Amla Candy

Indian gooseberry or Amla candy is probably the healthiest candy in the world. It has all the benefits of Amla. Amla is a great source of Vitamin C and is good for hair and eyes. It is used extensively in ayurvedic medicines.

Amlas are quite popular in Rajasthan and we make a lot of chutneys, pickles and jams from it. It is still hard to get kids to eat Amla pickles and chutneys but with this Amla candy there is no worry. My son simply loves it. I have kept a jar on dining table and I do not even have to ask kids to eat them.

I used to make them without beet root. They tasted exactly the same but were brownish in color. When my aunt in law was visiting us this time (remember the one who taught me Eggless Mayonnaise) she brought these cute purple amla candies and they were really hard to resist. Infact we finished her packet in 4 days. So I did not waste any time in making them.

These do not require any cooking and have to be left in the sun to dry. I did not get proper sunlight first day but on third day they were almost ready.

How to make Amla Candy

Preparation time: 15 minutes

No cooking required. It has to be left in Sun to dry for 3-4 days.

Ingredients:

1 kg Amla/Indian Gooseberry
½ beet root (optional for color)

3 cups sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black salt ( kaala namak)
1 tsp black pepper

To make Amla Candy

Wash all the Amlas thoroughly. Try to buy Amlas which are a little on yellow side. Green Amlas are generally very sour and require a lot of sugar.

Grate the amlas and the beet root and mix sugar, salt , black salt and pepper to it. Mix thoroughly. The beet root gives a really nice purplish color to Amla candy.

Spread in a big thali or tray and leave to dry in sun for 3-4 days. Amla candy is ready when all the juice is gone.

Amla candy can be stored for a year in an airtight container.