Nimbu Achaar[ without oil]Recipe is from Sinfullyspicy

Nimbu Achaar[ without oil]  http://sinfullyspicy.com/2012/05/18/indian-lime-pickle/

Recipe is from Sinfullyspicy [awesome recipes there]..

Had been craving for the sun cooked nimbu achar ,for sometime now.We used to rob chunks of khatta meetha goodness from my friends achar bharni in hostel ;) ..had it with everything.her mom used to send it from Lucknow ..just to fill our rogue tummies ;)

Well here is the recipe

Lime -1/2 kg
2 tbsp sendha /kala namak
6 tbsp pepper
6 tbsp ajwain (carrom seeds)
3/4 tsp hing asafoetida
2 tbsp red chilli flakes
3-4 tbsp salt
1/2 cup fresh lime juice (from about 10-12 limes)
1-2 tbsp shakkar/sugar/jaggery[I added 3-4 tbsp ;)

• Wash and cut the limes ,I quartered them,you can halve them if u want.Remove the seeds.
• Sprinkle black salt over them and rub in[clean hands,check ;)] Transfer into a glass dish,its easier if it is glass,as we need to cook this in the sun.
• Cover the dish with clingwrap .and punch holes so that there is no condensation.Let it cook in sunshine for 3 days. The limes will wilt a bit and leave a turbid liquid.[and the aroma will drive u nuts]
• Now, coarsely grind the pepper and the ajwain . Mix hing , red chilli flakes and salt add the sugar/shakkar or jaggery now.
• Sprinkle this mix over the lime wedges along with lime juice. With clean hand, thoroughly mix everything together.
• Once more, cover the glass dish with a fresh cling wrap, poke few holes in it and let sit in full sun for 15 days.
• Stir the mix once a day using a clean,dry wooden spoon{i just tossed it and then changed the wrap]
• The limes turn a beautiful ochre and the juice thickens.[I kept stealing a few bites...refrain from doing so!!!]
• At the end of 15 days, check the salt of the pickle again & adjust seasoning.Mix up the pickle well transfer to canning jars.

I left the limes for 18 days ,as it was not so sunny.

Tips from the author--- Dont full till the top of the jar but at the same time don’t leave a lot of room for bacteria in air to get moldy. Leaving 1/2 inch space from the top is okay. If you are using jars with metal lid, you will need to cover the mouth of jar with plastic wrap to avoid the contact between pickle & metal.Let the jars sit in sun till the limes are totally soft, brownish in color & the liquid is more like a syrup. You will need to shake the jars periodically.

My limes turned out chewy and spicy and sweety and ...just the way i wanted them to be!!!yummmmm