Gooseberry popularly known as Amla in India is a gloriously pale-green hued fruit that is too sour to eat fresh. However, when it is combined with sugar, salt and spices, it will form delicious jams, jellies, sauces or pickles. These tart berries can be cooked up into many dishes which can be your favourite.
Come winter season, the market is flooded with gorgeous gooseberries. There are plenty of ways to indulge in them by converting them into mouth-watering recipes. Here are a few of them which you can easily try at home:
Amla murabba: Take 500 grams of fresh amlas. Soak them in plenty of water adding half teaspoon of alum (fitkari) for three days. After three days, drain this water and wash gooseberries thoroughly. Prick all gooseberries with a fork. Boil one and a half litres of water in a big pan. Add pricked gooseberries into it. After boiling on high flame for two to three minutes, turn off the flame. Keep it covered for 15 minutes. Take out the gooseberries draining the water. Keep gooseberries in a strainer so that any water left in them seeps away. Now prepare the sugar syrup. Take half a litre of water and mix 750 grams of sugar in it. Boil to mix the sugar well. Add amlas to this boiling syrup and cook them until soft. Cook until the syrup becomes thick on medium-low flame stirring frequently. Turn off the flame. Let it cool. Add half teaspoon of white salt, half teaspoon of black salt and one-fourth teaspoon of black pepper powder. Mix well when the syrup is lukewarm. You can add one-third teaspoon of saffron strands also. Let it cool properly. Store it in glass airtight jars. Super delicious!
Stir-fried spicy amla: Take 500 grams of amla. Deseed it and cut into small pieces. Heat one tablespoon of mustard oil in a non-stick pan. Add a pinch of hing powder, half teaspoon each of mustard seeds, fennel seeds and cumin seeds. Let them crackle. Add two slit green chillies. Add amla pieces. Stir fry for few minutes to coat them with the oil. Add half teaspoon of chilli powder, one-third teaspoon of turmeric powder, one teaspoon of coriander powder and salt according to your taste. Mix all ingredients well. Cook it covered on medium-low flame for five minutes. Add a three-fourth cup of water and one-fourth cup of crumbled jaggery. Stir well on low flame to let the jaggery melt and coat the cooked amlas. Turn off the flame. Serve this amla dish hot with chapatti or paratha. Extremely nutritious!
Tangy amla lachcha: Take 500 grams of gooseberries. Wash them thoroughly and give a boil on high flame. Simmer on medium-low flame for five minutes. Turn off the flame and strain the water. Let the gooseberries cool and dry in air. Grate them one by one discarding the seeds. In a food processor, coarsely grind one teaspoon of fennel seeds, one-fourth teaspoon of fenugreek seeds and half teaspoon of mustard seeds. Heat one tablespoon of mustard oil in a pan. When the oil is hot enough, turn the flame low and add a pinch of hing powder and half teaspoon of kalonji. Add one teaspoon of grated ginger and ground spices. Saute a little and add grated amla. Stir it well. Add half teaspoon of turmeric powder and salt. Keep stirring on medium flame for five minutes. Turn off the flame. Let it cool. Add one teaspoon of white vinegar. Mix well. It is ready to eat but tastes best after two to three days.
Gooseberry is very beneficial for health due to the presence of high amount of iron and vitamin C. These recipes are truly tongue-tickler with the perfect sweetness or spiciness or both.
Note:
Never cook gooseberries in iron or brass utensil.
Always choose clean, fresh and spotless gooseberries for culinary purpose.