Lemon pieces pickled with salt, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, dried red chilli and sesame oil — the quick, no-cook lemon pickle of Telangana that is made fresh rather than sun-cured for months. The mustard-fenugreek tempering is specific to the Andhra-Telangana pickle tradition.
Ingredients
6 fresh lemons — each cut into 8 pieces (with skin)
2 tsp salt (use generously — the salt draws out lemon juice and preserves)
For the masala tempering:
3 tbsp sesame oil, 1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds — dry roasted and coarsely ground
4 dried red chilli, 1/4 tsp asafoetida
1 tsp red chilli powder, 1/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp sugar
Method
Cut and salt the lemons: Cut each lemon into 8 pieces — quarters then halved again. Place in a bowl. Add salt. Toss. Rest 10 minutes — the salt draws out juice from the lemons.
Squeeze slightly: After salting, squeeze the lemon pieces gently against the bowl to release more juice.
Heat sesame oil: Heat 3 tbsp sesame oil in a small pan. Add mustard seeds — pop. Add dried red chilli. Darken 10 seconds.
Add asafoetida: Add asafoetida. Stir 5 seconds.
Add red chilli powder and turmeric: Turn off the heat. Add red chilli powder and turmeric. Stir 10 seconds in the residual heat.
Add fenugreek powder: Add the coarsely ground roasted fenugreek. Stir.
Pour hot tempering over lemons: Pour the hot sesame oil tempering directly over the salted lemon pieces. Toss.
Add sugar: Add 1/2 tsp sugar. Toss.
Rest 30 minutes before eating: The lemon must absorb the spiced oil — this takes at least 30 minutes. The lemon skin will also soften slightly.
Serve as a pickle: Use as a small condiment alongside rice and dal.
Note: Nimbu Pachadi (nimbu = lemon, pachadi = a chutney or pickle in Telugu) is the quick, fresh-eat lemon pickle of Telangana — different from the slow, sun-cured lemon pickles that take weeks to mature. The fenugreek powder (methi) is the characteristic Andhra-Telangana addition to lemon pickle — it adds a slight bitterness that balances the sourness of the lemon. Nizamabad district is a significant lemon-growing region of Telangana, making this a locally abundant preparation.