Amla ka murabba (indian gooseberry preserve)

Ingredients

• 1 kg Indian gooseberry (amla)
• 1 kg+250 gms sugar (adjust the amount but you certainly need at least a kg)
• ½ tsp alum powder (phitkari)
• ½ tsp cumin (jeera)
• 1 pinch asafoetida (heeng)
• 2 pinch citric acid granules
• Juice of one lemon (small sized)

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Preparation

• Wash and prick the gooseberries all over with a fork
  Submerge them in enough water and add alum powder to it.
  Let them soak for 24 hours
  Then wash the gooseberries well (about 4-5 times)
  Crush the cumin to a coarse powder (do not roast it)
  Boil water in a wide-mouthed container and add the gooseberries
  Cook till they start rising to the top.
  Remove from water and lay them on a towel to dry for approximately 2-3 hours.
  In a large pot take half a cup of water and add sugar. (Start this process only after you have dried the gooseberries)
  Once it starts boiling at the edges, add lemon juice. (You can add a dash of green food colour to the water if you wish to)
  Add the gooseberries with the crushed cumin and let the contents simmer on a low flame. Stir once in a while.
  The gooseberries will release some water and make a sugary syrup.
  Once the water starts to boil, remove the gooseberries from it immediately. Try to retrieve as much cumin as you can.
  Keep them aside and sieve the sugar syrup.
  Again boil the syrup (on high flame now) and remove it from the heat once it starts to boil.
  Sieve it and repeat the above process twice. (this way the syrup become more clear)
  When finished, let the temperature of the syrup become warm.
  Add the gooseberries to this syrup
  Add the citric acid and store the preserve in a glass jar.
  
  
  This preserve makes a very healthy sweet ending to meals - rich in iron and vitamin C, aids in digestion and balances the stomach acids...need I say more J