Amla Juice Recipe (Gooseberry Juice Shots)

This Amla Juice is vibrant and refreshing with immune boosting properties. In this post I share how to make Amla Juice and Amla Shots easily at home with fresh berries. Though you can make the juice using amla powder and dried/dehydrated amlas, using fresh berries is the best for nutrition.

About Amla

Amla berries are a unique tree fruit found in various parts of Asia. Also called the Indian gooseberry, Amla berries start as beautiful yellow-green flowers before turning into round, golf-ball sized fruits.

Their sour taste has not stopped people from consuming them in so many different ways.

While the fruit, leaves, and seeds of the amla berry tree are all used in traditional medicine, the amla berries themselves are the more common star of the show.

One of the most delicious ways to eat them? Homemade amla berry juice blends.

Health Benefits

While amla berries have been a part of Ayurvedic medicine for at least 1,000 years, they do carry some scientifically proven health benefits. For example, amla berries are rich in Vitamin C, an important antioxidant and vitamin that humans can’t produce on their own.

Vitamin C is a necessary part of immune function, collagen generation, and neurotransmitter production. Ongoing research is also looking into how Vitamin C might be able to help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease or cancer.

Amla berries also carry lots of Vitamin A, a vitamin important for eye health, and Vitamin E, a compound with antioxidant properties that’s necessary for cellular signaling and immune function.

Iron (which is used to make hemoglobin to help your red blood cells carry oxygen) and calcium (which builds and maintains bones and supports heart, muscle, and nerve function) abound in amla berries.

They are also high in fiber that can help improve digestive health and reduce blood sugar spikes.

Amla berries clearly have lots of health benefits and are worth consuming. But how do you use them?

How to Use Amla

People around the world use amla berries in all different kinds of ways. In India and Thailand, amla berry extract is used to promote hair growth.

Some people use powdered amla berries and add it to smoothies, water, or other drinks, or sprinkle it over fruits and other foods for an extra nutritional and flavorful kick.

Of course, amla berries can also be consumed just like any other fruit! You can dry them as a snack, boil or pickle them in spices to use as a condiment.

Turn them into chutneys, murabba, jams, or jellies for long term storage. Juice them for easy drinking or eat them in a fruit salad or raw with a touch of Himalayan pink salt to bring out some sweetness.

In Indian Cuisine we make Amla pickle, Amla rice, Amla chutney and murabba (preserve).

No matter how you use amla berries, they can be a delicious part of your daily diet.

About the Recipe

Eating raw amla directly is not easier for a lot of people because of various reasons. Some can’t digest the high fiber, while a lot of people feel the berries sharpen the tooth a lot and many others don’t simply like due to the extreme sour taste. So Amla Juice and Shots are the solution!

This recipe is a simple one for amla juice & shots. It includes fresh amla berries, honey for sweetness, black pepper for spice, and a pinch of Himalayan salt (optional) to round out all the flavors. Various ingredients like mint leaves, tulsi leaves (holy basil) and ginger can be used depending on the nature of body & the purpose.

When making amla juice, make sure you use good, ripe berries. Make sure the amla berries are firm and round, with a bright yellowish green hue.

If the berries are misshapen or bright green, they might be underripe and taste too sharp to consume. Avoid amla berries with bruises as they are prone to mold and might be rotting inside.

More Juice recipes on the blog,
Aloe vera juice
Celery Juice
Cucumber Juice
Wheatgrass shots
Wheatgrass juice
Pomegranate juice

How to Make Amla Juice (Stepwise Photos)

I show how to make amla shots and juice both.

Prepare amla

1. One serving of amla is 1 to 3, depending on the health conditions. I use 3 medium sized amlas per serving. Rinse your amlas under running water and add them to a bowl of salted water. Soak for 5 mins and scrub them gently with a vegetable brush to get rid of dirt and deposits, if any. Slice the amla to 3 portions first.

2. Then later cut the center portion to 3. This helps you get rid of the stone/seed easily in the amlas.

3. Chop and add them to a grinder/small blender jar. To make 2 servings, I use 6 amlas and it makes up to 3/4 to 1 cup of chopped pieces. If you want you may add ¼ to ½ inch peeled ginger.

4. Here I’m grinding them to make a amla shot so I don’t add any water here. Grind it as smooth as possible.

5. Strain it to a cup, press down with a spoon to extract most of the juice from the amla. If you want you may grind it again, this time with a few tbsps of water. But I don’t do this and instead use the same pulp to make a herbal tea later.

Make Amla Shots

6. Six amlas yield about half cup of amla juice. Stir in honey if you want. You can also add a little crushed black pepper.

Pour it to your shot glasses and consume immediately. Make sure you stir the honey well as it settles at the bottom.

Make Amla Juice

Here is how to make the juice. You can use any liquid to make the amla juice. Plain water, coconut water or any fruit or fruit juice is just okay to use. I prefer to use tender coconut instead of plain water. You can use what you have in hand.

Add the chopped amla (6 amlas). ginger (¼ to ½ inch peeled) and a little liquid to the grinder. Grind until smooth.

Strain this to your pitcher, pressing down with a spoon and add more liquid. I do not add any sweetener or salt to this. But if you want you may add chaat masala, salt, jaggery or honey to suit your taste.

Consume amla juice immediately. It can be stored for up to 2 days in the refrigerator but it should be noted that there is will oxidization and loss of nutrients.

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Amla Juice Recipe first published in October 2012. Updated and republished in June 2013.