Avale Kadi (Pickled Gooseberry Soup)

Avale Kadi is a very old Konkani dish. In Konkani, avalo means gooseberry. Gooseberry is seasonal and hence people store them in salt water, so that it can be used throughout the year. I got this recipe from my mother.

This is one of my favorite dish and had been ages since I had it. So I brought some frozen gooseberries and kept them in salt water. The spiciness of the kadi is well balanced by the sourness of the gooseberries. The garlic seasoning makes it even more tastier. Try making this unique dish and enjoy :-)
You can as well try making Avale Chutney, which I posted few months back.

Ingredients:

• Brined Amla (Gooseberry), large sized*- 4-5
• Grated Coconut, fresh/frozen- 2/3 cup
• Roasted Red chillies- 3-4
• Salt- To taste
• Oil- 1-2 tsp
• Garlic pods- 5-6

*The amount of brined amla depends on the the sourness of the amla as well as how much sour you want. So adjust it accordingly.

Procedure:

How to Brine: Wash the amla (fresh and frozen both works) and then place them in a glass jar. Add couple of spoon of salt. Then add water till the top. Close it with its lid and let it sit for more than a month. This is how mine looked-

Then remove the brined amla from the jar and wash them. This is how they look.

Break them open and discard the seeds (you can as well leave them in cold water, to remove the excess salt)

Now grind the brined amla pieces along with grated coconut, roasted red chillies along with little water to get a fine paste. 

At this point, check for the salt, sourness as well as spiciness (I like it more on the sour side). If everything is good then transfer it to a pan. 

Adjust the consistency, by adding water. I kept the consistency not too thick/ thin. Start heating it and bring it to a boil. Once it starts boiling, continue heating for a minute and turn off the heat.

For Seasoning- Heat oil and add crushed garlic. Fry it until it turns golden brown. Add this to the mixture and mix well. Avale Kadi is ready!!

Serve it hot as a side dish to rice. Above measurement serves 2-3 people.