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    Home » Pickles » Narthangai Oorugai / Citron Pickle

    Narthangai Oorugai / Citron Pickle

    Posted on April 16, 2016 · Last Updated on December 25, 2020 · By Srividhya G · 34 Comments

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    Narthangai Oorugai – A simple and delicious pickle prepared with dried citron or uppu narthangai as we say in Tamil.

    CitronOorukai

    The dried citrons or narthangai are one of the most commonly used ingredients during postpartum. We make this pickle from the dried narthangai swirls or uppu narthangai, as we say in Tamil.

    For the alphabet N, I didn’t have any second thoughts. I wanted to post this recipe for sure. My husband and Amma were suggesting a couple more, but I stayed with this one. Narthangai belongs to the citrus family, and the dried swirls are known for their health benefits.

    When we were sick, either down with flu or cold or cough, Amma used to serve rasam rice with this dried narthangai, also known as uppu narthangai. Uppu Narthangai aids in digestion removes the bitterness in the tongue during fever. It is also used for treating nausea, vomiting.

    During my first trimester, I always had uppu narthangai in my bag. And during postpartum, uppu narthangai and nendram chips were my sides for all the meals. Even though there were veggies, I loved my rasam rice with narthangai and nendram chips. I always have a stock of uppu narthangai at home even now. 

    As I mentioned before, we make this pickle with dried citron. So before getting into the recipe, let me share how to prepare uppu narthangai. Between, I bought these from India. Amma used to prepare them in summer if she gets narthangai.

    Narthangai

    Dried narthangai / uppu narthangai:

    You can use store-bought dried citron or homemade ones for this recipe. I have tried both. Here is how you make this dried citron at home.

    Wash the citron and chop them into two halves. You can use the juice to prepare rice similar to lemon rice or sun dry it along with the pulp. Chop them in circles and soak them in saltwater for a couple of days. Then drain them and sundry them for a couple of days until they are dried and store them in airtight container.

    DriedCitron

    Now coming back to the recipe, this pickle is super simple. Soak the dried narthangai in hot water and temper it. That’s it.  When you can’t find citron, and if you have dried ones at home, this comes in handy.

    How to make citron pickle / narthangai oorugai:

    • Soak the dried narthangai in hot water for about 8 hrs or till they become tender.

    SoakedNarthangai

    • Discard the water (it will be too salty).

    SoakedNarthangai1

    • Chop them into bite sized pieces.

    chopped

    • Heat the tempering pan or kadai and add oil.
    • When the oil is hot, add mustard seeds.  As they start to splutter, reduce the heat to low and add methi powder, hing, and red chili powder.
    • Fry for a minute. Make sure you don’t burn them. Add this to the chopped narthangai and mix well.

    CitronPickle

    Let it site overnight for all the oil and red chili powder to incorporate. That’s it. A perfect side for curd rice.

    Recipe Notes:

    • When you are adding the dry powder, reduce the heat to low and add them. We don’t want to burn the spice powders. 
    • Do not use a plastic container for storing the narthangai pickle. It’s not safe to pour the hot tempering in a plastic container. Glassware or regular stainless steel is preferable.
    • The dried citron that I used was very salty, so I discarded the water and didn’t add any salt further. Depending upon how salty the citron is, adjust the salt and add accordingly.
    • Adjust the salt and spices as per your taste.

    NarthangaiPickle1

    More pickle recipes from my blog:

    • Instant mango pickle
    • Gooseberry pickle
    • Carrot pickle
    • Cherry thokku

    P.S.:  If you try this narthangai oorugai, please don’t forget to comment and rate this recipe. If you have any questions, please leave a comment, and I will get to it A.S.A.P. Make sure to follow me on my Pinterest for more healthy and delicious ideas! Follow me on Instagram or join my Facebook Group for more gardening and recipe updates! You can also sign-up for my newsletter for weekly updates.

     

    📖 Recipe

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    4.67 from 3 votes

    Narthangai Oorugai / Citron Pickle

    Pickle prepared with dried citron or uppu narthangai. All we need to do is soak and temper.
    Prep Time5 minutes mins
    Cook Time10 minutes mins
    Soaking Time8 hours hrs
    Total Time8 hours hrs 15 minutes mins
    Course: sides
    Cuisine: South Indian
    Servings: 8
    Calories: 62kcal
    Author: Srividhya G

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup Dried citron uppu narthangai, 2 swirls. When chopped approximately 1 cup
    • 1 cup Hot Water
    • 3 tbsp Oil
    • 1 tsp Methi Powder
    • 3 tsp Red chili powder
    • 1 tsp Mustard seeds
    • 1 tsp Hing
    • No salt required as dried narthangai I used was over loaded with salt

    Instructions

    • Soak the dried narthangai in hot water for about 8 hrs or till they become tender.
    • Discard the water (it will be too salty) and chop them into bite sized pieces.
    • Heat the tempering pan or kadai and add oil.
    • Once the oil is hot, add mustard seeds.
    • As they start to splutter, reduce the heat to low and then add methi powder, hing and red chili powder.
    • Fry for a minute. Make sure you don’t burn them.
    • Add this to the chopped narthangai and mix well.
    • Let it site overnight for all the oil and red chili powder to incorporate. That’s it. A perfect side for curd rice.

