Meetha narangi ka achar or sweet kumquat pickle is made with Indian narangis which are round and orange when ripe. To sweeten the sour fruit, sugar is added and the red chilli powder, spices it up. In the times of large families living in bungalows with large lawns, the pickle was ripened in earthen tubs covered with muslin cloth and kept out in the warm winter sun. In this recipe, Nirupama has guided us how to make it even in a small apartment.

The Narangi or the Round Kumquat is an evergreen tree, producing edible golden-yellow fruit. The edible fruit closely resembles the orange but is much smaller, being approximately the size and shape of a large olive. The fruit is small and usually round but can be oval shaped. The peel has a bitter flavour and the fruit has a sour centre. The fruit is mainly used to make pickles, marmalades and jellies. The round kumquat is called ‘Narangi’ in India because of the orange colour of its peel and its close resemblance to an orange.

Nirupama Khunnah is proud of her skill in making pickles. For her, pickle making is a round the year activity. In India we have a large number of seasonal fruits and vegetables which every household converts into pickles to spice up meals and snacks. She is passionate about the pickle recipes she has inherited from her mother and aunts. Her pickle recipe book is a treasured item, which she will bequeath to the person she thinks worthy of it.

Come the months of Feburary – March in her home town of Kanpur, her narangi tree is laden with fruits that have turned ripe and golden orange. Though she has many fruit growing trees in her garden, the various squirrels, parrots, monkeys leave only her citrus trees alone. The only avian who loves eating her narangis is the Myna bird, who perches on the tree while the fruits ripen. To utilize the large amount of the fruit, she makes pickles, squash, and marmalade, for her family and to give to relatives and friends.

Here she shares with us a recipe for a Meetha Narangi ka Achar, which she spices with chilli powder. This is an original recipe her aunt shared with her. For convenience sake and due to bad weather in the winter months in recent times, she warms the pickle on the stove every morning to hasten the cooking process. She says that while making her morning tea, she warms the pickle to body temperature and gives it a good stir. She then tries to keep it in a well-lit or sunny area for the rest of the day.

Meetha Narangi ka Achar

Sweet Kumquat Pickle

Ingredients ~

½ kg narangi/round kumquat
½ kg sugar
65 gms salt
1/4  tsp hing/ asafoetida
1 tbsp red chilli powder

Method ~

1. Cut the narangi into halves around the centre and take out the seeds.
2. In a steel vessel, add the sugar, salt and hing to the cut narangi pieces.
3. Cover the vessel with muslin cloth and place in a sunny corner. Take care that it is in a covered area so that no frost can fall through the cloth.
4. When the juice turns syrupy and thick, add the chilli powder. This will take about 1 ½ -2 weeks.
5. Place in a clean glass bottle and keep in a dark place.

~ Alternatively, everyday warm the pickle in its steel container over a very low flame to body temperature. Cover with the muslin cloth and keep in a warm corner. Keep warming till the sugar syrup gets thick and coats a spoon. Then add the chilli powder and store in clean glass jars in a dark, cool place.