star gooseberry pickle or harfi achaar recipe – an easy recipe of star gooseberry pickle which requires no sunlight or drying in the sun.
every summer, i make this punjabi mango pickle. this time i did not make any mango pickle as in the summers, it would rain at times and would be cloudy. did not want to take a chance. strangely enough, officially its the monsoon season here and its not raining. i made this star gooseberry pickle as i did not want to rely on the sun which was unpredictable then.
in this star gooseberry pickle recipe, apart from tempering the oil with spices, there is no other cooking involved. i kept the pickle at room temperature in a dry place in my kitchen counter for 7 days. just make sure you use a sterilized glass bottle or jar for pickling. while storing pickles, jams, sauce or squashes, i always sterilize the jars.
to make this kerala style pickle, i referred a recipe in one of the cookbooks i have. changed the proportions a lot. the result was a spiced tangy pickle. the amount of oil and salt added in the pickle help as natural preservatives and does not allow the pickle to get spoiled. the same pickling method and recipe can be made with amla or indian gooseberries as well. this pickle stays good for about 6 months and the yield is about 500 gms.
the star gooseberry pickle can be served with any indian meal. it goes really well with sambar-rice, dal-rice and even curd rice. the pickle can also be served with steamed rice topped with a bit of ghee or oil.
if you are looking for more pickle recipes then do check:
star gooseberry pickle
INGREDIENTS FOR star gooseberry pickle
main ingredients for star gooseberry pickle
- 400 grams star gooseberries
- ¼ cup red chili powder (lal mirch powder)
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder (haldi)
- ½ cup rock salt (sendha namak) or add as required
for tempering star gooseberry pickle
- ½ cup + 3 tablespoon sesame oil (til ka tel) - indian one and not the east asian one
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds (rai)
- 1 teaspoon methi ke dane (fenugreek seeds)
- 1 teaspoon asafoetida (hing)
HOW TO MAKE star gooseberry pickle
- first rinse the star gooseberries in water. dry them with a kitchen napkin. there should be no trace of moisture.
- take them in a large bowl. add the red chilli powder, turmeric powder and rock salt. mix very well.
- in another pan, heat the sesame oil first. then add the mustard seeds & fenugreek seeds and allow them to splutter.
- then add the asafoetida. stir and switch off the flame.
- let the oil cool completely and then pour it over the gooseberries marinated with the spices. mix very well.
- spoon the pickle in a sterilized jar.
- close tightly with a lid and keep the pickle in a dry corner of your kitchen for 7 days.
- after every 2 to 3 days, give the pickle bottle or jar a good shake or a stir with a clean dry spoon.
- the star gooseberry pickle will be ready after 7 days.
- once the pickle is ready, keep in the fridge or at room temperature.
- in cold climates, you can keep outside. in a hot and humid climate, keep in the fridge. serve star gooseberry pickle with any indian meal of your choice.
how to make star gooseberry pickle recipe
1. firstly rinse the gooseberries and dry them with a kitchen towel. there should be no trace of moisture. these are small in size and are deliciously tart. these star shaped gooseberries are also known as arai nellikai. i have not removed the seeds as these were too small. if using a larger variety, then chop and remove the seeds. slice off the sides which are bruised, if any.
2. take the gooseberries in a large bowl. add the red chilli powder, turmeric powder and rock salt.
3. mix very well. if you taste the gooseberries now, you will find it salty. after adding oil and the pickling process, the saltiness is not felt. the flavors get mellowed down.
4. in another pan, heat the sesame oil. let the oil become hot. not smoking hot, but just hot enough to fry the spices.
5. first add the mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds and allow them to splutter.
6. then add the asafoetida. stir and switch off the flame.
7. let the oil cool completely and then pour it over the star gooseberries marinated with the spices.
8. mix very well.
9. spoon the pickle in a sterilized jar. close with a lid and keep the pickle in a dry corner of your kitchen for 7 days. after every 2 to 3 days, give the pickle bottle or jar a good shake or stir with a clean dry spoon. the yield is about 500 gms of pickle. the oil will float on the top later. but not to worry as thats how indian pickles are meant to be 🙂
10. the arai nellikai pickle will be ready after 7 days. once the gooseberry pickle is ready, keep outside or in the fridge. in cold climates, you can keep outside. in a hot and humid climate, keep in the fridge. serve star gooseberry pickle with any indian meal of your choice. i prefer it with sambar rice or dal rice combination.
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Can we use some other oil except sesame oil?
yes you can use sunflower oil.
Kya hum dhaniya aur jeera ka powder use kar sakte h..??
agar aap chahe toh dhania and jeera powder daal sakte hain.
This time we want to undergo a variation so we followed your method instead of frying the gooseberries. Will they be soft when cut. How many days I have to wait to eat the pickle completely matured. Also I liked the name you used ‘kaur’ when I commented earlier :):) I would like to be called by this name.
fine kaur 🙂 they are not soft like the fried ones. there is a crunch. but after a month, the gooseberries start becoming soft. but still some crunch is felt. you can have after 10 days.
Thanks a lot. Maybe according to me if gooseberries are left marinated either spices for a week or two before adding oil they will be comparatively soft. Please try to add lemon pickle too. We foodies love it a lot.
could be. but the thing is they should not get mold on them. i will add lemon pickle recipe too.
Helped me
Keep sending me good indian recipe and i will be thankfull to u
welcome gobinder
Hi dear……i like your recipe i have one question for u can i use mustard oil.
you can try adding mustard oil. the taste and flavor will be different with mustard oil.
Hello maninder kaur, but sorry to dassana amit for interrupting to this question.
Generally speaking mustard oil is not considered edible in US/ Canada.
Mustard oil contains C22 acid (arachidic and behnoic acids), which likely causes blood to deplete in white-blood cells which are responsible for immunity.
It does not mean you cannot eat at all, but there is limitation on how much you can eat, (I would limit it to say less than 3 ml per day = 1 tea spoonful).
I have also seen other recipes of pickles where mustered oil was an ingredient in recipe. I would suggest, take it with a pinch of salt. Even I will try using mustered oil with other oils, not just alone.
thanks to dassana amit for recipe, which I will try.
thanks for the info sunny. i was not aware. however, in north india, mustard oil is added to quite a number of recipes. we also make pickles with mustard oil. in fact we fry pakoras also in mustard oil. i have not gone too much into research and all, but indians have been using mustard oil for centuries now 🙂
I just wanted to ask if i can use sunflower oil instead of til and normal salt instead of rock?
areeba, yes you can use sun flower oil and normal salt.
Dassana,
Amazing recipe, would love to try this! Can you please tell where you get Amlas in US? I find it very hard to get it here.
thanks nitya. i am sorry, i won’t be able to help you as i stay in india.
good morning akka,how r u???????we prepared this pickle n they r really delicious…n this small varities of amlas taste really good if u eat them as raw with some salt n red chilly powder……1 more thng akka can u suggest me some good cookbooks on malavani cuisine?????n plz do write some more malavani recipes(including malavani masala) as they r really delisious…
thanks deepak. i know these small gooseberries can be had raw with salt and red chilli powder. i will post the malvani masala soon. i don’t know any book on malvani recipes. but if come to know in future then i will reply to this comment.