Amla Jam / Indian Gooseberry Spread

Amla jam made from fresh Indian Gooseberry is one of the delicious ways to enjoy the healthy benefits of amla throughout the year. Flavored with spices like cinnamon, cardamom and saffron, this home-made amla jam is loaded with Vitamin C, is free of pectin, preservatives and artificial color and far better than the store bought ones. It serves as an excellent spread for breads, toasts, chapati and paratha. The recipe is vegan, gluten-free and easy to follow.

                                

Is Jam and Preserve the same?

No, Jam and Preserve are not the same. The major difference between jam and a fruit preserve is that the jam has a less fruit content as compared to the preserve. Jam has more sugar content than the fruit. On the other hand a preserve contains more fruit with a few additives like sugar syrup, honey, molasses or maple sugar. Other difference is that a jam is used as a food accompaniment to bread or toast, whereas a preserve can serve as a dessert and as a food accompaniment.

What goes into this amla jam ? / The ingredients:

This healthy and nutritious amla jam recipe is very simple and calls for use of only 5 ingredients. 

• Amla / Indian gooseberries : For best results, use fresh gooseberries that are large and blemish free. The ripe berries that are light yellow in color are less tart and perfect for making this jam. If using small, green ones, you may require a bit more sugar.
• Sugar: The recipe calls for use of equal quantity of sugar to the weight of amla. Sugar acts both as a sweetener and as a preservative in this jam recipe. I have used a bit less. 850 grams for 1 kg Amla, but do not reduce it further or else it will effect the shelf life of jam.
• Cardamom: Green cardamom adds a lovely aroma and flavor to the jam.
• Cinnamon: Cinnamon compliments very well with the cardamom flavors in the jam and adds a dark color to the jam.
• Saffron: Addition of saffron strands is optional but it does add to the gorgeous golden color of the jam.                

More ways to add healthy goodness of Amla to our daily diet.

If you are looking for more recipes using Indian gooseberries / Amla, do check out the following from this blog.

• Amla Murabba with Jaggery : A very healthy and delightful sweet relish where whole amlas are preserved in a jaggery syrup.
  
• Amla Candy: A tongue tickling, sun-dried candied gooseberry which serves as an excellent mouth freshener. A best remedy for travel sickness.
  
• Amla Pickle: An onion-garlic free, instant amla pickle that serves as a delicious side dish to main meals.
  
• Amla Supari: A delicious savory amla mouth freshner which aids in digestion and serves as a best home remedy for nausea and motion sickness.
  
• Amla Chutney: a flavorful amla chutney which pairs well with most of the Indian breakfast dishes,snacks,  flat-breads and meals.

Amla as a Super food :

Amla is an amazing seasonal fruit found in abundance in the Winter season in India. being packed with Vitamin C and a great source of antioxidants, amla or the Indian Gooseberry contains numerous nutrients that actually help you live longer and healthier life. It can definitely keep a number of diseases at bay as it is packed with compounds like polyphenols, minerals like iron and zinc and vitamins like carotenes and Vitamin B complex. Amla has eight times more vitamin C than an orange, twice the antioxidants power of acacia berry and around 17 times that of a pomegranate. The humble Indian gooseberry, commonly known as amla, truly deserves its super-food status. Click here to know more about the health benefits of including ama in your daily diet.

Dietary Tips:

• Vegetarian
• Gluten-Free
• Satvik / Jain Recipe / Onion -Garlic Free
• Pectin-free
• Preservative free
• Healthy and Nutritious side-dish
• Kid Friendly
• Good shelf life

Shelf Life: This homemade Amla Jam stays good for more than 6 months when kept in an air-tight glass jar in a refrigerator and used hygienically. Store the amla jam in a clean and dry glass bottle (preferably sterilized) with a tight fitting lid and refrigerate the bottle. Always use a cleans and dry spoon to sample the jam.

                                           

Related Event: Foodies_Redoing Old Posts

This is an old post that i had published in 2015 during my early blogging days. Today, i have updated the post with new pics and written content, the recipe remains unchanged though. I have many such old posts where i feel the photography is dull or the recipe is not up to the mark (at times we keep on changing our own recipes to make it a better version of it). Such posts need to be updated. All thanks to my dear friend and a fellow blogger Renu, who came up with a Facebook gourmet group, Foodies_redoing Old posts, wherein a group of passionate food bloggers can update their old posts with new photographs and written content fortnightly. This is my 29th entry into the event (19th February). The pic below is my old pis of amla jam One can make out the difference between the old and the new pic and the food styling.

