Nellikai Thokku (Amla Pickle) Version 2

Nellikai is Gooseberry in English and Amla in Hindi, thokku with regards to a dish, in tamil means to be mashed.

I already have a Amla Pickle recipe here. This is a drier version of that.
Since I dont have access to fresh gooseberries, I use frozen ones.
If you get fresh gooseberries, you would wash them, pat dry and cut and either directly move to step num 3
(this takes more oil but lasts longer)
or  pressure cook first (this takes lesser oil compared to the above but if you are like me, the pickle may not last more than a month, (in the bottle, I mean))

Sesame oil is optional, I love the flavor it brings to the pickle, you can use any oil you prefer.
The Chili Powder I use to make pickles is from Hyderabad. It gives it a good color and is equally spicy.You can use any chili powder, you have access to.

To make the thokku with two standard frozen bags you need.

2 bags of Frozen gooseberries / Amla/ Nellikai
3 Tablespoons Indian Sesame oil or Gingelly oil
2 tsp of Mustard seeds
4 Dry Red chilies
Salt as needed
Chili powder - approx 1/4 of the amount of Cooked Gooseberries
Methi Seeds - 1 tsp or Methi Powder
Hing - a generous 1 tsp
Turmeric powder 1 tsp


-----> Put the frozen gooseberries along with a  2 tsp of salt and pressure cook them.
----> Once the pressure is down, you wait for the amlas to cool down and patiently take out the seeds, otherwise it may bother you by taking more space in the jar
Always cook in Med Flame 
----> In a kadai, add the oil and let it heat up and once its hot add the mustard seeds and let them burst
----> Add the dry red chili , methi seeds, turmeric powder, and hing and immediately add the de-seeded gooseberries to it and start to mix everything well
----> In a few minutes, everything will be incorportated in to the pickle, now mix it up with your ladle and divvy the mixture in to four parts and add the chili powder so that it covers 1/4 of the mixture completely. If you like it spicy, then add a little more for good measure, add about 1 tsp of salt and mix and taste for salt and if necessary you can add more.
----> In under 15 minutes, you will notice the gooseberries start to wilt and it will be easy to mash them up.
----> At this point, turn off the stove and let cool
----> Transfer the pickle to a dry jar and keep it in a cool place
Make sure you dont insert a wet spoon and nothing falls in to the jar accidentaly. This will make sure the pickle doesnt go bad. Made this way, you can use little oil and not feel guilty about eating pickle!

Gooseberry or Amla (Frozen) Pickle - Nellikai Oorugai

You get Frozen Amla Packets in the Indian stores. All you need to do is go get 2 packs of them and start to make this yummy pickle..
You will need
2 Frozen Amla Packets
Pickle chili powder (this is different from the red chili powder, since they use different kind of red chillies, if you don't have it, you can use red chili powder)
Hing
Oil
Red Chillies
Mustard Seeds
Method
--->Cut the Amla Packets and put the Amlas in a vessel and cover them with water.Let the water come to a boil and let it boil for a good 20 minutes., until all the water is gone and the Amlas are soft and able to mashed with a potato masher.
---> Mash them with a potato Masher and if you are a patient person, try and manually take out the seeds, with a dry hand. This is optional, if you don't mind the seeds continue on to the next step.
--->Once all the Amlas have been mashed, spread the mixture flat in the vessel and divide in 4 parts.
--->You will need chili powder as much as the 1/4th part of the Amla. and salt about 3/4th of the chili powder. Hing will be less than 1/4th of the salt.(This is all done in proportions)
--->Amla, 3/4th of Amla = chili powder3/4th of chili powder = salt1/4th of Salt=hing
--->Now add the chili powder and salt and hing.In a separate vessel heat up oil (enough to cover the Amlas) and add the mustard and red chillies and once the mustard sputters, pour it over the mixture and mix immediately.Make sure the Amla is completely soaked in oil.Once it cools, carefully store in a dry container and store in fridge.

This is called Nellikai Thokku, in tamil.
You could also make the Gooseberry in salt water brine with the frozen packets. I still havent experimented that, once i do i will post it.

This lasts up to a month if taken care of very well, Make sure you don't touch it with Wet hands or put a wet spoon in it. Always keep a small bowl and put some from the big jar to the small bowl to serve, that way you can make sure the pickle will get spoilt soon.