to make the pickle a little bit juicy