Limes/Citrus

[Suvir Saran]

Jinmyo then asks:

What place does lime and other citrus have in Indian cuisine? Howrecent? How traditional?

[Suvir Saran]

Jinmyo as far as I know.. and I could well be wrong here.. so I am looking to others for information here... Limes are from South Asia and Lemons also are tropical and sub-tropical.

We have had citrus in India for a very long time.  I have seen refrences made to their usage in cooking over many periods in Indian history. They have been used in savory and sweet recipes.

In fact I make lemon, lime, meyer lemon, blood orange and tangerine marmalade when I find organic fruit in season. I love citrus marmalades.  And they go into many desserts I make. Small quantities of home made marmalades give a nice kick to many baked confections.

I bake savory dishes that will be revealed in my cook book that use citrus.  

Nimboo Paani was my Coke growing up.  We were not allowed to drink aerated soft drinks. Only fresh fruit juices, milk and water.  Nimboo Paani (lime or lemon sweetened water) was our favorite summer time soft drink of choice.  During the long summer vacation we drank several glasses of these.  I now look back at our consumption and wonder how Panditji (our family chef of many decades) was able to keep squeezing the juice.  He has never enjoyed using any tools for taking out the juice.  He presses with his palm and fingers and uses his fingers as a sieve to keep the seeds from going into the glass.

A lot of the street foods have lemon or lime juice added into them.  In the chutneys and also as a finishing garnish.

There are many lime and lemon pickles.  Other pickles are made in which lime or lemon juice is added for souring.

In fact in India lemon and lime juice were used to add acid to recipes where today we use tomatoes.  Since tomatoes came to India only very recently.

Lemon and Limes are used to keep people safe from heat stroke and given to those that have been struck by it.  

lemons and limes with chilies are formed into garlands that are fabled to keep evil away.

Lemon or lime juice is rubbed onto grilled corn that has been spiced with a blend of masalas (spices).

Many Indian vegetable stir fries use lemon or lime juice as a finishing garnish.  It cuts the grease and gives the stir fry a very fresh bite.

Southerin Indian clear soups (Rassams) often have lime or lemon juice in them.  IN fact you can get Lemon Rassam in certain southern Indian homes.

Lemon rice is a common rice recipe.

[Suvir Saran]

That is all I can come up with at this moment... Will keep thinking.  I am sure the others will have many more things to share.  

What do you use citrus for Jinmyo?

[Sandra Levine]

I love lime and cilantro together and often use that combination instead of, say, garlic and parsley.  It works very well with soy sauce or fish sauce, too.

Not Indian by any means, but I always squeeze lemon on vegetables that have been sauteed in olive oil, with garlic, for a quick pasta sauce

[Suvir Saran]

Sounds delicious.  In fact I love lemon/lime and cilantro rubbed on grilled corn on the cob.  Very tasty as well.

Soy sauce with fresh green chilies, sugar, lime/lemon and ginger is a great dipping sauce for grilled tofu and meats and also for spring rolls.

[Suvir Saran]

Thought this might be of interest to some...

History of Citrus

[Jinmyo]

What do you use citrus for Jinmyo?

I often use lime in various pestos and sauces. In Southeast Asian style soups. With shoyu and wasabi for some kinds of sashimi. In salad dressings. With fish or tofu ceviche. On fried haloom cheese.

On the work station in the kitchen there is a bowl always filled with both lemons and limes.

[Liza]

D. made a lovely lime-based drink on Sunday. Fresh lime juice, in a blender with slices of fresh mango, cantaloupe, ice and tequila. Quite citrus, sweet, creamy and cool.

The tequila takes it out of India, but thought I'd mention it anyway.

I also prefer a squeeze of lime over lemon on most fish dishes.

[Jinmyo]

I also prefer a squeeze of lime over lemon on most fish dishes.

Agreed. There's a mellow fruitiness as well as a good acidic zip that common lemons just don't have.

I still like lemons though.

[Liza]

Dare I say it, especially in pie.

[Suvir Saran]

wow... you guys are good.... I am now inspired to try all these things...especially the fried cheese.

I also prefer lime in savory things.. but lemon... wow.. I can use it most anywhere.... and pie... lemon meringue pie... can be essential to me in summer months.. just a great dessert.

[Suvir Saran]

In India we make a great chutney with left over orange rinds where we add ginger and jaggery and some red chili pepper to orange rind.  It is great.  Actually just had some at a friends house today.  His mother had sent some from Bombay.

[Suvir Saran]

Last night a friend from India had us over for dinner.  He had made Kheema/Keema (minced lamb or beef) in this case it was minced lamb.  It was  cooked Bora style (from the Moslem Bora Community) with very few ingredients but cooked over a long period and very gently.  

