Dad’s Makrut Lime Pie
Ingredients
Lime Filling
- 4 teaspoons grated zest (two from the skin of Makrut/Kaffir limes, two from the skin of traditional limes. You can use as much as three teaspoons from Makrut/Kaffir limes, but no more as the flavor will become too floral.)
- 4 large egg yolks
- One 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
- ½ cup juice from 3-4 limes (a mix, as above, of traditional and kaffir limes; the traditional lime will have considerably more juice)
Carr's Whole Wheat Cracker Crust
- 1 ¼ cups Carr’s Whole Wheat Crackers
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
As a respectful practice, we have changed the title of this recipe to avoid offending any readers. The Editor’s note in the article will serve as a partial explanation of this decision.
In order to avoid confusion among readers searching for ingredients in the United States, the commonly used term Kaffir will continue to be included. Amazon, Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Walmart all carry Kaffir Lime products.
According to Wikipedia, the word is also used without any offensive connotations to refer to the Sri Lankan Kaffirs, an ethnic group descended from Portuguese and African immigrants.
We realize that People touched by the ugly racist strife in South Africa that persists today feel uncomfortable using the word because it has become so incendiary (even if the relationship is purely innocent).
According to the site uscitrus.com, “The common name for this plant and leaves is ‘Kaffir’ lime, but ‘Kaffir’ is an offensive word from Southern Africa. It has coincidentally been used in Southeast Asia as the name for this plant, without harmful intent. However, due to the growing international popularity of the fruit and leaves, we and others have transitioned to its alternate name: Makrut Lime.”
Preparation
Preheat oven to 325° F.
1. Whisk zest and yolks together until light green. This usually takes 2-3 minutes. Whisk in the milk, then juice. Set aside.
2. Either by hand or with a food processor break apart the crackers until they become fine crumbs. Stir in the sugar. Add butter, stir until well blended.
3. Pour the crust mixture into a pie pan. Press the crumbs over the bottom and up the sides. Be sure to use the bottom of a glass to press the crumbs firmly together, this will help your crust keep together when serving. Bake until lightly browned, about 15 minutes.
4. Pour lime filling into crust. Bake until the center is set, yet wiggly when jiggled, about 15 minutes.
5. If desired, top with homemade whipped cream.
Elizabeth Rush
Writer/photographer Elizabeth Rush has crossed borders with Bangladeshi cattle smugglers, built homes with Lima’s squatters, and participated in the underground performance art scene in Yangon, Myanmar. Her work has appeared in Granta, Orion, Le Monde Diplomatique, the Huffington Post, Frieze, Asian Geographic, and the Global Oneness Project among others. Her book Lost & Found: Hanoi is due out with Things Asian Press in May 2014. She currently teaches at the City University of New York and is at work on a non-fiction book about migration and creative small-scale solutions in response to global sea rise.
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