Lemon dates pickle

The perfect blend of sweet and sour, this pickle can be quite the find! It goes well with rice as well as rotis and is a visual treat as well.

Ingredients
12 lemons
2 tsp + 4 tbsp gingelly oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp ginger, finely chopped 
2 big tsp garlic, finely chopped
3 tsp red chilli powder
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp fenugreek, toasted and powdered 
1 tsp asafoetida powder
¾ cup dates, de-seeded and crushed
1 tsp salt
¼ cup vinegar

Preparation
Wash the lemons and dry them properly
Heat 2 tsp gingelly oil. Now, sauté the lemons till they turn golden brown in colour. When their insides are soft, take off the stove, clean and keep for cooling
Take 4 big tsp ginelly oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. Wait till the seeds splutter
Add ginger, garlic, red chilli powder,  turmeric powder, ground fenugreek and asafoetida powder, and sauté well
Add crushed dates and salt to this mixture. Take it out from the stove and let it cool for some time
Take the lemons kept aside, and without breaking them apart, make four slashes. Fill the insides of these with the masala that was prepared. Store them in a jar
Heat vinegar, and after it cools, pour on top of the lemons and keep the jar aside without moving the lemons
You can use this pickle after 3 weeks from date of preparation