Nellikkai Urugai (Gooseberry Pickle)

Gooseberry is wonderful as a pickle. This is very easy to prepare in short time and uses minimum oil. I add only fresh spices to have nice aroma and taste of the pickle.

Gooseberry is known as Nellikkai in Tamil and as Amla in Hindi.

Ingredients

• Nellikkai – 10 to 12 no
• Red chilli – 8 to 10 no
• Turmeric – 1 small piece
• Asafetida – peas size
• Cumin seed – ½ tea spoon
• Fenugreek seed – ½ tea spoon
• Mustard – ¼ tea spoon
• Salt – as per taste
• For seasoning
  • Mustard – 1 tea spoon
  • Curry leaves – few
  • Sesame oil – 1 table spoon

Method

• Boil 3 to 4 cups of water; when it is boiling, add ½ tea spoon turmeric powder, 1 tea spoon salt and washed gooseberry; switch off gas, close the vessel and keep it for few hours.

• Now remove the seeds from gooseberry; seed will come out easily if you keep gooseberry’s top and bottom between your fingertips and press lightly.

• Break turmeric and asafetida into small pieces and dry roast asafetida pieces in a dry pan till crisp; in the same pan roast mustard, cumin, fenugreek, turmeric pieces; remove and keep.

• Fry red chilli with little salt till crisp; cool this and grind all dry roasted items to a coarse powder with salt.

• Mix this powder with the gooseberry pieces well.

• Now heat oil in a pan; when it is smoking hot, add mustard, curry leaves; remove from fire and allow it to cool; add in the spiced gooseberry pieces; mix well, keep for 2 hours and then use.

• Tasty Nellikkai Urugai (Gooseberry Pickle) is ready.

Tips

• As we use very less oil, it is better to keep in fridge after one or two days.
• Seeds of gooseberry can be removed after steam cooking also.
• Adding little salt with red chilli helps to roast chilli quickly and you won’t get nose and throat irritation while roasting.