Herbs & foods30 min
Amla (Indian gooseberry): preserving the winter harvest — candy, pickle and dried slices
Amla season is short, but the fruit keeps beautifully when preserved. Homemade amla candy, a tangy pickle or sun-dried slices let you enjoy this vitamin-C-rich fruit all year, with far less sugar than shop-bought murabba.
The Ayurvedic view
Amalaki is perhaps the most celebrated fruit in Ayurveda — the main ingredient of chyawanprash and one of the three fruits in triphala. It contains five of the six tastes (all but salty), is cooling yet gently strengthening digestion, and is prized as a rasayana for skin, hair, eyes and immunity. Amla is one of the richest natural sources of vitamin C, and much of it survives even in dried form.
Ingredients
- 500 g fresh amla
- For dried slices: salt, a little turmeric and black salt
- For pickle: 2 tablespoons mustard oil, 1 teaspoon each rai, methi (lightly crushed) and saunf, a pinch of hing, turmeric, red chilli and salt
How to prepare
- Steam the amla for 8–10 minutes until the segments separate easily; remove seeds.
- Dried slices: toss the segments with salt, turmeric and black salt; spread on a clean cloth or plate and sun-dry for 3–4 days until leathery. Store airtight.
- Pickle: heat mustard oil, cool slightly, add the spices, then mix with steamed amla. Keep in a clean glass jar in the sun for 2–3 days, shaking daily; refrigerate once opened.
How to use
- Chew 2–3 dried amla pieces after meals as a digestive and mouth freshener.
- Enjoy a teaspoon of amla pickle with lunch.
- Eat one fresh amla daily in season, or add grated amla to chutneys and dal.
Helpful habits
- For candy, soak steamed segments in a little sugar syrup for 2 days, drain and dry — use much less sugar than store versions.
- Always use a dry spoon to prevent pickle spoiling.
Precautions
- Amla is very safe in food. People with diabetes should avoid sugar-based candy and murabba.
- Its sourness may bother some people with acidity or sensitive teeth — rinse your mouth after eating.
- Amla may slightly increase the effect of blood thinners in large supplement doses; food amounts are fine. People with kidney disease should keep pickles and salt limited.
