Gooseberry pickle/ Nellikaayi Uppinakaayi/ Amla Achaar ~~South Indian recipes

A tasty, spicy and tangy side for our scrumptious meals, Indian Gooseberry pickle is one of the easiest pickles to make this summer.

Summer is meant for Sundried food prepared and stored for the rest of the year; Papads, Pickles, Fryums, salted and dried mangoes and others. We usually make rice papads, Mango and gooseberry pickles, Sago papads, Jackfruit papads and loads and loads of foods that are stored and eaten in chilly and rainy days. My MIL makes all of these and I get to eat all these when I visit for Ganesh Chaturthi every year. She also packs most of these for us so I have never ever prepared any pickles or papads. This time, I wanted to try my hands on at least few of papads and pickles and the theme for our Blog hop was just perfect.

Mango pickle is the most and very commonly prepared pickle in summer and every region has it's own variant. For example, Mango pickle from Udupi tastes very much different from the Mango pickle from Andhra Pradesh. We have many variants from different places inside our state and this is the recipe from my MIL's sister Sharada atte. I am using her recipe for this pickle instead of the mango pickle. Indian Gooseberries are usually found growing in tiny trees around our houses in my native. They are tiny compared to the ones we buy in market yet they taste almost the same.

Indian gooseberry is one of the healthiest foods that is very rich in Vitamin c. We consume Amla juice with our green tea every day since it contains numerous health benefits. As soon as my little princess turned 8 months, I also prepared Amla chyavanprash to give to her as per the advise from my grandma. Since we are already talking about health benefits, I will just mention few of those benefits to make this post complete.

Hair care: Amla is used in many hair tonics because it enriches hair growth and hair pigmentation. It strengthens the roots of hair, maintains color, and improves luster.
Eye Care: Drinking Gooseberry juice with honey is good for improving eyesight, and studies have shown it to improve nearsightedness and cataracts, while reducing intra-ocular tension.
Calcium Absorption: Calcium is an essential component of our bones, teeth, and nails, and also ensures that we have beautiful lustrous hair.
Diabetes: Gooseberry contains chromium, which has a therapeutic value for diabetic patients. Indian Gooseberry stimulates the isolated group of cells that secrete the hormone insulin, thereby reducing blood sugar in diabetic patients and keeping their body balanced and healthy.
Digestion: Alma is very high in fiber, like most fruits. Fiber adds bulk to the stool and helps food move through the bowels and keeps your bowel movements regular.
Heart Disease: As mentioned above, gooseberry strengthens the heart muscles, so the heart pumps blood smoothly throughout the body.
Infection: Due to its antibacterial and astringent attributes, Indian Gooseberries protect the body against infection and improves the body’s immune response.
Anti-Aging: Amla prevents health-related hyperlipidaemia by reducing the amount of free radicals in the body through its antioxidant qualities.  [Source: organicfacts.net]

Ingredients
Indian Gooseberry/ Amla	500 grams
Salt	1 cup
Mustard seeds divided	3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon
Fenugreek seeds	1/4 teaspoon
Cumin seeds	2 tablespoons
Asafoetida divided	1 teaspoon + 1/2 teaspoon
Turmeric powder	1 teaspoon
Cloves	10
Red chillies (Byadagi)	25
Mustard oil	1 cup

Wash the Gooseberries well and spread them on a clean muslin cloth till they are completely dry.

Choose a clean and dry glass jar. Put all the DRY gooseberries in the jar and add the salt. Mix well. Cover it airtight and keep it. Mix once or twice everyday by shaking the jar a little or with a completely dry ladle.

This is the picture of the jar on the third day. The salt is completely dissolved and the gooseberries look dull and pale, soaking up the salt.

This is the sixth day picture. They have released the juices and it is perfectly balanced with the tang and salty taste.