                                

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 35 minutes

Serves: 3 cups jam

Ingredients: Measurements used 1 cup = 240 ml

• 1 kg Amla / Indian Gooseberry (Around 30-35 large amlas)
• 3 1/2 cups sugar ( i have used 850 grams)
• 1 big stick of Cinnamon
• 5-7 green Cardamoms crushed
• Few Saffron strands (optional)

Method:

1. Wash the Amla properly. Keep 2 -3 cups of water to boil in a large vessel. Add the washed Amla into the boiling water and let them remain there for 10 minutes on a low to medium heat. This step is to get rid of bitter juices from the Amla. Turn off the flame after that , cover the vessel and let the amla sit there for another 10 minutes.

    2.  Strain the water from the Amla and let them cool down. The water can be used for washing our hair. Remove seeds from Amla .

   3.  Take the cooked amla pieces in a grinder jar along with some sugar and grind to a paste. Repeat the same for rest of the gooseberries.

  4. Now take this amla paste and the remaining sugar in a heavy bottom sauce pan or non stick wok and heat on medium flame. Once the sugar begins to melt add the cinnamon stick and saffron strands to the mixture. Keep stirring the mixture every now and then. Try to use a deep sauce pan as bubbles burst in the sugar syrup while it is being cooked.

  5. We can see a color change as the melted sugar blends with the amla paste , saffron strands and cinnamon. Let the mixture thicken to a jam like consistency or until it leave the sides of the pan on a low to medium heat with continuous stirring. This may take 25-30 minutes.

6. Usually when the mixture leaves the sides of the pan, it has reached a jam consistency. we can confirm it by plate method too. Place spoonful of jam on a cold place or saucer. Leave for 30 seconds. then push with your finger. If the jam wrinkles and does not gather to fill up the gap, it is ready. If not, turn on the heat and cook the jam for another 2-3 minutes. Put off the flame and repeat the plate test again.

                                  

  6.  Crush the cardamom with some sugar in a grinder or a mortar and pixel . Add this powder to the jam. Mix well and put off the flame. Transfer the jam to clean and dry glass jars and refrigerate. Use as per need. Serve this flavorful jam on a warm bread or toast or as a side dish with chapati and paratha and enjoy with your loved ones !!

Recipe Notes:

• For best results, use fresh gooseberries that are large and blemish free. The ripe berries that are light yellow in color are less tart and perfect for making this jam. If using small, green ones, you may require a bit more sugar.
• The recipe calls for use of equal quantity of sugar to the weight of amlas. Sugar acts both as a sweetener and as a preservative in this jam recipe. I have used a bit less. 850 grams for 1 kg Amla, but do not reduce it further or else it will effect the shelf life of jam.
• Store the amla jam in a clean and dry glass bottle (preferably sterilized) with a tight fitting lid and refrigerate the bottle. Always use a cleans and dry spoon to sample the jam. If stored hygienically, the jam stays good up to 6 months on refrigeration.
• Addition of saffron strands is optional but it lends a lovely golden color to the jam.

Would love to hear from you !

I hope you would love trying out this healthy and delicious Amla Jam while the berries are still in the markets. If you do so, feel free to share your feedback with use in the form of likes and comments in the section below this post.

All your suggestions are more than welcome. If you like my work, and feel that it is worth following, do hit the follow button on the top right corner of this blog. Your appreciation means a lot to me. It gives me the inspiration and motivation to keep doing my work and give my best each time.

If you like my work and want to be updated with new recipes, do follow us on various social media platforms. My social media handles for your kind reference are as follows.

Facebook Handle: https://www.facebook.com/poonambachhavblogspot

Instagram Handle: https://www.instagram.com/poonambachhav/

Pinterest Handle : https://in.pinterest.com/poonambachhav/

Twitter Handle: https://twitter.com/poonampagar_B

 

See you soon with yet another healthy and delicious creation from my Kitchen. Until then Stay safe and eat right !

 

Happy Cooking !

Happy Eating !

 

Regards

Poonam Bachhav 

For more jam and fruit preserve recipes do check out the following from this blog

• Strawberry Jam

• Aam Ka Murabba

• Pineapple Jam

• Amla Murabba