Lime Pickle

Wash the limes in cold water and dry on kitchen towels. Make four cuts through the limes to quarter them to within 0.5 cm of the bottom. Remove the pips. Slit the chillis lengthways and scrape out the seeds, leaving the chillis whole with their stalks. Arrange a layer of limes on the bottom of a large pickling jar. Sprinkle with salt and crumbled bay leaves. Add 2 or 3 chillis and about 2 tablespoons of the ginger. Repeat these layers until all the ingredients, except half the salt are used up. Pour over the lime juice and give the jar a good shake to settle the contents. Cover the mouth of the jar with a clean cloth and tie in place with string. Put the jar in a sunny place for at least 6 days, adding half a tablespoon of the remaining salt each day. Shake the jar at least twice a day. Each night, put the jar in a dry place in the kitchen. Be sure to turn the jar each day so that all sides are exposed to the sun's rays. After six days, keep the pickle on a shelf for 10 days. Cover with a lid and shake the jar every day. The pickle will be ready to eat after 10 days.