Its been almost a month since we returned from India and getting back to the grind has been so very hard. Post-vacation hangover would be the right way to put it I guess :-( Anyway, to top it off this time I returned almost empty handed, in the sense that I didn't come back loaded with ingredients. Since almost everything is available here in Dubai (and plus I have tons of unused stuff from last year's haul) I decided to only bring the absolute must-have's in a Mangalorean cook's kitchen - turmeric leaves and bimblis (botanical name: Averrhoa Bilimbi). This year however, I did bring back a few star gooseberries (Phyllanthus Acidus) which I planned to preserve in sugar syrup. My mother in law gave me some instructions on how to make this preserve and since I had prepared several varieties of jams before this one was super easy to make.
