Amla Candy: A Sour, Sweet, Soft Delight

A heavy meal often ends with savouring a digestive candy. However, instead of the commercial digestive candies sold in the market, why not try a natural, homemade, and healthy digestive candy? Amla or gooseberry candies are a good option. It takes hardly 15 to 20 minutes to prepare and is made with easily available ingredients without the addition of any preservatives. Besides, amla is considered a 'superfruit' that takes care of most of your nutritional needs, so it is a bonus to eat this candy. 

The intensely sour and astringent taste of the amla is balanced with jaggery and a coating of powdered sugar. The taste is further enhanced by spicing it up with aamchur powder, black salt, cumin powder, hing, and ginger powder.  

Amla, also known as Indian gooseberry, is grown in India, and has extensive health benefits. Amla contains high amounts of Vitamin C, according to the webmd website, the amount of Vitamin C in 100 grams of amla is equivalent to Vitamin C contained in 20 oranges. 

The fruit also comprises flavonols, which is said to be linked to improved memory. It is also said to be good in aiding digestion, is believed to be good for heart health, is considered to be good for the hair, and is said to be good for the kidneys. 

Here is a recipe for sour, sweet, and spicy Amla Candy: 

Ingredients

•    7 amla or gooseberries

•    1 cup grated jaggery

•    3 tablespoons of aamchur powder

•    1 teaspoon of cumin powder

•    1/2 or 1/4 teaspoon of hing

•    1/2 teaspoon black salt 

•    1/2 teaspoon of ginger powder

•    1 plate powdered sugar

Method

•    Put the amla in a pan and add half cup of water, and boil for a few minutes till the amla turns mushy

•    Drain and deseed the amla and cut the fruit into small pieces

•    Put the amla in a mixie and grind it to a paste

•    Put the amla paste in a pan and cook for five minutes over low flame 

•    Add one cup of grated jaggery, and mix the amla and jaggery well, till the jaggery dissolves 

•    Once the amla and jaggery mixture thickens, add one teaspoon cumin powder , 1/2 or 1/4 teaspoon of hing, 1/2 teaspoon black salt,  either a pinch or 1/2 teaspoon of ginger powder, 3 tablespoons of aamchur powder, and mix all the ingredients well, for approximately about 12 minutes to 15 minutes, until all the powders are dissolved 

•    Once the mixture thickens, take it off from the flame, and put it on a plate, and wait till it cools down

•    Then make small balls, from the mixture, rolling it in the palm of your hands

•    Then roll the amla candies in a plate of powdered sugar 

•    The amla candies are ready, eat immediately or store in a jar

Amla can also be consumed in powdered form or as a juice.