Nellikka (Indian Gooseberry) Pickle

Oh, another childhood favorite – Nellikka or Amla or Indian Gooseberry. We used to have fresh gooseberries with all its bitterness, just to enjoy the sweet reward at the end; a drink of water after a bite of gooseberry, and voilà, the water tastes sweet! This was something magical for us kids. Coming to think of it, I still don’t know the reason behind this phenomenon! Yes, it is still magical.

I picked up some frozen gooseberries from a local Indian store a few weeks ago and as with most of my purchases, duly forgot about it. That’s when I came across this post at Delectable Victuals, one of my favorite blogs with wonderful pictures and excellent writing by one of my favorite bloggers, Sheela. Well, my gooseberries didn’t look anything like Sheela’s picture, these were frozen and kind of yellowish in color. My mom assured me that not all gooseberries are green, and these are perfectly good, so I proceeded to make a Nellikka Pickle, loosely based on Sheela’s recipe with a lot of input from my mom.

Ingredients

• 1/4 lb gooseberries (fresh or frozen)
• 1 tbsp thinly sliced ginger pieces
• 1 tbsp thinly sliced garlic pieces
• a few curry leaves
• 1/4 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds
• a pinch of brown sugar
• salt to taste
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 cup boiled water
• 2 tbsp vinegar
• 4-6 tbsp oil

Method

In a pan, heat oil and add the mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds begin to splutter, add the fenugreek seeds and fry till brown.

Add curry leaves, ginger and garlic pieces and fry till the pieces are crispy.

Reduce the heat and add the spice powders and fry till brown.

Add the gooseberries, salt and sugar and saute till the gooseberries are soft.

Add the vinegar and hot water and cook a bit.

When cool, transfer to an airtight container and leave it for about seven days before transferring to the refrigerator.

My first attempt at making pickles. Only problem with making pickles is having to wait for a while before reaping the rewards - I am all about instant gratification. But this looks like it is worth the effort. 

This goes to beautiful, gorgeous, funny, magnanimous Coffee for her Monthly Blog Patrol – Preserve It event. I hope all those adjectives will make her forget that my entry is one day late. 

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Category: Chutneys and Dips and Pickles, Gooseberry, India - Kerala, Recipes