Star Gooseberry Pickle

We have a lovely lawn in our office... the garden around it is very well maintained by a full time gardener.  When we shifted to our Bavdhan Office some 15 to 16 years ago, our housekeeping lady, Darshana Bai  (fondly known as Darshana Maushi) used to get various seeds and saplings and plant them in our office garden.  The fruits of her hard work  has now borne fruits...She gives us Sweet Guavas or sometimes, the tangy and sweet Star Gooseberry to eat at office.

The Star Gooseberry tree (Amla) was filled with the fruit and one afternoon Darshana came to our desk and handed over the ripe Amla to us.  We normally used to wash it and enjoyed it with a dash of salt and spice.

This time, I decided to make Amla pickle and hence carried it home.  This kind of gooseberry is different from the usual gooseberry both in appearance and taste. Usual gooseberry has the inbuilt bitter taste and hence pickling of it will take more time than star gooseberry.

Indian Gooseberries also known as Amla /amlaki /Nellikka and  are packed with nutrients ,It is a very good source of Vitamin C and have antioxidant properties.It is very easily available during winters.  It is very good to consume during cold ,good for digestion. It is used in many Ayurvedic preparations .

I had made Pickle with the big Amla and taken to office. Arundhati my colleague, and my friend Vani, liked the taste of the pickle that they have inspired me to share this with all of you!  This style pickle can be made with both type of Gooseberries.

Ingredients :

Small Gooseberries - 15 to 30 (wash well and pat with a cloth)

Garlic cloves - 10 (cut into half)

Salt as required

Asafetodia - 1 tsp

Til Oil - 2.5 tbsp (I used Vegetable Oil)

Pravin Mango Pickle Masala - 2 tbsp

Vinegar - 1.5 tbsp

Method :

Wash and pat the gooseberries and put them into a clean bottle with enough salt and close the lid and leave this for 2 days.  In the morning and evening just shake the bottle.  On the second day, you will find some water in the bottle.

Heat the Kadai and add the Til or Vegetable oil.  Once it is hot, switch off the gas.  Now put the Pravin Mango Pickle Masala, Asafetodia and required salt and mix well.  Allow this to cool.  Add Vinegar mix well and store in air tight container.  Refrigerate it when not in use.