Prepare Then Nellika Using Jaggery and Honey at Home

 

Then nellikka is stored in a glass bottle

We know that gooseberry (Nellika) is a powerhouse of vitamin C. Its health benefits are well known. My grandma told me that nellika was capable of keeping me young. I know nobody wants to get older anyway. I do not like to.

Raw nellikka

Being a Physics teacher, it is good to mention the time dilation in the theory of relativity. In many science fiction films, you might have seen such scenes. The time dilation resulted in a younger look. 

It is for comparing two frames. One of them is stationary, and the other is moving. It states that a clock in a moving frame will appear to go slower than the clock in a stationary frame.

Twin paradox:

The story is about two twin brothers (same age). One of the twins travels in a rocket with very high velocity for a long time and returns to Earth. In such a case, he will find himself younger than his twin brother, who stayed back on Earth. 

 Let me tell you the significance of gooseberry in our daily life.

The main ingredient of chyavanprash lahyam, an ayurvedic product, is gooseberry. The sour taste of lahyum is due to the presence of nellikka.

When I was young, my mother used to tell me a proverb, " Moothavar chollum muthu nellikka adyam kaykum pinne madhurikkum." This proverb is related to the taste (sour, bitter, and sweet) of the fruit. The people of Kerala are well aware of this.

 

If you did not get it, I will make it clear.

It refers to the advice of elders to younger ones. Youngsters sometimes need to be more comfortable with the advice of elders, similar to the bitter (kaykum) taste of nellikka. But when they face difficulties in real life, they understand the value of the advice and respect the idea, similar to the sweet taste (madhurikkum).

 We can experience the sweetness of this fruit when we drink water after chewing a gooseberry.

I eat it in the raw state whenever I get a chance.

I am happy to experience the sweetness while drinking water after chewing the raw nellikka. If you drink gooseberry juice, it will make you very cool on a hot summer day.

• For preparing the juice, deseed nellikka and blend it with a pinch of salt. Strain it to remove the residue and drink.

Other benefits that I have experienced:

• Food consumption seems reduced, resulting in weight loss.
• Hair fall reduced.
• It was good to reduce my acidity problem.

 

Is it time-consuming to deseed it?

 

Do you want to keep your hands out of stains?

 

Yes, here is an alternative to try.

 

STEPS:

• Clean the raw gooseberry by washing it thoroughly.
• Dry it with a clean cloth.
• Take a clean glass bottle and fill it with nellikka.
• Boil the water and keep it cool to room temperature.
• Add some salt and fill the bottle with water (boiled and cooled) at room temperature. Close the bottle with a tight lid and keep it one day at room temperature. 
• The next day, you can use it by draining the water from the bottle and again filling it with the water for the next drink. 
• You can repeat this process five or six times.

 After repeating this process, if you chew the nellikka, it will be like something without any taste of nellikka. You can eat it. Sometimes, I prepare pachadi (a dish with rice) using this nellikka with green chili. It is delicious.

• Eating nellikka in a raw state is very good because we get all the vitamins without loss. 

Usually, children will not eat gooseberry in its raw state. They do not like the bitter-sour taste. Here is a remedy. Prepare honey nellikka and give them one piece each day. I am sure they love it and ask for you if you forget.

In this article, I skip the medicinal properties of this fruit. Please read my other article to get it. https://retnacpn.blogspot.com/2023/07/treasure-island-kuruva-biodiversity.html

Now let's look into the preparation of then nellika.

It is my mother's recipe.

STEP 1

 

The first step is to select the best quality ripe gooseberry. The yellowish-green one is the best. Wash the fruit and steam it for three to four minutes to get it half-cooked. Refrain from overcooking it may break into slices. Take it from the steamer, drain off the water, and keep it aside to cool.

 

STEP 2

 

The second step is to put holes around the nellika using a fork or other sharp device. These deep holes allow the absorption jaggery to the interior part of gooseberry.

 

Putting holes using a fork

STEP 3

 

The third step is the preparation of jaggery syrup. For one kg of nellikka, prepare one kg of jaggery syrup. Melt the jaggery and remove the dirt by filtering it. If the jaggery is clean, you can skip this.

 STEP 4

 The next step is to take a pan and boil the jaggery syrup. Add the steamed nellikka to the syrup and cook it on a medium flame for half an hour. Now, you can see the color of the gooseberry turned to a dark brown color. For a good flavor, add ten cleaned crushed cardamom into the mixture. Take it from the stove and let it cool. When nellikka cools to room temperature, add two or three tablespoons of honey to the mixture.

                           

 Cooking on medium flame

STEP 5

 

Finally, store it in a glass bottle. You can keep the bottle at room temperature. You can use it instantly.

You do not have to keep the nellikka in the fridge. Use a clean spoon to take the gooseberry out. Eat one nellikka each day to make you healthy.

Then nellikka 

I used to buy this item when I visited hill stations like Wayanad. After getting aware of this recipe, I have yet to try it from any other source. I love this homely way of cooking. From my experience, this natural vitamin source is very good for boosting our health. I kept it in my room until the last piece of gooseberry was in the bottle without refrigeration.

Ready to eat

Reap the benefits of nellikka with these amazing then nellikka recipes.

  

For further reading:

https://retnacpn.blogspot.com/2023/07/treasure-island-kuruva-biodiversity.html