Amla Murabba with Jaggery / Indian Gooseberry Preserve

Amla Murabba is a delightful sweet relish made by cooking Indian gooseberries in a sweet syrup until tender. Here, i have cooked the whole amla fruit in jaggery syrup along with spices like cloves and green cardamom which make this traditional winter preserve both healthy and flavorful. Amla murabba also known as moravala is one of the best ways to preserve the winter berry - amla and reap its healthy benefits whole year round. This amla murabba is sweet, tangy and mildly spicy in taste, does not use any artificial flavor, color or preservative and serves as a lip-smacking meal accompaniment or dessert. This 4 ingredient Indian Gooseberry preserve is ready under 30 minutes and has a shelf life of more than 6 months upon refrigeration in an air tight container. The recipe is refined sugar-free, gluten-free and vegan.

What is Murabba ?

Murabba is a sweet fruit preserve generally prepared with fruits, sugar and spices. Basically, murabba was any Unani and Ayurvedic medicinal preparation , which now common people have started using as a healthy recipe due to its immunity boosting properties and health benefits. Murabba can be made with variety of fruits. Aam ka Murabba or the raw mango preserve being the most popular one in India.

Difference between Preserve and Jam: 

The major difference between a jam and a fruit preserve is the jam has a less fruit content as compared to 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 syrup. 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.

If you are looking for more jam and fruit preserve recipes, do check out the following from this blog

• Raw Mango Preserve
  
• 3 Ingredient Strawberry jam
  
• Amla Jam
  
• Pineapple Jam
  
• Plum Chutney

What goes into my Amla Murabba ? The ingredients:

This amla murabba is a healthy sweet relish made using just 4 ingredients. Yes, you heard me right. Just 4 ingredients without any artificial flavor, color or preservative. Let;s look at the ingredients one by one.

• Amla / Indian Gooseberry : Use large, fresh, unblemished ripe Indian gooseberries for best results. If you use small green berries, you may have to increase the amount of jaggery. Here, the Indian gooseberries are just washed and pricked with fork and added to the jaggery syrup and spices. Some recipes call for steaming or boiling the amla first, but in that process some nutrition of amla is lost. 
• Jaggery: Use good quality jaggery, preferably organic one without any impurities. In case you are using the jaggery that has impurities, you will have to strain the jaggery syrup before adding gooseberries to it. The color of the preserve also depends upon the color of the jaggery. If you use brown jaggery the murabba also will be brown in color.
• Clove: Whole cloves add a lovely flavor and aroma to the preserve along with the added health benefits.
• Green Cardamom: I have used whole green cardamoms while the amla cooked in the jaggery syrup. You may add powdered green cardamom at the end of making the preserve if you wish to.

Amlas are washed, dried and then pricked all over using a fork. This step is very important as we are not steaming the amla before adding it to the jaggery syrup. A syrup is made by adding very little water to the finely chopped or grated jaggery. The pricked gooseberries are then tipped in the syrup along with a couple of green cardamom and cloves and then simmered and cook until tender. The jaggery syrup also has to reach the single thread consistency before turning off the flame. This ensures the preserves stays good for a couple of months without any preservative. However, do not cook the murabba to this point or else the syrup will become too thick. On cooking properly the amla change the colour to light brown and become soft and tender and are drenched fully with the syrup.

                      

Health benefits of including Amla Murabba in your daily diet.

We all know that amla or Indian gooseberry is a power house of nutrients. Let us have a look at the health benefits of this sweet relish - Amla murabba source

• Digestive benefits : Amla murabba is high in fiber and hence recommended by doctors for digestive and gastric problems including gastritis. Amla murabba is known to give relief from constipation provided it is taken after a glass full of milk.
• Rich source of minerals: Indian gooseberry is rich in minerals such as chromium, zinc, copper and iron which helps in boosting the overall immunity of the body.
• Keeps a check on high cholesterol levels: The high levels of chromium in the amla murabba has the ability to maintain cholesterol levels of the blood and bring down the danger of heart ailments.
• Good for anemic individuals: amla being a rich source of iron is beneficial to individuals suffering from anemia as it helps to improve the hemoglobin levels in the body.
• Boosts Immunity: Being rich in Vitamin C and containing the anti-oxidant properties, amla murabba improves immunity. It is safe and natural remedy for recurring cold and cough.
• Has anti-ageing properties: Amla is a rich source of Vitamin C, A and E thus helps in anti-ageing. The best utilisation of amla murabba is when it is taken on an empty stomach.

