Wednesday, July 6, 2016

A Most Nutritious Fruit, Nungu/Palm Fruit/Ice Apple/Thaale Hannu/Borassus Flabellifer, The Summer Fruit!

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Nungu fruit. 5 fruits Rs.20, this year!

Nungu seller....we buy from this man.
Now, is the season for this fruit, Nungu, in Tamil.  All of us in the family love this fruit.  It is available from around June to August, I was told by this vendor.  We buy it from him on our way back from our morning walk.  You can see one bag of nungu at his back.  He brings three bags and all are sold within a day! He comes in a particular area on alternate days.  It used to be one fruit a rupee until a few years back.  Now, since the trees are felled everywhere for construction of flats, he brings them from 20 Kms. away from the city.  The cost should be covered.

The fruit is a bit transparent.  We can eat it with its cream coloured skin, which is also very nutritious and full of fibre. If you don't like it, you can peel the skin off and eat.  It has got a couple of spoons of sweet water inside, which is very tasty.  So, you have to buy soft ones.  If it is hard, it won't be tasty.  It is better to eat it immediately, at least within half an hour.  It becomes hard and tasteless if kept in the fridge too.   

Palm trees which are seen in the outskirts of the cities in India, though this picture is from Mumbai.  (wiki picture)

Palm fruit (wiki picture)
I remember drinking padaneer (extracted from Palm paalai/sap).  Palm jaggery is a coolant. I make sukku kaapi (dry ginger powder boiled in water with palm jaggery and a little milk).  The trunk is like iron rods, very strong, which are used in construction of huts.   

This link gives these details about Nungu:

Nutritional Value of Nungu
According to the book, “The Encyclopedia of Fruit and Nut,” nungu contains the following per 100g of edible flesh:
43kcal
87.6g Water
.8g Protein
.1g Fat
10.9g Carbs
1g Fiber
27mg Calcium
30mg Phosphorous
1mg Iron
.04mg Thiamin
.02mg Riboflavin
.3mg Niacin

5mg Vitamin C
Health Benefits of Nungu:
Nungus provide hydration and, according to a Deccan Herald article, a good balance of minerals and sugar for the body. As indicated by the nutrition profile, the fruit is rich in B vitamins, iron, and even calcium. Traditionally, the fruit is used to treat digestive issues and stomach ailments.
Jaggery, the sugar made from palmyra, has Ayurvedic benefits as well. The book, The Ayurveda Encyclopedia” lists jaggery as a rejuvenative and a tonic. Furthermore, the natural sugar may help digestion and proper elimination.

All parts of this tree is useful for us.  Wiki gives all the details!

I just wonder even the remaining trees might abscond in another another few years for building complexes.  So, I never cross the vendor without buying nungu nowadays. 

Have a look at this video.  You can peel and eat if you have got patience otherwise eat with the skin, it has got fibre!



12 comments :

SG said...

I love nungu

Sandhya said...

SG: Everybody loves nungu! Thank you, SG!

Destination Infinity said...

I used to peel off the skin and eat. Now I will try eating with the skin for the nutrition. Thanks for letting us know :) In my house, they also put small pieces in milk, keep it for sometime in the fridge, and then eat.

Destination Infinity

Shail said...

It is a favorite of mine. But we don't eat the skin as I was told it causes stomach ache.

Sandhya said...

DESTINATION INFINITY: Nungu with milk must be interesting! I like the fruit in any form!


SHAIL MOHAN: Thin skin is fine to eat. But taste differs! It has got slight tangy taste. My husband always eats with the skin, I was telling him that he was lazy to peel the skin:)

Rahul Bhatia said...

Very informative, Sandhya!

Jeevan said...

They used to say eating the hard ones (called kadukai) will bring stomach ache... I like Nungu but I eat only the fruit inside not the skin. In my childhood days when we go to grandfather’s village they offer lot of Nungu, but those days I don’t like the fruit instead make panaka vandi and enjoy pushing the cart.

Sandhya said...

RAHUL BATIA: Thank you, Rahul!


JEEVAN: Hahahaaaa...now, you must be loving it! It is going out of our city!

Rachna said...

I love this fruit though it is often hard to find good-quality reasonably priced fruit in Bangalore.

Avada Kedavra said...

One of my favorite fruits. That reminds me it's been ages since I had this fruit :(

Manogna said...

We call it 'munji kaya' and summer is not same without it.
:)

Sandhya said...

RACHNA: We used to have it regularly when we lived there many years back. It is very good for health. Have it if you can get it, Rachna!


AVADA KEDAVRA: Oh, I can understand. It comes for sales on the roadside for a few months, that is all! So, I make it a point to buy them whenever possible.


MANOGNA: Yes, Manogna! Thank you for the comment!

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