Gooseberry jam(MoravaLo/avla murabba)

moravalo

I was very busy for last few weeks due to house renovation work. Still the work is going on, but today got some time to post here.

Gooseberry (avalo or avla) is full of Vitamin C. MoravaLo is prepared by cooking gooseberry pieces in sugar and preserved. When my kids were toddlers, my grandmother used to make this for them. She also gifted me with two tiny plates to serve this. At my native we don’t get big gooseberries, my sister or brother sends them from Belgaum/Mumbai (we get the small local variety, but bigger ones are very rare). Since everyone at home loves amla pickle, that would take precedence over this jam.  But this jam always has a special place in my heart due to so many childhood memories.

Normally, gooseberries are grated and then cooked. But since they are very hard, it is a difficult process to grate them. Once cooked, it is very easy to cut them. So I cook them first in pressure cooker and then cut them into small pieces before cooking them with sugar. With this method, the jam gets read without a lot of hard work.

Sometimes, they are pricked all over and soaked in kitchen lime(chuna or chunno) water to remove its bitter tart flavor, but this also removes the Vitamins from the berries. So I don’t follow this step.

Ingredients:
250 gms amla(gooseberry)
Sugar
Cardamom powder
Saffron strands(optional)

Method:
Pressure cook gooseberries in very little water. Chop them into small pieces, discard the seeds.
Measure the pieces with a cup. Now mix same amount of sugar with the pieces. (If there are 2 cups of pieces, use 2 cups of sugar).
Take the mixture in a thick bottomed (or nonstick) pan and heat on a medium flame. (if you feel the sugar is getting caramelized, you can use few drops of water).
Cook till the sugar makes one thread syrup consistency. (touch the syrup with your forefinger and touch thumb to forefinger, if it forms a thread, syrup is ready).
Take off heat, mix cardamom powder, saffron strands and mix well.
Cool to room temperature and store in air tight container. Refrigerate it. This remains good for a long time.
It can be served with chapathis, dosas.

47 thoughts on “Gooseberry jam(MoravaLo/avla murabba)”

  1. You mightn’t believe it, but just two weeks ago when I was making an amla pickle I stopped to wonder if a jam was ever made from them- I am in love with their flavour you see…and here it is! Your recipe is a blessing. Thank you!

  2. My mother-in-law makes similar murabbo with a variety f mango called “tothapuri”.. It tastes yummy. Got to try this with amla. Thanks for posting this!

  3. hi ,

    nice recepi. where can i get amla in US? i have seen frozen will it out , if i buy it and make it.thanks

    Shilpa: Vani, you can make it with frozen ones. I have made it and they taste great.

  4. Thanks a lot Varadaakka,

    This is one of my favorites …thanks for sharing the excellent tip on cooking and dicing it before adding sugar. This would transport much better than the whole amla in syrup when i bring it back from India.

    One question …does this murabba change color after a while?

    Chitra

    Varada: Usually, when it is stored for very long time, it gets darker(black) in color.

  5. Vardpachi, so tempted to eat this one.

    Shilpa…Do you know if fresh ones are avble here or frozen onces work. Pel might be knowing if they are avble here.

    Shilpa: Aruna, frozen ones work well. I have made a batch with one pack of frozen gooseberries couple of days ago. They are great.

  6. hi
    was just wondering if steaming the gooseberries would be a better option than pressure cooking since the vitamins from the amla would anyways be lost in the water in the pressure cooker…..i have seen my mother-in-law steaming amla for pickle though i doubt she make jam with it

    Shilpa: Priya, you can steam them if you want, but it will take longer time to cook them. We normally pressure cook them in very little water(just about 1-2 tbl spn) and use that water while cooking in syrup.

  7. my mom too prepares this.she does not cook them before. but she grats the gooseberrys and adds sugar and cooking is the same procedure.and at last adds ginger juice and pepper powder. this jam will be a good medicine for cold and cough.

  8. Youe receipe is great one. I waslooking for the same for a long. Can u give some idea about whole amla how to make it.

    Shilpa: What do you mean by whole amla? Is that a dish? or are you asking for same recipe with whole amla?

  9. Hi
    If we want to prepare CHAVANPRASH then just add 25 grams CHAVANPRASH MASALA {available at ayurved bhandars } in the above jam.The taste is same as branded one.

    Gurmeet

  10. Hey Shilpa,

    Thanks a ton for this recipe. I tried it out today and it came exactly the way you described. All relished it at home. And its so very easy on the pocket compared to the market variants. Great.

    I just have a query though. As you mentioned, this jam is to be stored in the refrigerator. Since it is sugar syrup, won’t it get hard and crystallize. Do let me know at your convenience.

    Thank you once again Shilpa.
    anu

    Shilpa: If the consistency of the syrup is right, it does not get hard, but if it cooked for long, it can get hard.

  11. Hi ,
    I had tasted moravala in my auntys house when i was very young ..and i had liked it very much .. but the avals in that receipe was not grated .. they were whole avala dipped in the syrup. can you give me the receipe of that kind if possible . Well the one which you ve made is alos looking yummy . Thank you .

    Shilpa: Prachi, the recipe is same. You just have to add the whole amlas after cooking to the syrup instead of adding the pieces(as in the above post)

  12. Yeas I mean whole amla (avala) . Here in mumbai u get get whole one.

    Varada: Joyce, here also we get whole amla, which I had cut into pieces as I like it that way. You can just cook the whole amla and follow the same steps(don’t cut the amla after cooking)

  13. varada aunty I have seen whole amla soaked in honey in many shops and they cost a lot. Is it possible to make them at home. pl advice

  14. hello aayi,
    thanks for this easy morabba.. i did add half tea spoon of chilli powder with it.. its tasting great..

  15. Thanks for this wonderful recipe Shilpa, it came out so well, that got over in 2 weeks. I am doubling the quantity and making it again today. Thanks a ton!!

  16. Hi Aayi,
    Once again your link came up in my custom search engine while I was seeking sources of Vitamin C. I hope you don’t mind that I borrowed this link to include on the post I did today on the benefits of Vitamin C.

    Your jam brings new meaning to ambrosia the glow is amazing!!!

    Thanks so much for sharing…

  17. hi,goodone.you can make it more healthy by using jaggery instead of sugar and also adding littel clove to give chavanaprash taste to be taken daily(1 tbspn a day).

  18. Shilpa,
    When I made the above recipe,I felt the sugar syrup was a little loose.So I cooked it a bit more.Now it tastes good but has become very sticky. :((.Is there any way to rescue my jam?

  19. Thank u Shilpa,for the prompt response.I added some water and heated it till it was of the desired consistency.It turned out well with a lovely caramel colour :).Thank u once again..

  20. Hi,

    can the above recipe made with honey instead of sugar?
    In that case let me know if thers any change in the method of preparation.
    Thank you.

    1. Depends on which avlas are used. The fresh ones need more time (about 2-3 whistles) and frozen ones get cooked soon (about 1 whistle).

  21. HI SHilpa …. came across ur blog quite recently and i must tell u I AM UR FAN 🙂

    just made this jam using jaggery ..tastes good .. nice way to feed the kids too ..thanks a ton
    take care
    chaithanya

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