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Chilli Pickle (Mirch Ka Achar)

You'll end up with a lot of leftover lemon peel here which you can use to make lemon pickle, similar to lime pickle. Waste not, want not!
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Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 500 kg green finger chillies birds eye or similar
  • 175 g fine sea salt
  • 100 g mustard seeds
  • 20 g fenugreek seeds
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
  • 3/4 tsp asafoetida
  • 7 lemons juiced
  • 175 ml sunflower oil

Method
 

Step 1: Prepare the Chillies
  1. Slice the chillies into small 1cm rounds. You may want to wear gloves (though I didn't).
Step 2: Toast and Grind the Seeds
  1. Lightly toast the mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds in a hot dry pan until they become fragrant – this should only take a couple of minutes. Let them cool then transfer them to a pestle and mortar and grind to a coarse powder (still leave some whole spices around). Mix this aromatic spice blend with your sliced chillies in a large bowl.
Step 3: Add Salt and Lemon
  1. Add the salt and lemon juice to the chilli mixture and mix everything together thoroughly. The salt will help preserve the pickle, while the lemon juice adds that essential tangy brightness.
Step 4: Prepare the Spiced Oil
  1. Heat the sunflower oil in a pan, then stir in the asafoetida and turmeric powder. Immediately turn off the heat – you just want to bloom the spices, not cook them. Leave the oil to cool completely before adding it to the chilli mixture.
Step 5: Jar and Wait
  1. Pack the chilli mixture into a sterilised 2-litre jar. Now comes the hard part – you'll need to leave it for at least a month before digging in. This waiting period allows all the flavours to meld together beautifully. Once you start using it, keep the jar in the fridge.