He had cinnamon, cumin and coriander powders and red chili powder as spices.

Lime was the finishing touch that made the Keema so wonderful and light.  

ANd then I noticed what I had not seen in years... but have seen a lot in the past in India, our host... our friend.... long after we had all finished eating kept sucking on wedges of lime.

Many Indians can do that for long periods. They find it very tasty and especially as they are eating and ending their meals.

He said it made him taste the flavors better as the astringent qualities of the lime would cleanse his palate and better prepare it for the next bite.

And after he has eaten, the lime helps him cleanse his palate completely for dessert.

[Priscilla]

I love limes, prefer 'em to lemons, although I don't hate lemons.  One can't really cook without lemon, anyway.  Nice to have the tree outside there, loaded with fruit just now.

Here in Southern California I can often get Mexican yellow limes, which I have been told are the same as Key limes.  Maybe somebody knows?  Incredible bright flavor, beautiful to look at.

And Suvir, if it is not too much trouble, could you give a recipe or outline for the orange-rind chutney?  Dare I also ask for the marmalade you mentioned earlier?

I do not take for granted how there is some variety of citrus or another in season the year 'round.  A gift.

Priscilla

[Suvir Saran]

Priscilla,

I love limes as well.  ANd you are right lemons are almost essential.

I am not sure what yellow limes you are referring to.  IN fact just two months ago I found some yellow limes at Balducci.  They were what we often called Kaagazi Nimbu (paper thin nimbus) in India.  The limes are a very bright sunny yellow, thin rind and very gentle and different aroma.  They are also much sweeter and less acidic than most limes or lemons.  They were called white Limes at Balducci.  I did make some marmalade with those.

My recipes for Marmalades are simple.  Equal weight of sugar and fruit.  And then as per my inspiration I add some spices or not.  Ginger is great.  Chili powder and even cloves.  And I cook till it is of the right thickness.  Normally close to an hour.

I check the marmalade for conistency by having a few plates in the freeser chilling and to them I drop spoonfulls of the marmalade and as I think it is ready, I drop the spoonfull onto the plate freeze it for 3-4 minutes and see if the marmalade is runny or just gently moving.  Runny means more cooking, very slightly trembling would mean it is ready.

The orange rind chutney is made by collecting orange rind in a bottle and adding ginger (chopped), salt, juice of one orange for a quart full of loosely packed rinds.  To this you add a 1/4 cup of melted sugar or even jaggery, whichever is available and genrous amounts of chili powder to taste.  You mix all of this together and seal and pack tightly into a quart jar and leave out in the sun daily for 2 months.  The chutney is then ready.  Refrigerate once you have opened.  I have never canned this or else I would give you exact proportions.  I make it and we eat it even before there is any left for preserving for long periods.

I make a lot of marmalades and they are really very good made at home. People will come asking you and begging you for more.  And once you have made it onetime, you will understand if you want more sugar or less, more chili or clove or ginger.  And you can alter those and make batches.  I love Meyer Lemon Marmalade with ginger a lot.

[Suvir Saran]

Priscilla,

I would love to be more precise and exact but my cookbook publisher would kill me if I were to give it all up here.

Hope you understand.  I am here to help steer you in the right direction.  Feel free to ask me any questions.

[Priscilla]

Suvir, thank you so much!

I'm thinking about the the gorgeous dark-pink grapefruit I can get at the farmer's market and how they are going to become marmalade quite soon here.  I have made other preserves, but never marmalade, and look forward to this.

The orange rind chutney sounds delicious.  Just one question, how should the rinds be cut?

We constantly generate lots of orange rinds, which normally enrich the compost, and we have made a limoncello-like liqueur using oranges instead, but chutney, that's something REALLY useful!

I wonder if the light-colored limes you describe are what I have seen sold as Persian limes.  They are very sweet, in fact hardly acidic at all.  And hasn't there been a historic reciprocal relationship between Persian and Indian cuisines lo, these many centuries?  Hmmmm.

Priscilla

(Edited out a hideous disgusting typo.)

[Suvir Saran]

Yes they could very well be the Persian Limes.  And they are hardly acidic.

I cut the oranges as juliennes for the marmalade and the chutney.  I remove almost all the white pith when cooking savory dishes with the rind.

I leave it for the chutney and the marmalade.

For the grapefruit, I would suggest removing the pith... I am not sure.. I have never made that one before.

I had some wonderful Pommelo salad in Singapore.  It was like a papaya salad.  Flavored with fish sauce, soy sauce, tomatoes, hot Thai chilies, dried shrimp, onions and saly and pepper.  

The juliennes you cut for the chutney could be cut into larger chunks.  The length should be as long as you can keep. The width could be 1/4 of an inch wide.  Double what you would see in a marmalade.

Keep me posted.