The 23rd letter in Sindhi Alphabet (AlifBe) is ذ i.e ज़ in Devanagari and in Roman Sindhi it is Z as in Zebra !
Ideally this Z i.e ذ is used in words that are not of Sindhi Origin. This Z is known as ‘Zaal‘ and is used in words like ‘Zaro‘(means ‘little’) or Kaagaz (Paper).
Since no Sindhi Vegetarian dish starts with this particular Z (There are 3 more ‘Z’s in Arabic Sindhi) I was about to skip this one .
But I realised that there is one traditional Sindhi pickle called ‘leemun Ji Khatain~’ (Lemon/lime Pickle) made using Kagzi Leema or Kagzi Nimbu (Citrus aurantifolia) and the Z in Kagzi is the one we are discussing about, today i.e ذ
I know this is cheating but then there is no Sindhi dish starting with ذ So let us make peace with ‘Kagzi Leemun Ji Khatain~‘!
Kagzi Lime are very juicy, very acidic, and have a thin and smooth skin and are commonly used to make Pickles. This pickle could be made with lemons too (with thick rinds)!
You can add ginger, garlic cloves and Bhavnagri chillies or any less hot variety of chillies in this pickle!
- 15 Kagzi limes
- 3-4 tbsp Himalayan rock salt (or 3 tbsp of table salt)
- 2-3 Bhavnagri or any thick variety of Green Chillies
- Few slices (or Juliennes) of ginger (Optional)
- A sterilised glass jar
- Rinse Kagzi limes with water and pat dry with a kitchen towel.
- Cut around 8-9 Limes in wedges. Discard the seeds.
- In a clean, sterilised jar put the lime wedges and add salt (I used coarse Himalayan pink salt).
- Squeeze the remaining limes (strain to discard seeds) and pour the juice in the jar. I squeeze limes directly in the jar. You can place a tea strainer over the mouth of the jar to catch the seeds
- I generally add Bhavnagari or thick green chillies (the one used for making Mirchi ke pakore), cut into bite sized pieces to this pickle along with some ginger slices. You can add few garlic cloves too.These are optional but taste very good in this pickle.
- Close the lid of the jar and give it a shake. Covering the mouth of the jar with a muslin cloth is not compulsory in this case. I did it coz I love the look of it while capturing the pictures 😉
- Place the jar in sunlight for 1-2 weeks. Shake the jar twice in a day!
- You can start eating chillies in few days and lime wedges after two weeks or so. I prefer to consume limes that are allowed to mature for a month or more.
- If stored in airtight jar, in a cool and dry place, the pickle can last for 6 months and beyond!
And if you are interested in learning how to write and read in Sindhi, then please do check this video on my YouTube channel!
