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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yummm…. i love the color of the pickle… its so inviting… looks very yummmyyyy!!
……………………………..
i am falling short of words sig darling. just cant take my off the screen… that pickle is to die for….
This is the second Gooseberry pickle I am drooling at today,Roopa has the same!:)
Looks mouthwatering Sig.So far I have never seen Nellikai here,must try.Beautiful!:))
hey sig, for all the doubts you had about the nellikka…. pickle tooks fab. Mom’s know better
That is truly one gorgeous picture! All the beauty of Indian pickles…
Hey Sig, you get gooseberries in Seattle! Lucky you!! Seattle is not too far from LA, and its always good to share some pickles
. he he, which brand gooseberries did you by (since you said they were frozen)-may be i can ask the Indian store here to get some.
and this one picture of pickle is BLISS!
Hey Sig, I love this pickle like anything and many times tried to buy a packet of Frozen ones but always was apprehensive, next time I will definitely buy this and try it out.
I am singing…
Yummy..Yummy..Yummy .Yummy ..Nellikka Pickle….
Nellikka pickle.. yummy.. yummy
I made mine months ago but yours looks so much better (read hotter)! I just winged it with a combination of spices usually used in Punjabi pickles. This is bookmarked for next year!
wow sig your the color of your pickle is mouth watering! mine the color turned out very dark
!Nice entry !
Yummmmmmmmmm!! Now I’m missing all those things I didn’t care for as a child! Pickle looks great
AHHH!!! I can pick it up right now from that pic sig!! Fabuous pic and its bookmarked to try!
Lovely photo, Sig! We Telugus make a mean gooseberry pickle too, but very differently!
omg! ur post did remind me of that magical power of amla
what fun it used to be 
ur pickle looks absolutely gorgeous, mouth watering! who knew frozen amla could work so well!
the pickle looks fabulous, I have to look for gooseberries!
Sig, you have *tempted* be very bad. I HAVE to try this. Its been eons since I had gooseberry!
that pickle looks mouthwatering Sig! Gooseberry was my childhood favorite too. that picture makes my cheek hurt:)
my favourite pickle. looks just wow.
That pickle looks totally mouthwatering…whoa to die for.
Also i absolutely loved your karela-shrimp dish. Everyone at home laughs at me because I tend to add shrimp to everything. Now that there REALLY is a recipe like that I am going to shut them up by making this with a picture of your dish framed on my kitchen wall
Cinnamon, Sup, Asha Thank you
Pravs, good to see you…. yep, the nellikkas looked realy questionable… but turned out great
Nupur thanks
Musie
yep, seattle is not too far from LA, so make a trip sometime… I am sure you will get this in LA too in some Indian store… I forgot the name of the brand, will note it down next time I buy it.
Lata, obviously not as good as fresh ones, but not too bad in pickle…
Raji… lol someone loves her pickles…
Anita… it does look hot doesn’t it… the color is from the red kashmiri chilli I used, its not all that spicy
Roopa, just chked out your entries, and wow look delicious girl!
Jyo, yep I didn;t care for pickled nellikka much either back then… i was more into raw nellikka, but I sure love the pickle now.
Coffee, does that mean you accept this entry for MBP?
Sra, yummm telugu pickle, must be hot…. u must post sometime…
Richa, thanks girl. frozen ones worked surprizingly good enough…
Mandira thanks… Never seen fresh gooseberries anywhere here, so good luck finding some…:)
Suganya, Sharmi, Bee thanks
Sandeepa lol… thats my mom too… she adds shrimp to everything, she even sneaks some dried ones into sambar, can you believe that?
U make pickle……Great….Mouth watering recipe….Never tried making nellikka pickle at home… Wating to try it out….YUM!
beautiful color on that pickle. I love nellikai, used to eat so much of it raw with salt and chillis.. I am afraid of frozen stuff but maybe ok for pickling!
wow, Sig, can I expect a jar in the mail for me?
