THE AFFECTIONATE AMLA

Amla also known as Indian Gooseberries or Amalaki in Sanskrit which means “Nectar of Life” in Ayurveda is a fruit that has long been revered in India as a nutritive tonic and beneficial ingredient. Amla is small round berries with a light pastel green skin translucent to look at making it appear as if it is segmented and in the center of the berry lies a hexagonal-shaped stone with six small seeds. Indian gooseberry grows on trees found in the wild and cultivated in various parts of our country today.

Amla is said to possess five of the tastes sour, bitter, pungent, astringent, sweet although sour is the dominating one. The berry is one of the three fruits in the Ayurvedic preparation which forms Triphala and is a base for the rejuvenating formulae for a chavanprash consumed by many of us to boost our immunity and more. The marble-like berries are not only used in a variety of recipes but also highly referred to and used in medicinal properties too in healing and treatment under Ayurveda.

Amla can be eaten fresh as it is though a light sprinkling of salt does make the bitterness and sourness a bit better as a mouthfeel to adapt to in for starters and at times we also soak it in a little salted water before cooking it since it reduced the pungency to an extent. Traditionally Amla has been used in India for making pickles and chutneys since it has both a dual sweet and sour application in our recipes of Indian kitchens. Amla murabba is a popular sweet preservative served with hot puris as a breakfast dish as well in various parts of India. Amla can also be baked into tarts or juice as we all know being popular to be had on its own or to flavor bottles of vinegar and marmalades.

Amla juice with honey or jaggery can be enjoyed as a refreshing healthy shot of goodness for our overall well-being. Dried Amla powder sprinkled onto our fruit salads. Ayurveda also says that Amla can help us balance the three Doshas namely Kapha, Vata, and pitta thereby eliminating the underlying cause of many diseases. Amla holds a lot of religious significance too during the holy month of Karthik according to Hindu mythology the Amla tree is said to be germinated from the tears of Lord Brahma.

These days Amla is available around us all year round which makes it easier to include it in our daily dietary routines to help us stay fit.

Here are a few Health Benefits of AMLA:

1. Amla is said to be a complete powerhouse of essential nutrients for our bodies.

2. Amla improves our immunity levels and protects our body against any possible infections.

3. Amla is rich in vitamin- c and helps in the detoxification of our body.

4. Amla is also a rich anti-oxidant and eliminates toxins and improves body metabolism.

5. Amla helps reduce inflammation and is good for the eyes, hair, mental functioning, and skin.

6. Amla is also considered for weight loss and weight.

7. Amla is also known to have anti-aging properties, helps indigestion, and also lowers cholesterol levels.

Let us check on 10 uses of Amla in our kitchens:

1. Amla in making our classic style Indian pickle.

2. Amla in an authentic sweet form called Murabba.

3. Amla as a healthy drink with ginger, honey, lime as shots.

4. Amla in the form of condiments like chutney.

5. Amla as dehydrated form or powdered forms.

6. Amla infused water to be had as a detox fluid.

7. Amla in the form of tempered rice preparation.

8. Amla can also be prepared in curries or subzis, methi-Amla combination, or Achari Amla ka tadka as a vegetable format.

9. Amla also finds its way in the form of Jams & candies too.

10. Amla as a snack option is good as Pudina-Amla aur chukandar ki tikki, as a side dish as a Amla- Anar ka Raita.

Here are a few recipes with The Indian Gooseberries- AMLA:

Recipe-1] AMLA GAJRELA RAITA

Ingredients:

Amla- 3-4 no cut and de-seed and boil/steam for 4-5 mins and cut into small pieces.
Carrot-1 med sized, peeled, and grated.
Freshly grated coconut
Green chili- 1 no cut into small pieces.
Curd- 2 cups, beaten.
Salt to taste
Sugar if needed.
Mint leaves- 10-12 no
Coriander leaves- 2 tbsp.

For the tempering on the raita:

Oil- 2 tsp
Mustard seeds-1/2 tsp
Curry leaves- 10-12 no
Hing- 1 pinch
Cumin seeds-1/2 tsp
White sesame seeds-1/2 tsp

Method:

1. Prepare all the ingredients for the Amla raita.

2. In a mixing bowl combine together the beaten curd, add salt and sugar to taste if needed.

3. Add in the grated carrots and steamed/boiled Amla pieces, green chili, coconut mint, and coriander leaves, and mix well.

4. Heat oil in a tadka pan and splutter-crackle the tempering ingredients for a few seconds and pour it into the raita, give it a nice mix and chill the raita for 20-25 mins and serve, to variate the raita further one can also add almonds, walnuts or raisins as well, we can also add flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, etc to add a crunch to the raita.

Recipe-2] AMLA KA ANOKHA ANDAZ

Ingredients:

Amla- 10-12 no.