Dietary Tips:

• Vegan
• Vegetarian
• Saatvik / Jain Recipe
• Gluten-free
• Kid-friendly
• Diabetic friendly
• Sugar-free
• Preservative-free fruit preserve
• Healthy and flavorful side-dish

Related Event: 

Best of berries is the theme for the 282nd week on our Facebook gourmet group, Foodie Monday Blog Hop where a bunch of passionate food bloggers share their culinary creations every Monday depending upon a pre-determined theme. Yours truly was the hostess for this week and among the 2 themes i proposed, Berries won with maximum votes. I suggested that we all share our best recipes making use of season's fresh berries. Stay tuned as i will share the collage of all the dishes shared by my fellow bloggers along with their recipes on Facebook.           

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Serves: 3 cups preserve

Ingredients: Measurements used 1 cup = 250ml

• 500 grams Indian Gooseberries / Amla (around 12 large ones)
• 500 grams Jaggery (crushed or grated)
• 3-4 cloves
• 2-3 green cardamoms       

Method:

1. Wash the Indian gooseberries thoroughly and pat dry using a clean and dry kitchen towel. Prick each berry all over using a fork. Make sure you insert the fork deep inside as it helps the syrup to penetrate well and the berry cooks well. This step may sound a bit laborious but do it patiently.

2. Take a heavy bottom wok and add all the crushed jaggery along with 2-3 tablespoon of water, just enough for the jaggery to melt without catching the bottom of the pan.

3. Keep stirring as the jaggery melts completely. The flame should be low to medium.

4. Once all the jaggery has melted and you get a smooth syrup, tip in all the pricked gooseberries along with the green cardamom and cloves.

5. Allow the jaggery syrup to boil on medium flame. We will see the syrup first increases in volume as the gooseberries also release water. But as we cook further the syrup begins to bubble and thicken.

6. Keep stirring and cooking the gooseberries until they turn soft and tender. You can remove one gooseberry and check for the done-ness . We have to cook the syrup further until it reaches one string consistency. To check that, just take a drop of syrup between your index finger and thumb and try to pull it, if you get a single string , the syrup is perfectly cooked. Put off the flame and do not cook further.

7. Our healthy and delicious Amla Murabba is ready ! Serve it as a meal accompaniment or a dessert or have it on an empty stomach in the morning for best results. Transfer the amla murabba to a clean and dry glass jar with a tight fitting lid on cooling completely. Refrigerate the jar and use as required.

                          

Recipe Notes:

• The preserve thickens further on cooling . Do not cook it once the syrup reaches single string consistency.
• Use fresh, unblemished large size Indian gooseberries for the best results.
• Use good quality jaggery for best results. The color of the murabba depends upon the color of the jaggery. If your jaggery has impurities, filter the syrup once the jaggery melts using a steel sieve and then return back to cooking further.
• If using cardamom powder add it towards the end .
• Store the murabba in a clean and dry glass jar with a tight fitting lid and refrigerate the bottle. Always use a clean dry spoon to sample the murabba. If handled with all precautions the preserve stays good up to 6 months provided it lasts until then.
• Do not reduce the amount of jaggery if you intend to store it for a long time as jaggery syrup act as as a preservative in this murabba.
• Make sure you cook the murabba until the jaggery syrup reaches single string consistency. If the syrup remains uncooked chances are the murabba may spoil soon.

Would love to hear from you !

I hope you would love trying out this healthy and delicious Amla Murabba while the Indian gooseberries are in the season. 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.

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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 recipes using Indian Gooseberry / Amla, check out the following from this blog

• Amla Jam

'

• Amla Candy

• Amla Pickle

• Amla Chutney

• Amla Supari