Star Gooseberry pickle | Arai Nellikai pickle | How to make Nellikai uppinakai

Star Gooseberry pickle | Are Nellikai pickle | Nellikai uppinakai is a delicious, spicy, and tangy pickle prepared from star gooseberry which is a mouth-watering treat.

These fruits can be pickled, eaten raw, or turned into candy. When eaten raw, these are quite acidic, yet they are delectable and cleanse the palate.

These are light green in color and are only available twice a year. They come in bunches of 20-30 fruits and are distributed throughout the tree.

This fruit brings back memories of our childhood when we used to buy them from street vendors and eat them with salt and red chili powder sprinkled on top.

Country Gooseberry, Arai Nellikai in Tamil, Karinelli in Kannada, and Seema Usirikayalu in Telugu are some of the other names for the star gooseberry.

Whatever the name, the sourness and sweetness burst forth in the mouth, creating a lip-smacking sensation.

This sour-tasting fruit is the most beneficial and nutritious. Because of its analgesic, antioxidant, antipyretic, antiviral, and antimicrobial properties, we use it traditionally to treat diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, and also, to cure the fewer, common cold. It has also been reported to improve taste perception.

This pickle has a sharp acidic flavor from the fruit itself, a spicy flavor from the chili powder, a hint of sweetness from the jaggery, and a rich flavor from the spice combination.

Try our other pickle recipes featured in this blog Avakaya/Mango pickle

I prepared this dish using fresh farm-bought ones. I properly cleaned the nellikai and dried them with a kitchen towel.

Then I steamed them until they were soft and 3/4 cooked on the inside. I make the spice mixture by roasting and grinding cumin seeds, mustard seeds, and fenugreek seeds to a fine powder.

Next, I begin pickling by heating oil in a saucepan and sputtering mustard seeds. Then I roast garlic and add red chili powder, turmeric, and the spice blend.

Finally, I add the star gooseberries and jaggery and simmer till the oil seeps out of the mixture.

This super delicious pickle goes great with plain rice, curd rice, akki roti, and other Indian dishes.

How to Making Star Gooseberry pickle

1. Clean and rinse the star gooseberries with water.

2. Steam the gooseberries for 5-10 minutes, or until soft and fully cooked. To avoid burning, cook them on low heat.

3. In a pan, roast cumin, fenugreek (methi), and mustard seeds until golden brown and aromatic. Remove from the pan and set aside to cool.

4. Ground them to a fine powder with rock salt and keep them aside.

5. Heat the oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds, allow them to sputter.

6. Fry the garlic cloves until the raw smell goes away.

7. Add 1/4th tsp of asafoetida and stir for a minute.

8. Reduce the heat to low and add the red chili powder and turmeric, simmer for a minute.

9. Add in the steamed gooseberries and ground mixture. Cook for 5- 10 minutes, or until all of the oil has oozed out of the pan.

10. Add jaggery and cook for further 2 minutes, then turn off the heat.

11. Serve this delectable pickle alongside any meal.