GUNDA PICKLE

GUNDA NU ATHANU

 

 

Gunda nu athanu

A few months back a parcel arrived from California with some Gunda and chikoo fruits.  Binaben; our daughter in law Komal’s mom had sent the parcel with these items picked from her garden.

Gunda (bird lime berries or clammy berries) are rare in Charleston and if you are ever fortunate to see them in the Asian Grocery stores here then they would be ripe; bruised and not good enough to pickle. You can imagine my delight on opening the box to find these rare and precious pickling berries so I set about planning the process and getting the ingredients all prepared.  Thank you Binaben!

Now we dont usally eat that much athana’s in our household and most of the chutneys and pickles we have are of the make today eat today variety however; Manu and I do get very excited about certain athanas made with fruits and vegetables in season.  Gunda Pickle can be preserved for quite a long time in sterlized  jars with a tight fitting lids to prevent air getting in.  A lot of oil needs to be added as the pickled berries need to be kept immersed in the oil so its not entirely healthy but then you don’t have to eat all that oil. You can spoon out jut the berry and masala from the jar.  This athanu is very versatile and goes well with poori, parathas, theplas, and even rotla or rotlis.

If you are a fan of Indian pickles and you can get your hands on some fresh gunda then be sure to try my simple and easy athana recipe. It will go down a treat with friends and family

Here is the recipe

2 lb Gunda  ( about 40)

Cut the gunda’s  into halve  and scoop out the seeds. Rub little salt and lemon juice keep on the side.

 

STUFFING

1 cup split mustard seeds

1 table spoon turmeric powder

1 tea spoon asafetida

3 tea spoons chili powder

2 table spoons salt

2 table spoons fenugreek splits

2 table spoons lemon juice

2 table spoon oil

 

Combine   all the above ingredients,   Fill the gunda with prepared mixture and  keep on the side.

 

Heat 2 cups oil and let it cool to the room temperature .Fill the stuffed gunda in the air tight  bottle and pour the oli on top of the gunda.