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Saturday, June 21, 2014

Nellikka & Lololikka(Loovika) Uppilittathu | Pickled Gooseberry & Indian Coffee Plum

The name of lololikka(loovika) was very uncertain until I found this website where the author says its botanical name is scram berry.Am not pretty sure about the name,anyways Keralites might be aware with Malayalam name.When I was in Kerala,I got these loovika from one of our good neighbours and the season had almost finished and so just could get a few bright colored ones.I immediately preserved it as pickle as I love these very much.Gooseberry(amla) is familiar to all and doesn't require much explanation.And so this had been in my drafts for months now and finally out today.As the process for making pickle in both are same,so listed them under one recipe.Hope you all enjoy this simple recipe with no oil ,enjoy making and relish it with your favorite meal !!!



Bird's eye chilly(kanthari mulakku) on left and scram berry(loovikka )on rt.

Ingredients
loovika(scramberry)2 cups/gooseberry(amla) 2 cups
water 3-4 cups
green chillies /kanthari mulaku(bird's eye chilly) 10 vertical slit
salt 1/2cup


Method
-Wash the loovika(scram berry) or gooseberry and pat dry.Remove any stalks if present.
-Heat a kadai or sauce pan with water and add salt.Let it come to boil for 5 minutes,add the vertical slit chillies.
- Switch off flame and add the loovika or gooseberry immediately(if you wish to use it at the earliest and plan to finish soon) else cool the mixture completely and then add the gooseberries in it for better shelf life .
-Leave to cool completely before storing in air tight bottles.Start using after 5 days minimum so that the berries turn soft and tender with the salt and spice seeped in.

Photographed after 10 days of pickling

NOTES
* These gooseberries are perfect thirst quencher on a hot summer day.Pop one in the mouth and drink water to feel the difference.
* Gooseberries when perfectly done swells up and the skin lightly peels off.
* Kanthari mulakku(bird's eye chilly ) works best but you can always use other green chillies too.
* There is no other preservative like vinegar added so always use clean dry spoon to take the pickle and leave the cap tightly closed after each use.

Photographed after 5days of pickling
Love it with a glass of water !!!

25 comments:

Sangeetha M said... Best Blogger Tips

Loovika/Scramberry is new to me, but the combo with gooseberry n chillies sounds too good, simply mouth watering pickle :)

nandoos kitchen said... Best Blogger Tips

ithe pinnem kothippichu.. looks super! I don't find lololikkas here.. But we used to depend completely on these pickles during hostel days..

Sona said... Best Blogger Tips

this is really tempting and mouthwatering..

Unknown said... Best Blogger Tips

Tempting and yummy pickle !

Amila said... Best Blogger Tips

this sounds a tasty dish!we call this fruit as 'lovi' in Sri Lanka,and love to eat it

Sanoli Ghosh said... Best Blogger Tips

Interesting combo and yummy pickle.

Kaveri Venkatesh said... Best Blogger Tips

these preserved nellikkai are loved by all at home..hearing about scramberries for the first time

Anonymous said... Best Blogger Tips

Loliolikas are new to me, but we make this pickle with goosberry. My mother add only salt but my Mother in law add salt and chilies. Love these always

Gloria Fernandes said... Best Blogger Tips

lovely combination of chillies & gooseberries ...loved this mouthwatering pickle...

Mélange said... Best Blogger Tips

Ho,vayil kappalodikkam..enthoru chathi ! lol.

Rafeeda AR said... Best Blogger Tips

actually, i have never like uppilittathu... must be because of my terrible sweet tooth... hehe... but I'm in love with those pics, so good...

asherayil said... Best Blogger Tips

Realy grt...i love it

Praveen Shankar said... Best Blogger Tips

Was googling for this and came across this blog. I am from Calicut and am hearing about this fruit for the first time in my life.

Unknown said... Best Blogger Tips

The name is cranberry

Julie said... Best Blogger Tips

@Sheetal Raghunath cranberry is different dear,its tart in taste and not the same as this.This is scramberry as far as the name is concerned.Both look almost same but taste different and also,loovikka or scramberry has a single small seed in it.

Unknown said... Best Blogger Tips

Madam
I have made 'loovika uppilitathu' and after two days i have noticed the formation of fungus(white),please suggest a remedy.

Julie said... Best Blogger Tips

Ebin, there can be a simple white layer ( not fungus)formation which is normal.Either skim off the white layer carefully with a spoon and watch for 2 more days, taste test it should be fine or discard if it really looks fungal growth.There are two things that must have gone wrong- either the storage bottle wasn't air tight or the temperature where you kept the bottle is hot.Also at so high salt concentration there are no other ways fungus can grow.Hope it helps.

Unknown said... Best Blogger Tips

@Julie
THANK YOU

Neo-Indian said... Best Blogger Tips

Hello, I would like to notify you that the actual English name of lololikka is 'Indian Coffee plum' and its scientic (botanical nomenclature) name is 'Flacourtia jangomas'. Please check Wikipedia and/or Indian Plant Database.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flacourtia_jangomas

I have been a lololikka addict from childhood and it took me and my mom six years to regress the actual scientific name. Scramberry is some constructed name by someone and it is not the authentic nomenclature. This is the actual one:-
English name: Indian Coffee Plum
Scientific name: Flacourtia jangomas
Please update and help spread this information to all our malayali brothers and sisters.
By the way, your posts are really amazing and my uppu nellikka came out really well because of your methods. :)

Neo-Indian said... Best Blogger Tips

@Sheetal Raghunath
Sheetal, Cranberry is a different fruit. Its a Central Afro-Eurasion stoned berry. Lololikka is actually a small willow plum native to India. The actual name is not scramberry. THE REAL NAME IS 'INDIAN COFFEE PLUM'. The scientific nomenclature is 'Flacourtia jangomas'. :)

Neo-Indian said... Best Blogger Tips

@Julie
By the way scramberry is not even an actual English word. Hope it helps. :)

Julie said... Best Blogger Tips

Thanks for the update.. Will soon rectify in the post too :)

Make Money said... Best Blogger Tips

I have a good plant of loloikka in my garden but I don’t know the name of this fruit. Thank you for your valuable information.
Regards
Luquman

Anonymous said... Best Blogger Tips

Add 1 tablespoon of vinegar to avoid the white film on top.

Anonymous said... Best Blogger Tips

Thanks for the tip, will try next time !!