Nellikai (amla/gooseberry) Oorgai

Ingredients

• Nellikai (Amla/ Gooseberry)- 20 nos
• Tamarind- Lemon sized ball
• Garlic- 3 (full sized) OR Asafoetida (hing)- 1/2 tsp
• Turmeric- 1 tsp
• Red Chilli Powder- 50 g
• Water- 1.5 cups
• Dry Roasted Fenugreek Seeds Powdered- 1 tsp
• Salt- 2 tsp (for the soaking) and to taste (for the mixing with red chilli)
• Oil- 1/2L (could be sunflower/refined or groundnut)
• Lemon- 1

Seasoning

• Mustard- 1 tsp
• Dry Red Chillies- 4
• Oil- 2 tsp

Procedure

Wash the nellikai (amla/gooseberry) and wipe dry. IMP: There should be no trace of moisture left.
Cut into small pieces as shown.

• 20 nellikai(amla/gooseberry)

Add turmeric and salt to the cut nellikai(amla/gooseberry). Keep the mixture overnight. Next morning grind the mixture coarsely.

• 1 tsp turmeric
• 2 tsp salt

Put the above mixture in a wide bowl. Add some salt and red chilli powder. Keep aside.

• 50g red chilli (add more or less depending on the spice level you want)
• salt to taste (add more for more red chilli)

In a separate bowl heat 1.5 cups of water. Boil until 1 cup of water is left. Take the bowl off the stove and add the tamarind to it. Wait for five minutes. Now squeeze the tamarind and filter it out to make a thick extract. Keep aside.

• lemon sized tamarind
• 1.5 cups of water

Crush the garlic in a mortar and pestle. Do NOT peel. (If using asafoetida skip to next step)
keep 2 tsp aside for the seasoning

• 3 full garlic

Add the crushed garlic, tamarind extract and fenugreek powder to the nellikai (amla/gooseberry) mixture. Keep aside.

• crushed garlic
• tamarind extract
• 1 tsp dry roasted fenugreek seeds powdered
• nellikai (amla/gooseberry) mixture

Heat 1/2L of oil in a pan for 10-15 min on a medium flame. Add the hot oil to the nellikai(amla/gooseberry) mixture while stirring the mixture continuously.
The oil should float an inch above the nellikai (amla/gooseberry) .

• 1/2L oil (refined/groundnut/sunflower)

To season heat 2 tsp of oil in a bowl and add mustard. Once the mustard starts spluttering, add the red chillies and the 2 tsp of garlic kept aside. Once the garlic turns brown, put off the flame and pour the seasoning into the pickle. Keep aside for half an hour to cool. The pickle is almost done.
The pickle should have the consistency of a chutney. If it does not, add 1-2 tsp of hot water into it.

• 2 tsp oil
• 1 tsp mustard
• 4 red chillies
• 2 tsp crushed garlic

Add juice from one full lemon into the pickle. Voila! Its ready to be eaten with chapatti, dosai or rice :)

• 1 lemon