There is a luscious tree at my parents’ home. It’s branches weigh down on the compound wall laden with tart, pale green, juicy berries. I am so fond of the nellikkai maram that I could happily spend hours sitting under its branches.
Even the nellikai’s English name, ‘gooseberry’, is entertaining to a child. I especially loved it when the fruit went from sharp green to an over-ripe pale pink. That just meant it was more sweet than sour and we could therefore eat more of it. We harvested the gooseberry with an extra long stick that had a hook attached to one end. Or, we vigorously shook the trunk of the tree and got yelled at as it resulted in most of the fruit falling on the muddy ground. My mother would get some one to climb the tree and rescue the berries that were still there.
Once they were washed, we bit into them and scrunched up our faces as the sour juice hit the teeth and tongue. The rest of the nellikai was mixed with salt and chilli powder and snacked on until our stomachs protested. These tiny berries are full of Vitamin C. Even just a handful of them pack in more nutrition than a tall glass of OJ. Nellikai trees are found all over Coimbatore, much more than their well known cousin, the amla, that is called Malay gooseberry or Star gooseberry in English . Old ladies outside our school sold baskets filled with these pickled gooseberries. Red and fiery, these were as popular as the pickled mango slices and we could never have enough.
A few years ago, when I chanced upon a tree in the far corner of my in-laws compound it was like being reunited with a long lost friend! I decided to introduce the fruit to my kids who had never tasted them. I must confess they weren’t gung ho about eating it raw. So, I went ahead and made a gooseberry pickle. This became a yearly ritual and every now and then I added a smidgen of the pickle to my kids’ curd rice till finally they acquired a taste for it.
This year, the tree yielded generously, and I decided to use the gooseberry as part of a more wholesome meal. In summers, the lunch boxes have lighter foods, such as rice with lemon, coconut ,green mango and mint. This time I decided to make nellikkai saadham. What could be more perfect: the fruit was in season, the tree grew a mere few 100 metres from my home and it couldn’t be anything but tasty.
I had no specific recipe but I just looked for a balance in flavours. I had to be careful that the tartness did not overpower the dish. I chopped small onions, grated the gooseberries, minced a bit of garlic and added dried red chilli flakes, a bit of jaggery and roasted sesame seeds. I added these to a tempering of mustard seeds and curry leave and sautéed them on low heat, until they were pink and translucent.
I added the salt to taste and finally mixed in cooked and cooled brown rice. The rice took on an appetising hue with the pale colours of the onion and gooseberry flecked here and there with bits of chilli and a curry leaf popping up in a hint of green. Pleased with the outcome, I packed my children’s lunch boxes with a happy smile. This rice pairs deliciously with a moru kozhambhu (a curd based gravy) and some roasted paapad for crunch. The clean fresh flavours are immensely satisfying and easy to digest. The reward was when my son’s friend asked if I would share the recipe with his mother... and my son asked if there were any leftovers that he could polish off for dinner.
Do experiment with this country gooseberry. It makes an equally tasty chutney and pachadi. The trick with simple food is to not over think it. Let the inherent taste of the ingredient and local seasonings blend together harmoniously.
With the 200 grams of fruit that are still remaining in my refrigerator, I am wondering if I should make a light gravy, a rasam or a sweet and sour gooseberry jam.
Read more about food on Shanthini’s website >www.pinklemontreerecipes.com