“expect all you want, you are not getting any”, huh? thought so…
mouth watering – i packed some yogurt-rice for lunch today and wish i could reach into my montitor and grab some to go with my lunch now:-)
Who ate my comment ? you or blogger?
Just wanted to say “WOW, what a great shot! “
Shn
that looks awesome, I like amla achaar..the pics are cool sig!
I am a sucker for pickles, especially the really hot ones! This one looks absolutely delicious.
I was looking for one such stuff, hey it is cool. Nice recipe indeed. I tried it and it is yummy. One thing i felt was missing, i u do not mind was asafoetida (hing). I add it and it gives leaves a better aroma while eating. Thanks again.
Thanks for the suggestion Jay! Will try that.
Mom used to steam nellika,,instead of frying it. WILL TRY THIS RECIPE .LOOKS YUMMY!!!!!!!!!!
[...]another useful source of tips on this subjectis ,blog.sigsiv.com,[...]
The health benefits of the Indian Gooseberry or Amla can be attributed to the high vitamin C content. Amla enhances food absorption, balances stomach acid, fortifies the liver, nourishes the brain and mental functioning, supports the heart, strengthens the lungs, regulates elimination, enhances fertility, helps the urinary system, is good for the skin, promotes healthier hair, acts as a body coolant, flushes out toxins, increases vitality, strengthens the eyes,
improves muscle tone and it acts as an antioxidant.
The Indian Gooseberry belongs to the Euphorbiaceae family. This fruit is ripe in autumn season in wet forest of hill areas in Indian subcontinent. In India it is considered as a sacred tree.
The fruit is very nourishing. It tastes sour. Both dried and fresh fruits can be used. It provides remedies for many diseases so it is widely used in ayurvedic medicines. Gooseberry is very rich in Vitamin C. It contains many minerals and vitamins like Calcium,
Phosphorus, Iron, Carotene and Vitamin B Complex. Amla is also a powerful antioxidant agent. Many health problems are conduced by oxidative damage (when body cells use oxygen they produce by-products that can cause damage). Antioxidant agents prevent and repair such damages. Vitamin C is a good antioxidant agent and so is Gooseberry.
The health benefits of amla include the following:
• Eye care: Taking Gooseberry juice with honey is good for improving eyesight. It improves nearsightedness and cataract. It reduces intraocular tension.
• Diabetes: Gooseberry contains chromium. It has a therapeutic value in diabetics. Indian Gooseberry or Amla stimulate the isolated group of cells that secrete the hormone insulin. Thus it reduces blood sugar in diabetic patient.
• Heart disease: Gooseberry strengthens heart muscles. So heart pumps blood flawless throughout the body.
• Infection: Due t o its antibacterial and astringent attributes the Indian Gooseberry protects against infection. It improves body resistance.
• Diarrhea and dysentery: Due to its strong, cooling and laxative properties Gooseberry is useful for remedies for diarrhea and dysentery. It is a great relief for gastric syndrome and hyperchlorhydria (burning sensation in abdomen).
• Hair loss: Amla is used in many hair tonics. It enriches hair growth and hair pigmentation. It strengthens roots of hair , maintains color and luster. Eating fresh fruit or applying its paste
on hair roots improves hair growth and color.
• Improving appetite: Consuming Gooseberry powder with butter and honey before meal improves appetite. It helps in balancing Nitrogen level and thus increases weight in a healthy way.
• Anti aging: Amla prevents health related hyperlipidaemia through attenuating oxidative stress in the ageing process. The fresh fruit contains more than 80% water, protein, minerals, carbohydrates and fiber.
It is also used as remedies for fever, liver disorder, indigestion, anemia, urinary problems, respiratory problems, cerebral, gastro and cardiovascular illness. Gooseberry lowers cholesterol level. It increases red blood cell production and strengthens teeth and nails. So the Indian gooseberry or Amla as a fresh fruit or juice or in dried form is much good for your health.
This article was contributed by Thuvaneesa (Thanks to Thuvaneesa)
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