MyMusingsSangSpeak-Pet Puja - Gulaamba

Gulaamba (Raw Mango Jaggery Jam)

Indian summers can be equated as the Mango (Aam/ Aamba) season. A large varieties of dishes are made with raw/ripe mangoes like juices (Panna/Panhe), squashes, chutneys, pickles, jams, jellies, desserts and many more. Gulaamba is a jam made of raw mango (Kairi/Aamba) and jaggery (Gul/Gur).

My Grandmother made Gulaamba  every summer season as my Grandfather relished only jaggery and never used much of sugar in his lifetime. It was like a ritual with my grandmother, she used to be busy all summer with preparations of papads, mango jams etc. As we visited my grandparents’ place every summer vacation, all of my grandmother’s lovingly prepared treats awaited us in the form of huge glass jars lined up with Murambas ( Murabbas), jams and jellies of all kinds- mainly those of raw mangoes. These goodies beckoned us, full of grandparents’ love and affection, unforgettable times and tastes that linger even today.

My grandfather took great pride in his garden which he tended to in the most loving way and had some mango trees in there, so home grown mangoes were brought to good use.

Gulaamba is a good accompaniment with any meal and is liked by one and all. It is sweet so it is favourite of children. In earlier times, as families were big, it used to be made in large quantities and was prepared to be stored and used for a year till the next summer. I make in small quantities to be consumed fresh.

Generally, Rajapuri variety is used for Gulaamba, but, you can use any good variety of raw mango. The general proportion is one part of mango and two parts of jaggery, here jaggery acts as the preservative.

 

Ingredients

Raw Mango – Half cup (Peeled and cut into thin slices)

Jaggery – 1 cup

Water – 1/4 cup

Cardamom – 2 nos

Salt – A pinch

Method

Pressure cook the peeled raw mango slices lightly for about 5-6 minutes. Mix together jaggery, water, salt and pressure cooked raw mango slices on medium heat for about 8-10 minutes till the mixture boils and bubbles well. Cool and add crushed cardamom. Store in a clean sterilized glass jar/bottle. This can be refrigerated for about a month.