Going to popular holiday destinations, for example, to India, novice travelers are interested in: what kind of fruits grow there? Which ones can I eat and how to do it right? After all, unfamiliar food can unexpectedly harm digestion. Indian fruits are represented by a rather wide range of names. Traditionally, in the country of yogis and fans of a vegetarian attitude to the world, they are used a lot and with great pleasure. And one of these gifts of the jungle is even a national symbol. We will talk about this and many other interesting things in our article.
Fruits of india
This country in its area is quite vast and has a huge population. It is located immediately in several climatic zones, which allows you to cultivate a large number of plant names. The most famous are mango, passion fruit and papaya, guava and chiku, carambola. In general, a real exotic. There are peaches and apricots, kiwi, banana, pomegranates and pineapples, apples and grapes more familiar to us. Such fruit abundance is due to the fact that the Himalayas ridge gives many regions of the country excellent protection against cold winds from the north, which are unfavorable for the growth of air currents. But, in general, in India, you can meet and taste the fruits of tourists, characteristic of both tropical, subtropical and subequatorial climate, and moderate.
Mango
Mango is one of the symbols and national fruit of India. Indians themselves say that the country grows as many varieties of this fruit as there are dialects (according to unverified data from 800 to 1000). The word itself comes from the Tamil "mang kai", which translates as "unripe fruit." The national fruit of India boasts such species as chauza, dusheri, totapuri, caesar, nilam. Fruits stand out, huge, with a watermelon size - binganpally, the king of the varieties - alfonso. And all this is mango! In this country, almost every region can boast of its own variety. And for the traveler there is a good opportunity for trial and choice, among the taste variety. They eat fruit in its natural and processed form, sprinkled with salt seasoning, peppers. They make juice (by the way, in the USSR this fruit was known for its delicious mango nectar brought from a friendly fraternal state), adjika, sweets, and added to many culinary dishes. So do not be surprised if you are offered two different-looking fruits in different parts of India, but they are called in one word - mango!
Passion fruit
About how passion fruit looks, until recently, many Russians had no idea. And yet, in India, this evergreen vine growing in the tropics, more precisely, its fruits, is very popular. Although South America is considered to be the birthplace of the liana, it is cultivated with great success in India (and around the world: from Israel to Hawaii). But, by the way, the name of the fruit itself comes from the Indian word. What does passion fruit look like? These are rounded fruits of yellowish-green speckled color. They have a sweet and sour taste that perfectly invigorates and tones in the heat (very popular and tasty - mix pieces with yogurt or orange juice). Passion fruit is widely used in medicine to create drugs. Its pulp has many beneficial substances. Among them, iron, which is necessary for blood formation and enhancing immune defense, amino acids and vitamins. The fruit is also used for cosmetic purposes (creams and masks).
The Cow of the Poor
The fruits of India are represented by avocados. It is here that this fruit is called such a strange name - "poor cow". The fruit of a plant of the laurel family is very useful and high-calorie, and the plant itself has an ancient history (perhaps even dinosaurs that inhabited the Earth millions of years ago have enjoyed it). The flesh of fresh avocado is tender, soft, reminds oil in structure, has a yellow-green hue. The fruit contains many benefits, and it tastes quite pleasant. It got its name “poor cow” in India, due to its calorie content (100 grams / 240 kcal), and there are more amino acids in it than in citrus fruits and bananas. Not for nothing that in 1995 he was listed in the book of records as the most nutritious of all the fruits that exist today.
What does papaya look like?
These fruits are cultivated on all continents where there is a suitable climate. But India is one of the first places in papaya cultivation: more than four thousand tons annually. The plant was called "melon tree." What does papaya look like? Distantly, the fruits resemble a melon (hence the name came from). The product itself has a low calorie content (39 kcal / 100 grams), which is interesting for nutritionists from different countries. But you should always remember that papaya should be consumed only fully matured. An unripe fetus is dangerous to human health and can cause allergic reactions that are quite serious (it is not in vain that in traditional medicine an unripe fetus is used as a powerful contraceptive and a drug for terminating a pregnancy). So be extremely careful when buying and using it.
