Lemon Pickle

Curry Bunga

6 lemons (use yellow lemons with thin skin, never use lemons with thick skin)

2 tbsp red chili powder
1 tbsp black salt
½ cup sugar
¾ cup water

Wash lemons really well. Cut each into 8 wedges and try to remove as many seeds as possible.
Put the lemon pieces in a heavy-based pot. Add red chili powder, black salt and sugar. Mix well, add water and cover the pot with … Read more »

Tanmaya’s Lemon or Lime Indian Oil Pickle (madly authentic)

12 – 15 lemons or limes that have been quartered, salted, sprinkled with chillies and dried in the sun (heat) for 3 days
50 red or green chillies
Cooking salt
2½ cups malt vinegar
2 tablespoons fenugreek seeds
½ cup chopped fresh ginger
½ cup peeled garlic cloves
½ cup ground cumin
½ cup ground coriander
5 cups mustard oil
2 tablespoons black mustard seeds
… Read more »

Lemon Butter

Georgina Adamson

There are still plenty of lemons around so make sure you put away some jars of lemon butter for delicious desserts: a filling for a sponge or tart, in a cheesecake, or simply over ice cream. Here’s my basic recipe for Lemon Butter (or curd).

1. Melt 250g unsalted butter in a large heat-proof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water.

2. Add 3 cups sugar and stir till the sugar is … Read more »

Blood Plum Sauce

Linda Sang

250g         ripe blood plums
2/3 cup    fish sauce
6                whole star anise.
2                cinnamon quills
1/3 cup     lime juice

Bring 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar to the boil, turn to low heat for 5 minutes until slightly reduced. Add plums, fish sauce, and spices. Simmer for 1 minute or so then stir in lime juice.
I like to make at least double the recipe. Better still, make lots and bottle it for gifts. I use this sauce with a Chinese … Read more »

Prawns with Mango Salsa

Linda Sang

Something easy, no fuss, no cooking for the season’s gathering of friends and family? Or just a celebration of summer? How about prawns with mango salsa? Choose Australian cooked king prawns or, if you’re lucky, buy local school prawns from a roadside van. They’re a bit fiddly to prepare but well worth the effort with the reward of sweet little morsels.
Even better still, try catching them yourself with friends, flashlights, nets and buckets on a moonless night in summer. Ask a local for … Read more »

Rhubarb and Ginger Chutney

Evelyne A

1 kilo rhubarb [washed and cut into 2-3 centimetre pieces]
350ml red wine vinegar
650ml malt vinegar
4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
545 grams raisins
455 grams chopped dates
470 grams sugar
2 tablespoons salt
1.5 tablespoons Cayenne pepper [yes, tablespoons]
115 grams stem ginger in syrup finely chopped.  Janet and I used our own ginger marmalade. A good quality commercial one does the job … Read more »