One of the highly beneficial fruits, Amala is commonly found in Nepal, especially in the Terai region almost all year round. Even when the fruit is not found, its presence can be felt and seen in the bottled products showcased in most of the racks in the Nepali kitchen. These products could be murabba, chyawanprash or khatimiti made of amala.

One of the many ways of enjoying the taste of amala is by eating the amala khatimiti (sour and sweet pickle). One of the popular ways of making this pickle is to try out the traditional grandma’s achar recipe, which is given below:

Ingredients:

1 kg amala

750 gm sugar

Salt (to enhance taste)

Fennel seeds

Panjera

Kalo jeera (black cumin, nigella)

Fenugreek (methi)

Chili powder (it enhances taste)

Turmeric powder

Procedure:

First of all, boil the amala in a large pot or a pressure cooker adding turmeric powder to it. When the amala is boiled, take it out and remove the seeds from the skin (you can do it when it is tolerable hot). After the seeds are removed, put it in a dry pan or bowl. Now, switch on the gas and put a deep pan on it. Then add the sugar with some water to the pan. When the sugar melts, put the amala skins into it and cook, stirring it at times. Let it cook until the water evaporates.

In another pan, roast fenugreek, fennel, cumin, paan jeera and kalo jeeraand when done, use a grinder to grind it into fine powder. Then pour this powder into the amala-sugar mixture and adding salt and chili powder, let it cook for another few minutes. When all the water evaporates and only thick gravy is left, switch off the heat and let it cool. Make sure all the water is evaporated, else the khatimiti will be spoiled. When it is cold enough, serve it with roti or light snack. Store it in a clean and dry glass bottle for future use.