When summer approaches it is time for exams and the ensuing vacation. Likewise many new arrivals also come as ingredients into kitchen. The ingredients which come during or on the beginning of summer are Baby Mango or Maavadu, Neem flowers, Nellikai (Amla), etc.
Recently when my mother went to our native place. She brought huge quantity of Nellikai from our native house at Chettinad in Sivagangai district. There we have huge NelliMaram which is about 10 years old. This year it has produced numerous fruits and almost all are in good ripe fruit stage. My mother brought them to me at Chennai.
Though Amla is considered nutritious many find it difficult to consume them especially when it is unripe. It is very sour and no one can take more than one or two. Today we will see some easy, useful and tasty recipes out of this Nellikai.
Already we have seen Maavadu Pickles and soon we will see some more recipes in Neem flower too –Veppam Poo.
Coming to Nellikai we will see five recipes which are suitable for the ensuing summer.
- Nellikai Syrup – Amla Juice
- Nellikai Halwa or Jam
- Nellikai Thokku
- Nellikkai Thogayal
- Nellikai Pachadi
All these five are easy to make nice to taste and highly nutritious. You can make these compulsory to your family members so that the summer will not bother much and you can leave the choice to them to choose from the above five according to their taste buds.
Ingredients:
- Nellikkai – 30
- Red chilli – 4 tsp
- Salt – 1 ½ tsp
- Gingelly oil – 4 tblsp
- Asafoetida – ½ tsp
- Mustard – ½ tsp
Method:
Steam cook nellikkai in the idli pan.
Remove the seed.Grind it in the mixie finely.
Heat gingelly oil in a frying pan and add mustard and asafoetida .
When they crackle add ground nellikkai and sauté for about 5 minutes.Add red chilli powder and salt.
Stir till the oil oozes out.
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