Memories that will remain with me until I visit again.
I have had 6 weeks of bliss at home in India, indulging on the food I love, day in and day out and all the times in between. The summer fruits I had not seen and touched for more than 15 years were abundantly available – fresh, colorful and juicy, often times from the yards of friends or family. I ate them with joy, my mind flooding with nostalgia. Most of the fruits were new for the gals. It was an experience reliving and also creating memories.
Here’s to mention a few….
Jamun/Jamoon/Jaam/Jambul/Java Plums –
plump and purple taking me back to my childhood when we snacked on them all summer and also stained our dresses. Another way to relish these are to sprinkle some salt and also some sugar if you want, cover the container holding the fruit and give it a good shake. If the Jamoons are plump and ripe, they break and the burst, releasing some of the juice which combines and coats the fruits.
Falsa/Phalsa(Grewia asiatica) – a tiny blueberry like fruit.
Taal Shaash (Young Palm Fruit) – delicate and filled with delicious water.
The best way to eat them is to peel a corner and bite a tiny hole to suck out the light sweet water from inside. Peel after. The skin tends to stick to the flesh, so it is a tiny bit time consuming to peel. The flesh is tender and mildly sweet.
Green Coconut/Daab: This is one of the many things which I really miss being away from home. The only time I had green coconut in the States in all these years was in Key West, Florida at the cost of $6 dollars each. But we could not resist the temptation of the ice cold coconut water. Here at home, coconuts are in plenty.
2 Photographs above: Courtesy Damini Rathore
After you drink the water, the inside is usually lined with a thin membrane which develops into the white flesh of the ripe coconut. This thin soft membrane is delectable. If you are having this at the street side, the street seller will split the coconut in half and cut out a small piece from the green outside of the fruit to scoop out the flesh with. Spoon on the street side is not required!
Lychees – Oh! so wonderful.
Bunch by bunch they disappeared as we peeled the rough exterior and bit into the luscious soft white.
Lychee is something I truly heart. Unfortunately it is a rarity in the fresh form in the States. All the canned Lychees or the nectars do not satisfy the craving of the fresh red ones.
Jack Fruit/Kathal: I have to admit here that I hate the ripe Jack fruits. I do like the raw ones which are usually cooked into a curry and often considered as an alternative to meat for the vegetarians. But it was lovely to see them grow in and around the hometown, big, bumpy and looking as if they are unable to carry the weight, ready to fall soon.
Green Mangoes: Need I say more? The best way to enjoy them is to have them peeled, and sprinkled with salt and red chili powder.
Lime
and
Guavas – which were much too young and not ready to be pounced on yet.
and of course Mangoes- The king of Fruits!
Now who could resist that abundance?
We had mangoes for breakfast, snack and dessert; as many as 10 a day among the gals and me. The gals learned to eat a whole mango – the way they are enjoyed most as the sweet sticky juice dribbled down the elbows and the stone licked clean until only the white fibers show.
Life is Sweet!
Pure indulgence!
Sending this post to WHB#295, hosted by dear Simona this time!
aaah I can cry!! That picture of your daughter is exactly the way we eat mangoes from my grandmothers garden and I miss those tiny juicy ones soooo much! Wonderful, wonderful post. Miss my long summers in India!
Jamoons, oh my gosh how much I miss them here. I was just thinking about it last week
I’m intrigued by this fruit. I wish I could try it. Thanks for sharing.
wow, those pics are killing me, especially jamun, as I get pretty much everything in US except for those 🙁
Beautiful photographs to remind you of beautiful memories to last a lifetime.
Such a lovely piece or childhood memories rediscovered. The fruit looks delectable. I adore fresh lychees and am sitting here with a big bowl of fresh ones (a rarity) as I write this.
Aww this is such a wonderful recap of summer and summer memories and new sensations for the girls!! Love!!
Sweet! Lovely pictures, they leave a giant craving, esp from that fabulous bunch of lychees!
What gorgeous fruits! Most of them, I have not eaten…
Cheers,
Rosa
Oh Soma. All those fruits grow at my Nani’s farm that she still maintains herself. So many memories. Thanks for refreshing them.
I love summer and more for all these natural goodies on Earth! Lovely clicks and wonderful memories.
Lovely pictures. Luckily for me all these fruits are available in Tanzania. So even if I am drooling now, all I have to do is go to the refrigerator 🙂
What amazing fruits, some I know others I wish I could!
I love taal shaash…and lychees…and daab… oh I am missing calcutta 🙁
Lovely fruit, some of which I can get here in NY area pretty easily. Every summer in Chinatown, there are sidewalk merchants who sell gored green coconuts with straws. Thanks for sharing more of your trip!
You made me so nostalgic for all those fruits with all those images. Wishing for taal shaash and jamrul now.
Soma, wonderful. Your DDs are enjoying mangoes like they should be. No Indian experience is complete without that. I miss not having visited home this summer.
DD2 hates ripe jackfruit and its smell and she forbids us from eating them too 🙁
I had to go back and didn’t want to rush leaving you a comment last night. The java plums, I was just thinking the other night. I remember enjoying it with salt =). I do the same with my grapes.
Oh, green mangoes and lychees, my two favorite fruits! HEAVEN!
Oooooooooh jamuns and all, now you are making me jealous 🙂
What a great post. Just lovely!!! I am so jealous right now.
What a great post. Just lovely!!! I am so jealous right now. Drool!!!
thanks for taking me on a beautiful and delicious journey home, my one look at those palm fruit and I want to catch the next flight home
Oh, Soma you make me crave for mangoes, lychees and sweet coconut water now… I also do miss those fruits a lot.
This post reminds me of childhood days
Wow!! its been ages since i’ve had lychees and jamuns. This post has made me feel very nostalgic. And the “carambola” or taal shaash as you name them…missing the lazy summer days.
Suma, not sure where you live in Texas. If Plano, then Asia Market on Legacy stocks fresh lychees. They are absolutely divine. Fiesta stocks them as well 🙂 Love your blog and pics
Thank you so much for letting me know. i am quite near by to these stores! I have seen Lychees in Fiesta, but in such dried and sorry state that I did not have the heart to buy them. I think the Asian Market is a better place to look, Its been a while since I have visited that shop. Thank you again!
Incredible reminds me of the childhood days eating those fruits together. Mango juice running down our handsas we gulped the whole mango after VBS with orange squash. The tangy Jam(un) salty and sweet- and purple tounges with stains on our gengji- do u remember all those memories of childhood days.
U brought me back nostalgic childhood memories my dear sis.
Your kid’s T shirt says it aptly!!!
sweet n lovely pic…
nice presentation..!
you are welcome in my space too..:)
Tasty Appetite
Wow, now I am so looking forward my trip to India. I love jamun fruits, I eat them with rocksalt and my aunt has a tree in her backyard and I remember picking the ones that fell on the ground.
That’s funny, I am here in India and I am missing Summer!! I guess it is the pictures, Soma.:) Beautiful, especially the lychees!!
Oh. My. How exciting. I got a lot of similar fruits from Vietnam, too!!
PS: thanks for sharing this with us. Your photos are beautiful.
Love this post! I am in India right now enjoying palm fruit – my favorite, raw mangoes and jamuns! your pictures are beautiful.
So many gorgeous fruits! I love the fruit in Asia as it does have so much more flavor from all that sunshine. Here we have mangoes but usually not the best and I don’t even know half of the fruits you mentioned above. Looks all gorgeous!
Pictures of Jamuns and Falsas brought back memories. The other one I remember growing up was Kolchapni (don’t know the english name). I think it grows on the lotus plant.