Carambola
This is also a very interesting food exotic. The fruit has a specific taste (as the classic of humor used to say), reminiscent of a mixture of apple, cucumber and gooseberry. And in appearance it resembles a star. Local crops are harvested twice a year: 1 - in January, 2 - May. How to eat carambola? This information can be very useful for a novice traveler.
- Directly peeled without peeling. It is necessary to choose the most yellow fruit by the appearance of the peel, then the pulp inside will be ripe, juicy, sweet.
- How to eat carambola? It can also be cleaned by slicing it, added to vegetable and fruit salads to give them an original taste.
- This dish is also decorated with meat dishes, and the top of the culinary art is considered a cake stuffed with carambola.
Guava
Indian fruits are also represented by this very exotic fruit. Distantly, it resembles a lemon. This is a universally recognized record holder for vitamin indicators (there are much more in it than, for example, in citrus fruits) - guava. Its taste is sour-sweet. The use in culinary art is the same as that of citrus fruits: juice, seasonings for dishes and salads to give them sourness, sweets, sorbet. To choose the right guava, for example, on the market in GOA or India, you need to probe a few of these fruits. Take the softest guava. It is also necessary to examine the fetus for cuts and bruises. By the external color, the guava should be bright green, turning into yellow (do not take dark green or brown fruits). You can eat guava just like that: just wash and cut into slices (like apples).
Dates
The most high-calorie fruits of India are dates (tamarinds). More than 100 culinary dishes are prepared from them. These are the most amazing in their properties fruits that have been called upon to strengthen human health and immunity for more than a thousand years. At present, the composition of this product of nature, rich in vitamins, trace elements, amino acids, and useful carbohydrates, has been scrupulously studied. Scientists say that the date includes a good half of the periodic table. They argue that if you eat only dates and water, you can stretch for more than one year in full health and good mood. But be that as it may, all the splendor of varieties grown in India is enjoyed by the locals and tourists alike. They also say that these valuable fruits significantly reduce the risk of strokes and heart diseases, therefore, many Indians who regularly eat dates, never suffer from heart disease.
India's sweetest fruit
It is sapodilla or chiku. To the taste of the European, he can recall a certain mixture of honey, molasses, persimmon, figs - sugary and viscous. But, although the pulp is full of sweet, the fruit, nevertheless, is not too high-calorie, and therefore - valuable for nutrition (83 kcal / 100 g). Initially, sapodilla grew in South America, but from there it moved to India, where the conditions are very suitable for its cultivation.
Bananas
As in all tropical countries, in India, bananas are at every turn. They grow literally everywhere, but many varieties are much different in appearance from those that we used to eat in Russia. They are larger in size and original in their taste, and they are sold in the markets not by weight, but either by the piece or in huge clusters of 10-15-20 pieces, so that you can completely feed on the whole company.
Kiwi
This "Chinese gooseberry" can be found in India in wide distribution. These are small oval-shaped berries that resemble gooseberries with their fleecy brownish surface, only very large. And the kiwi from afar on the counter resembles ordinary potatoes, in appearance, of course. Under the peel of the fruit is a juicy pulp that varies in color, depending on the variety: from green to yellow. The pulp contains black little blotches - seeds that are also edible and have a sour taste. The product itself is sweet and sour; it resembles in taste the mixture of gooseberries, pineapple and apple. You need to choose smooth, without dents and scratches fruits, the softer, the ripe inside. If you take hard ones, then they may well be able to reach home, you only have to wait a bit. They use this exotic fruit (though, what an exotic one: it is full and full on the shelves of Russian supermarkets) in several ways. You can eat just like that, peeling and cutting into slices. You can eat out with a spoon, without cutting, and making only a small hole on top, like a lid. Kiwi is also good in fruit salads and desserts in combination with ice cream and cream - you’ll just lick your fingers! But, in general, this fruit has completely “taken root” on the shelves of markets and shops, so you probably already managed to try it, having made your culinary trip to exotic countries.