    Notes

    • When you are adding the dry powder, reduce the heat to low and add them. We don't want to burn the spice powders. 
    • Do not use a plastic container for storing the narthangai pickle. It's not safe to pour the hot tempering in a plastic container. Glassware or regular stainless steel is preferable.
    • As the dried citron used was very salty, I discarded the water and didn't add any salt further. Depending upon how salty the citron is, adjust the salt and add accordingly.
    • Adjust the salt and spices as per your taste.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 62kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 19mg | Potassium: 30mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 322IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 16mg | Iron: 1mg

    I am not a nutritionist. The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It varies depending upon the product types or brands.

    Tried this recipe?Mention @vidhyasvegetariankitchen or tag #vidhyasvegkitchen
    For Video RecipesCheck out My YouTube Channel
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    Filed Under: Blogging Marathon, Pickles Tagged With: A-Z Challenge, Blogging Marathon, citron pickle, how to prepare narthangai pickle, narthangai ooruhai, sides for curd rice, uppu narthangai oorugai

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Vaishnavi says

      June 29, 2022 at 1:50 am

      5 stars
      Amazing recipe and lot of health benefits. Keep it coming Srividya.

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        July 11, 2022 at 3:37 am

        Thanks so much. Will definitely do.

        Reply
    2. Mireille Roc (@ChefMireille) says

      May 01, 2016 at 1:59 pm

      this pickle is a unique variety haven’t seen before – thx for introducing new ingredients for me to search for in Indian markets

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        May 01, 2016 at 4:11 pm

        Thanks Mir. I got them from India. But they are available here in indian groceries too.

        Reply
    3. Sandhya Ramakrishnan says

      April 25, 2016 at 9:08 am

      I have loads of dried uppu narthangai sitting in my pantry and I am bored of eating them as is. This is a kind of recipe I was looking for to re-purpose them. Thanks a load for the recipe!

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        April 25, 2016 at 9:24 pm

        You are most welcome Sandhya and please do let me know how you liked it.

        Reply
    4. Smruti | Herbivore Cucina says

      April 20, 2016 at 3:40 pm

      Absolutely new pickle. Thanks for sharing Srividhya!!

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        April 20, 2016 at 8:12 pm

        Thanks Smruti.

        Reply
    5. Amara says

      April 19, 2016 at 4:02 pm

      This is completely new to me, thanks for sharing such a healthy pickle.

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        April 20, 2016 at 8:46 am

        Thanks Amara.

        Reply
    6. harini says

      April 19, 2016 at 6:13 am

      Wow! This is totally new ingredient for me. Sounds flavorful.

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        April 19, 2016 at 7:56 am

        Thanks Harini.

        Reply
    7. cookingwithsapana says

      April 18, 2016 at 1:44 pm

      Very interesting pickle.Looks tasty

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        April 19, 2016 at 8:07 am

        Thanks a lot Sapana.

        Reply
    8. Priya Suresh says

      April 18, 2016 at 12:09 pm

      Omg, this nathangai oorugai looks prefect to tickle my tastebuds, soo tempting Vidhya.

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        April 19, 2016 at 8:23 am

        Thanks Priya. :-)

        Reply
    9. kushigalu says

      April 17, 2016 at 8:06 pm

      This is something new to me. Looks yum!

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        April 17, 2016 at 9:02 pm

        Thanks Kushi.

        Reply
    10. Nalini says

      April 17, 2016 at 7:37 pm

      Mouth watering pickle,we do make this type of pickle with sun dried lemon..

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        April 17, 2016 at 9:08 pm

        Thanks Nalini. Sun dried lemons sounds interesting too.

        Reply
    11. usha says

      April 17, 2016 at 5:58 pm

      This is a new one for me and nice to know about the health benefits as well.

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        April 17, 2016 at 7:10 pm

        Thanks Usha.

        Reply
    12. Suma Gandlur says

      April 17, 2016 at 10:09 am

      What an interesting pickle. This citrus variety is totally new to me and the pickle sounds flavorful.

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        April 17, 2016 at 7:12 pm

        Thanks Suma :-)

        Reply
    13. Gayathri Kumar says

      April 17, 2016 at 8:50 am

      That is a great side for curd rice. Looks so yum..

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        April 17, 2016 at 7:21 pm

        Yeah thanks gayathri.

        Reply
    14. Srivalli says

      April 17, 2016 at 5:35 am

      Very nice reading about this fruit. Good one…

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        April 17, 2016 at 7:18 pm

        Thanks Valli.

        Reply
    15. Bharani says

      April 16, 2016 at 8:25 pm

      Interesting share…. My mother in law will know about this I guess…. Thanks for sharing

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        April 16, 2016 at 8:46 pm

        Thanks a lot Bharani. Yeah Uppu Narthangai is quite beneficial and popular Bharani. Thanks a lot.

        Reply
    16. gayathri says

      April 16, 2016 at 7:33 pm

      pickle looks yummy and tempting

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        April 16, 2016 at 8:47 pm

        Thanks Gayathri..

        Reply
    17. Pavani says

      April 16, 2016 at 2:04 pm

      Very interesting pickle with citron Vidhya. This is totally new to me. Good to read about its health benefits.

      Reply
      • Srividhya G says

        April 16, 2016 at 8:49 pm

        Thanks a lot Pavani… Glad you liked it.

        Reply
    4.67 from 3 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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