Ingredients for making the Amla pickle masala:

Kashmiri red chili powder- 1 tsp
Salt- ½ tsp
Mustard seeds- ½ tsp
Jaggery-2 tbsp. grated
Turmeric powder-1/4 tsp
Fenugreek seeds-1/2 tsp
Hing-1 pinch
Cumin seeds-1/2 tsp
Fennel seeds-1/2 tsp
Sesame oil/ regular oil- ¼ cup

Method:

1. To prepare the Amla achar firstly wash them well and prick it well with a fork and allow to remain in a sieve or colander for 15 mins and steam it over boiling water for 12-15 mins, there is an option of removing the seeds once steamed and cut into wedges.

2. On a Tava lightly roast the fenugreek seeds, fennel seeds cumin seeds, mustard seeds, and once cooled prepare a fine dry powder of the same and keep aside.

3. In a mixing bowl, combine together the spice powders and all other spices and salt into the steamed Amla mix them all up very well.

4. Add in the soft grated jaggery and mix it into the jaggery mixture, now heat up the oil separately to smoking point and pour it over the Amla pickle and mix well, cover it and keep it in the fridge and shake the bottle occasionally and start using it from the 3rd day from the day of preparation.

Recipe-3] MASALEDAAR AMLA

Ingredients:

Amla- 10-12 no cut into halves and stone removed.
Oil- 2 tsp
Ghee- 2 tsp
Hing-1/4 tsp
Ajwain-1/4 tsp
Mustard seeds-1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds- ½ tsp
Ginger- 1 tbsp. chopped
Green chili-1 tsp chop
Red chili-1 no shredded.
Onion- 1 small chopped
Red chili powder-1/4 tsp
Turmeric powder-1/4 tsp
Coriander powder-1 tsp
Tamarind pulp-2 tsp or as per taste
Jaggery- 2-3 tsp or as per taste.
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves-2 tbsp. chopped.
Roasted crushed peanuts-1 tbsp. optional.

Method:

1. Prepare all the ingredients for the masaledaar Amla recipe.

2. Heat oil and ghee in a Kadai and add in the hing, ajwain, ginger, onion, and the seeds and allow to splutter for a few seconds, add in the cut Amla pieces which have been boiled in water with a little turmeric for 8-10 mins, remove the seed or stone from the Amla and cut into wedges.

3. Add in the green and red chili, the powdered spices, jaggery, salt, tamarind paste and little warm water as needed in order to get it all together.

4. Cook this mixture on a low flame for 3-4 mins until jaggery is well dissolved and blended into the Amla subzi, I also like to add a tbsp. full of roasted crushed peanuts into this recipe for a crunch.

5. Check for a balance of salt, sweetness, and sourness and fine-tune it, add a nice helping of fresh coriander leaves and serve the subzi with hot phulkas, rotis, with some fresh-cut salad and a bowl of curd or raita.

Recipe- 4] TADKEWALA AMLA RICE

Ingredients:

Rice- 2 cups cooked- white or brown- boiled/ pre-cooked.
Oil- 2 tsp
Ghee- 2 tsp
Amla- 4- 5 pieces.
Jaggery- 2 tsp grated or as per taste.
Hing- ¼ tsp
Mustard seeds- ½ tsp
Split urad dal-1 tsp
Split Bengal gram-1 tsp
Cumin seeds-1/2 tsp
Red chilies-2 no slit
Green chili- 2 no slit
Curry leaves- 4-5 no
Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves- 2 tbsp. chopped
Fresh desiccated coconut-2 tbsp.
Fried sliced cashews- 2 tsp.

Method:

1. Prepare all the ingredients for the Tadkewala Amla rice.

2. Heat oil and ghee in a Kadai and add in the hing, red and green chilies and add in the split grams and other seeds for the tempering allow them to crackle and splutter for a few seconds, also add in the curry leaves.

3. Add in little water to prevent burning followed by the pre-cooked and boiled Amla wedges or cubes without the stone and seeds, add in the fresh coconut, powdered spices, salt, and jaggery to taste in order to balance the Amla sourness, and cook for 3-4 mins.

4. Now add in the cooked rice white or brown rice can be used as well give it a nice toss with the Amla, allow to cook for 2-3 mins, and add in coriander leaves, nuts, and seeds of your choice for garnish and serve hot with a bowl of curd, papad, and pickle.

Recipe-5] AMLA KA COOLER

Ingredients

Amla- 5-6 no.
Sugar syrup/Jaggery syrup or powder/Organic Honey- anyone sweetener can be used avoid sugar if possible, try coconut sugar.
Mint leaves- 10-12 no.
Roasted crushed jeera powder- ½ tsp.
Green cardamom powder-1 pinch optional.
Black salt-1/2 tsp of pink salt may be used.
Water and ice cubes as needed
Lemon juice-1 tsp.
Ginger- 1 tbsp. juice.

Method:

1. Assemble all the ingredients for the Amla cooler recipe.

2. Wash and cut the Amla remove the stone and seeds and cut into wedges. Using a mixer jar combine together the Amla, water approx. 1 cup, few mint leaves, roasted crushed jeera, black or pink salt, and give it a nice blend.

3. Remove into a mixing bowl, add in the sweetener of your choice as per taste and mix well, add a dash of lime juice and ginger juice to balance it.

4. Place the mint leaves in your serving glasses and pour this nutritive and refreshing Amla cooler and serve it immediately.