Instant Gooseberry Pickle

This pickle is the Indian kind, which is really a spicy condiment that you eat with hot rice and yogurt, but it's really good on almost anything - sandwiches, noodles, curry, etc. Usually, these kinds of pickles are very labor intensive and take weeks or even months to come out, but I've improvised and come up with an instant (or almost instant) one using gooseberries I got from the CSA. These gooseberries are somewhat juicy and really sour and tart when you bite in.

These are actually a different variety than the ones used in India, which look like this and are a bit bigger and crunchier with a larger seed. It's called amla in the North and nellikkai in the South.

Also, when eating pickle, you only have to eat a little of it at a time because it's quite potent with all of the chilis and spices. Think of it like sriracha or a hot sauce and something you wouldn't eat on it's own but on something. I had my friends Ben and Katie over and they almost ate the whole bottle and I feared for their lives but they were OK the next morning:)

Indian pickles are different from region to region depending on what types of oil, spices and local ingredients are found in the area. Most common is lemon or lime and then there is green mango, garlic, tomato etc. When I was growing up, my family would bring back pickles from India made by our relatives so we always had a fridge stocked with many varieties. One of my favorites is a red chili gooseberry one made by my mother's aunt, Saki, which my mother still brings back with her.

So it's kind of fitting that my first solo attempt at making a pickle was with the gooseberry and I was really happy with how it came out. I thought that it would be around for a at least a week or two but some people gobbled it down and I'm not going to name names:)

Ingredients

1/2 pound American gooseberries (about 35 small to medium in size)

1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

2-3 tablespoons peanut or mustard oil*
large pinch asafoetida or hing

1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
3/4-1 tablespoon chili powder**
1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon jaggery or brown sugar

*If using mustard oil, heat the oil until it smokes and then set it aside to cool. You can also heat the entire bottle of mustard oil so that you can cook with it immediately for future use. This heating removes the pungency from the oil.

**this may vary depending on the potency of your chili powder

Method

Wash gooseberries and dry completely. Halve them and set aside.

Dry roast fenugreek and cumin seeds. Make sure not to burn the fenugreek because it gets really bitter. Grind in a coffee grinder and set aside. This is what fenugreek seeds look like:

Heat oil under medium heat and add asafoetida (hing) and mustard seeds. When mustard seeds start to pop, turn down the heat to medium-low. Add turmeric and fry for a couple seconds. Throw in the gooseberries and give a stir. Add in the chili powder and stir gently. When the gooseberries are softened but still retaining some of their shape. That should be about 5 minutes. Stir in the roasted spices, salt and sugar. Turn off the heat.

Serve with hot rice and yogurt

When the pickle is completely cool, put into a clean, dry jar. Should last you 2 weeks (if you don't finish it before.)