On Limbu Pickle

Lime pickle, or Elumichanga Urukay, or Nimmakaya Urugaya , or Nimbu Achar is often referred to as Limbu pickle by the Maharashtrians. Like many things in India even a simple dish has many monikers. It is basically a relish made by pickling lime that is a staple for many an Indian meal. Like most Indian condiments this one too has its share of spices and can be made just spiced and salty or just plain hot and spicy or salted with a touch of vinegar. There are probably a myriad other variations of both names and recipes that due to my ignorance I have not yet been exposed me to.

Limbu pickle is a favorite in my household and is always in high demand. Often it’s stock is depleted too soon, due to the cravings of our household to have this condiment with almost every dish. Now if you have not had Indian food you might not understand this. The tartness in the lime mixed with spices and the right amount of salt makes it taste just sublime. One way to eat this, is with a bowl of (plain yogurt) curd rice. Eating a handful of the rice mixed with a piece of the lime and a healthy portion of the pickled gravy is a truly blissful experience. It releases enough endorphins to trigger a sense of euphoria making you want to have more and more until your stomach can’t handle anymore. It goes well with Uppuma (cream of rice with a touch of spices and fried vegetables) or Adai ( lentil pancake). There are probably a myriad other combinations that one can discover once those first endorphins kick in.

As you can imagine once a human being has experienced something like a runners high gorging on their favorite combination of food and Limbu pickle, they want to have it with every meal. Not just that, if they have to share a limited stock with the rest of the family sometimes there is a lot of acrimony floating around. Occasionally this even leads to increased supervision on the amounts that each person has (like for example a grand daughter observing how much her grandpa has at the dinner table). Now it’s hard to be ethical when you eat, do you or do you not serve yourself an extra scoop of the Limbu pickle when no one is watching?

Now it’s important for you all to have this as context so you can understand the psyche behind the Limbu pickle. Just a few months ago before Covid had unveiled itself I had the good fortune to make a trip to India. Typically a trip across the seven seas involves the barter of goods from this side of the world in exchange for delicacies and clothes from the other side. My trip was no different and I left with a collection of items — chocolates, clothes, and knick knacks. Typically these are gifted over to friends and relatives whom you meet as goodwill gestures that keeps your memories fresh in their minds for a long time. One such item I carried on my last trip was “Bark Thins” dark chocolates with almonds, a very popular snack that my kids loved. I carried multiple packs since I wanted to share this with multiple people during my visit. My trip in India took me many places and I did carry some of these Bark Thins with me, leaving only a small stock behind for my dad.

Often times, my friends and relatives showered me with gifts too. When I went to visit my in-laws, they made sure I did not leave empty handed. My wife and daughter had sent a long list of items already and my mother-in-law made sure that not even one item was missed. I am sure you already guessed that she had packed multiple packets of Limbu pickle that she had made on her own. She had the golden touch and her Limbu pickle was a big hit in our family. As I was traveling to multiple cities and my suitcase was already full, I had asked the Limbu pickle along with some other stuff be couriered to my dad’s home.

Upon my return to Bangalore after my trips, I discovered that the package had arrived. I just unpacked the cardboard box and left the things strewn around in the room until I was ready to pack from my trip back to the U.S. Trips in India are always hectic with people to see, friends to visit with, shopping to do and of course gourmet food to devour. I was busy doing all those things and having a whale of a time. I still had one last trip to make to that large metropolis, Bombay now affectionately called Mumbai. I was excited to go to Mumbai for I was going there to attend an Indian Wedding, an elaborate occasion with fun fare and frolic. Living in the U.S has made it impossible for me to attend many of these momentous occasions over the years. But I was also equally excited to meet some friends and relatives who lived in the Burbs of Mumbai. I partied late the day before and hurriedly packed late in the night for I had an early morning flight into Mumbai.

Upon landing in Mumbai, I got picked up at the airport by a dear friend who had been waiting for me at the airport. I drove with him to his lovely abode in Bandra. Along the way he showed me some landmarks such as the little master’s ( S Tendulkar’s) house. We had a great time chatting and reminiscing old times. I had a sumptuous lunch that his wife had prepared and sat down for some more good conversation. After a cup of afternoon chai, it was soon time for me to leave. I remembered, I had packed some Batk Thins in my bag. I got it out and handed it out to my friends son, a budding artist whose work I got to see that day. My friend offered to let me use his car and driver so I could make my way to Vashi to meet some of my relatives. So I said my goodbyes and got on my way.

That evening in Vashi, I met up with some relatives whom I had spent my childhood with. We decided to go out for dinner at a neighboring restaurant. We had a large group and were having a big feast and some great conversation, when my phone rang. I picked it up and found that it was my friend who had called. I thought maybe he was just checking on me. On the contrary, he had called to tell me that his son opened the Bark Thins bag and found inside a pack of nicely packed Limbu Pickle. My heart started racing as he was telling me all this. I somehow managed to conclude the conversation after profusely apologizing for my snafu. My friend was very nice about it. He told me that he loved Limbu pickle and he will gladly keep it. Guess I will never find out what was going through my friend, his wife and son’s minds when they opened a bag of chocolates and discovered Nimbu pickle instead.

I was too busy to even think what could have happened to make me do such a stupid thing. Perhaps faux pas are a common thing in our adult lives but we seldom talk or hear about them. It was only when I went to bed that night I began to ponder what might have happened.

If you have traveled back and forth to the U.S carrying food, you would know that food such as pickle has to be nicely packed and sealed. This is to prevent it from leaking and damaging the other content in your suitcase, but also to pass the scrutiny by the FDA inspector at the airport. Turns out my mother-in-law had nicely packed and sealed the pickle in a plastic bag and put into the zip locked Bark Thins bag so it will be airtight until I got back to the US.

Discovering this didn’t make me feel any more comfortable. How was I to break the news to my mother-in-law? I was even more threatened by how my wife and daughter would react. I finally gathered my courage to speak to them and do the reveal the next morning. They both were surely disappointed ☹️ and almost unanimously told me that the only way I could make amends was to forgo my rights to the rest of the lime pickle that I was bringing over !!!