Turmeric Pickle

In Tamilnadu, we celebrate a harvest festival called Pongal in the mid of January month. During this festival, fresh turmeric is tied to the new mud pot in which pongal is made. This fresh turmeric is the protagonist of our recipe today. We learnt this recipe from my paternal grandma. Turmeric gives us a lot of immunity and is a powerful antibiotic in addition to its various other positives.

Ingredients:

1. Turmeric - 250 gms
2. Gingelly oil - 1/2 cup
3. Mustard seeds - 1/2 tbsp
4. Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp
5. Chili powder - 3 tbsp
6. Salt - 2 tbsp
7. Fenugreek  powder - 1 tsp
8. Dry ginger powder - 1 tsp
9. Lemon - 2

Method:

Step 1: Wash, pat dry, peel and grate the turmeric in a fine grater. There is catch, it is a little tedious task, your palms remain yellow yellow-dirty fellow for one day, even the grater retains a deep orange color from a gummy substance in turmeric. But it is all worth the taste and goodness of the pickle.

Step 2: Heat the oil in a kadai and splutter the mustard seeds; sprinkle the asafoetida and saute the grated turmeric in it. Cook it covered for about 5-10 minutes by stirring in between.

Step 3: Now open the lid, add salt, chili powder and stir cook for another 5 minuted without covering.

Step 4: Taste and adjust spices and mix the fenugreek powder and dry ginger powder.

Step 5: Switch off the stove and squeeze in the juice of a couple of lemons and stir well.

Step 6: Once it comes to room temperature, store it in a clean and dry bottle.

TIPS:
* Turmeric does not cook once the salt is added. So make sure it is cooked well before adding salt or spices.
* Use the finest grater to ease the cooking process.