Vadukapuli Naranga Urugai or Giant Bitter Lemon Pickle

Vadukapuli Naranga Urugai or Giant Bitter Lemon Pickle is one of my personal favourite Indian pickles. It’s not that popular with the others here because this particular lemon is on the bitter side.

I’m not quite sure what the English name is for the Vadukapuli Naranga is, or if there is one. Searches on the net have thrown up Giant Bitter Lemon, Wild Lemon and Ponderosa Lemon. This particular variety of lemon is about the size of a large grapefruit. It has a rough, slightly bumpy thick skin and is not so juicy and quite bitter. In Kerala it is locally known as Kari Naranga which translates as “lemon for pickling”.

These lemons are typically in season around Onam.  So the Vadukapuli Naranga Urugai or Giant Bitter Lemon Pickle naturally features during the Onam Sadhya or festive lunch. It is also often served at Malayali wedding lunches during season. Onam is celebrated in late August/ early September, but this year I found this lemon at the store in December and January! That’s global warming for us, possibly.

There are many ways of making this pickle in Kerala. One involves chopping the lemon into pieces. Then salt, red chilli powder, and chopped green chillies are added to the lemon. Finally, a little boiled and cooled water is mixed in to create some gravy. Another method has the lemon steam cooked whole for about 10 minutes. After the lemon has cooled, it is chopped and pickled as mentioned above. Traditionally, both methods use no oil, so the pickles have a very short shelf life.

My Vadukapuli Naranga Urugai or Giant Bitter Lemon Pickle is slightly different. It includes oil so the pickle keeps a little longer. I made it using my more traditional style of pickling.

Vadukapuli Naranga Urugai or Giant Bitter Lemon Pickle

A simple South Indian Style spicy pickle made with Vadukapuli Naranga or the Giant Bitter Lemon which is indigenous to Kerala.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 5 minutes mins

Total Time 55 minutes mins

Course condiments

Cuisine Indian

Servings 1 small jar

Ingredients

  

• 1 Vadukapuli Naranga or lemon
• 2 to 3 tsp red chilli powder adjust to taste
• 1 1/2 tsp salt adjust to taste
• 1/3 cup sesame seed oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 sprig curry leaves
• 1/4 tsp asafoetida powder
• 1/4 tsp fenugreek powder
• 1 tsp powdered jaggery

Instructions

 

• Chop up the Vadukapuli Naranga/ lemon into small pieces, about 1/2 inch. Add the chilli powder and salt and toss so the lemon pieces are well coated. Keep aside for about half an hour.
• Heat the oil in a wok. Add the mustard seeds. When the mustard splutters, turn down the heat and add the curry leaves and asafoetida powder. Stir well and do not let the asafoetida powder burn.
• Mix in the lemon pieces and the fenugreek powder. Stir and let it cook for about 2 to three minutes. Take the wok off the heat and stir in the jaggery powder, if using. Let it cool down completely. Transfer to a sterile glass jar. Stopper and refrigerate.