Lunu dehi (ලුණු දෙහි) is Sri Lanka's salt-cured lime pickle. The name simply means salt lime in Sinhala: lunu is salt and dehi is lime. Ripe limes are cut open, packed with coarse salt and left in the sun for a couple of weeks, until the skins turn soft, wrinkled and light brown and the fruit sits in its own sharp, salty brine. The result is intensely sour and salty with a faint bitterness from the pith, and it is eaten in very small amounts.
It is a condiment rather than an ingredient: a sliver or two sits at the edge of a plate of rice and curry, where it cuts through coconut-milk gravies in the same way a spoonful of sambol would. Many Sri Lankan recipes spice the brine with chilli, pepper or turmeric, and some finish the jar with vinegar; the version below keeps to salt and lime juice with an optional pinch of spice, and needs about four weeks from start to first taste.
How to make lunu dehi
- Makes 1 jar (about 750 ml)
- Prep: 30 minutes
- Curing: about 4 weeks
- Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients
- 12 ripe yellow limes (about 600 g), for curing
- 150 g coarse sea salt (about 1/2 cup), plus extra to top up
- 4 more limes, for juice (about 100 ml)
- 1 tsp chilli powder (optional)
- 1/2 tsp crushed black pepper (optional)
- 1/4 tsp ground turmeric (optional)
Method
- Prepare the jar. Wash a 750 ml glass jar and its lid in hot soapy water, rinse, and dry it completely in a low oven or in the sun. Use glass or glazed ceramic, not metal.
- Blanch and dry the limes. Dip the 12 limes in boiling water for about 30 seconds, drain, and wipe each one completely dry with a clean cloth. Any water left on the fruit can spoil the batch.
- Cut. Make two crossed cuts from the top of each lime down to about 1 cm from the base, so the lime opens into four joined quarters.
- Pack with salt. Open each lime gently, fill it generously with salt and press it closed. Pack the limes tightly into the jar, scattering salt between the layers, and finish with a layer of salt on top. Close and leave for 1 day.
- Dry in the sun. Each sunny day, set the jar in direct sun with the lid on, bring it indoors at night, and shake it gently once a day. After 10 to 14 days the skins will be soft and light brown and the limes will sit in their own juice.
- Add the juice. Squeeze the 4 remaining limes and stir in the chilli, pepper and turmeric if using. Pour the juice over the limes, pressing them down with a clean, dry spoon, so that they are covered by brine. Add a little more salt if any fruit is exposed.
- Mature. Close the jar and keep it in a cool, dry place away from direct light for about 2 more weeks, shaking it every few days. It is ready when the skin is soft enough to cut with a spoon, and the flavour keeps mellowing after that.
What does lunu dehi taste like?
Very sour and very salty, with a slight bitterness from the pith that softens as the pickle matures. Young lunu dehi is sharp and bright; after a few months the skin turns darker and jammier and the taste becomes rounder. Because it is so concentrated, a serving is a thin slice of skin with a little of the soft flesh, not a whole wedge.
How do you eat it?
The usual place for lunu dehi is on a plate of rice and curry, next to a dhal curry and a vegetable curry, where a small piece is mixed into a mouthful of rice. It sits well beside other sharp accompaniments such as pol sambol. Some cooks chop a cured lime and mix it with sliced onion and chilli to make a quick lunu dehi sambol, and the chilli used for that is usually one of Sri Lanka's two fiery chillies, nai miris or kochchi.
How is it different from other Sri Lankan pickles?
- Lunu miris. Lunu miris is a freshly pounded relish of chilli, onion, salt and lime juice, made in minutes and eaten the same day. Lunu dehi is cured for weeks and keeps for months.
- Achcharu. Achcharu is a sweet, sour and spiced pickle of mixed vegetables or fruit in vinegar and mustard. Lunu dehi is built on salt and lime alone, with spice only as an option.
- Indian lime pickle. South Indian lime pickles are usually finished with oil, mustard seed and fenugreek. Lunu dehi is typically oil-free, which is why it tastes cleaner and sharper.
How do you store lunu dehi safely?
Salt and acid are what keep the pickle, so the rules are about keeping water and contamination out. Start with a spotless, completely dry glass jar, dry the limes thoroughly after washing, and always take pickle out with a clean, dry spoon, never with fingers. Keep the fruit under the brine; if pieces rise above it, press them down or add a little salt.
Kept sealed in a cool, dry cupboard, lunu dehi keeps for several months and continues to improve. Once opened, it keeps longest in the fridge. A little cloudiness in the brine is normal, but throw the batch away if you see fuzzy mould, the fruit turns slimy, or it smells rotten rather than sharp and citrusy.
Variations
- Spiced brine. Many cooks add chilli powder, crushed pepper, turmeric or ground fenugreek to the lime juice before pouring it over.
- With vinegar. Some recipes quarter the sun-cured limes and top the jar up with white vinegar, often with a little sugar, cloves and cardamom, for a softer, slightly sweet pickle.
- Cooked method. Another style simmers pricked limes in vinegar, salt and sugar until the skins shrink, then seals them in a jar to mature for several months.
Related reading
2 pages on closely related subjects.