Once the juices are released, you can make the masala to add. Dry roast all the ingredients listed one by one in the given order and let them cool completely. [Except for oil + 1 tsp Mustard seeds + 1/2 tsp asafoetida]. Let them cool completely.
 

Heat the oil, heat it till it starts fuming and add mustard seeds. Once the mustard seeds starts to splutter, add asafoetida and remove from flame. Set it aside and let it cool completely.

Meanwhile, powdered the dry roasted ingredients to a coarse powder.

Add the powder to the gooseberry mixture and mix well. Once the oil has cooled down, add it on the pickle mixture and mix. Cover airtight and serve when needed.

* Make sure the utensils are all completely dry while using to make this pickle.
* The pickle tastes best 4-5 days after the masala is added.
* Do cut back on salt and chillies as per your taste preference.

Raw mango huligojju/ Green mango chutney ~~Havyaka recipes

Tangy, spicy and a delicious Havyaka side dish that is prepared in all havyaka homes every summer without fail. It is garlicky, tart and very tasty that goes well with piping hot rice or as an accompaniment for a whole meal.

Being a havyaka, such dishes should have been a huge part of my recipe list but I am guilty of not posting a lot of havyaka dishes. So, I decided that to post havyaka dishes in my blog from now on. You may be wondering about the word "Havyaka" and I want to explain about that first before I start off with the recipes.

Havyaka Brahmins are the Hindu Pancha Dravida Brahmin subsect primarily from the Indian state of Karnataka and North Malabar, Kerala. The Havyakas are united by their unique language. They speak a dialect of Kannada known as Havigannada (Havyaka+Kannada). It is 60-70% similar to mainstream Kannada but draws more words from ancient Kannada.

Havyakas have a unique food system which contains medicinal values as well as delicious taste. Some of the food items includes wild leaves, roots/herbs, barks of the trees which are directly obtained from the nature and processed fresh and consumed. By the end of the each meal, one is assured of protection from the nature itself. This was possible because most Havyakas lived in the villages where abundant sources were available around them. [Source: Wiki]

Anyway,  Maavinakaai huligojjju or Raw mango huligojju is one of the most favorite havyaka summer dishes often accompanied by Maavinakaai appehuli or neergojju and cooked raw rice. The tangy and spicy rice accompaniments fill your tummy and give you a feeling of cosyness and warmth no matter how hot the weather is. If you like the taste and go overboard with the meal, you will get an amazing sleep for hours and will wake up so fresh and relaxed.

The recipe is very easy, simple and amazingly tasty. There are not many versions or variants to this dish but you can adjust the quantity of the ingredients as per your taste preferences.

 

Nutritional Information  (Approx) (per serving)
Energy	27.1		Calories
Fat	0.8		%
Carbohydrates	5.2		%
Dietary Fiber	0.3		%
Sodium	387.8		mg
Vitamin A	0		%
Vitamin C	0		%
Calcium	0		%
Iron	0		%
Protein	0.2		Grams
Sugar	4.6		Grams

 

Ingredients
Raw green mangoes	2
Salt	as per taste
jaggery grated	1 teaspoon
Garlic pods	8
Coconut oil	1 teaspoon
Mustard seeds	1/2 teaspoon
Curry leaves	a handful
Green chillies	2

Wash the mangoes well and pressure cook for 3-4 whistles. If not using pressure cooker, cook the mangoes till they are completely soft and very well cooked. Once cooked, drain the water and let the mangoes cool completely.

Peel and mash the mango pulp. Grind together green chillies and garlic pods.

Mix together mashed mangoes, grated jaggery and salt. Check the taste and adjust the salt and jaggery accordingly. Heat coconut oil and add mustard seeds.

Once the mustard seeds start to splutter, add curry leaves and fry till they turn crisp. Add the tadka to the mango mixture. Mix well and serve with hot rice.

*Add more jaggery if you don't like the chutney sour.
* You can store this in refrigerator for a week.
* Adjust the chillies according to your taste.