NELLIKKA PULI INJI/AMLA PULI INJI/GOOSEBERRY PULI INJI

South Indian’s specially from Kerala are familiar with the Pulikkachal or Inji puli which is served for feast at the end of the banana leaf on the left side along with other pickles.  It is basically a sweet and spicy sauce made out of old tamarind which gives a black brownish colour to the inji puli.

I love this along with curd rice, molagootal rice etc.  Coming to the recipe, when I bought the Nellikka ie. Amla or Avla or gooseberry it is known as and was preparing for pickle.  Suddenly, it flashed through my mind the idea of making inji puli or puli inji with this nellikka and tried this.  I really loved this along with the curd rice and the palak molagootal rice.

Let us look at the recipe now:

Ingredients:

¼ c up gooseberry chopped (heaped measurement)

A small lemon size old tamarind

1 tbsp jaggery

2-3 green chilli chopped (spice adjust according to your requirement.)

1” piece ginger finely chopped

5-6 tbsp oil ( I used gingelly oil)

¼ tsp turmeric powder

Salt as required

Tempering:

1 tsp mustard seeds

½ tsp chana dal

Few curry leaves

A generous pinch of asafetida

Method:

Step 1

Put the tamarind in hot water  around ¾ cup  for 30 minutes.  Squeeze out the pulp and keep aside.

Wash and wipe the  gooseberry before chopping.  Heat oil in kadai.  Add the mustard seeds, when it splutters, add the chana dal, curry leaves.  Then add the chopped chilli, ginger, asafetida and sauté well till the flavor of the chilli and ginger  is infuced in it.

 

Step 2

Add the chopped nellikka in it and sauté till it is very soft.  You can add salt at this stage to speed up the process of cooking the nellikka faster.    At this stage, add the tamarind pulp, salt, turmeric powder, jaggery and allow to cook the same till the gravy is reduced to a semi solid thick consistency.  Check the salt, sweet and if required add more jaggery according to your taste  buds demand.

Step 3

Transfer to a bowl and serve as and when required. 

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