From blackberries to tadgolas: Why now is the best time to enjoy these summer specials

Sunday mid-day took a walk through the markets and beaches of the city, jhola in arm, to pick summer’s specials

Not my jam:  Rose apple or red and white jamun, this water-loaded fruit is meant to taste sweet and sour, with mild hints of rose petal. The ones we had were crispy but bland—just not our day maybe.

Fruit of the wild: Black Berries, karwanda or better still, they are called dongrachi kali mayna (black myna of the hills). These small, fruity blackberries are abundant in the Sahyadris in this season. The tribal women bring them from Kasara to us city folks and sell them in leaf pouches, with a stem handle. Beautifully built, and better than any clutch in the market. 

The power of red: These small red berries, borra or ber, pack a punch of sweet-tarty flavours. Available mostly on carts, ask the seller to add salt to bring out their tartness.

Cashing in on cashews: Gravy and dry preparations of wet cashews are a delicacy in the Konkan. The raw, unpeeled ones require refrigeration and we found this lady selling some on a slab of ice near Sena Bhavan.

Purple treasure: Is it even summer if you haven’t stained your lips purple with this tarty, sweet yet sour fruit? Laden with tons of health benefits, jamun is always on the right side.

Ice apples or tadgola, these fruits of the palmyra tree, are a burst of joy for summers. It resembles lychee in texture and tender coconut in taste.

Bulbs of joy: The Konkan coast is blessed with jackfruit this season. These ones though, came from Chennai.

Forest skills: Most women who come to the city in trains from Palghar, Khopoli and Kasara to sell fruits of the forest are from the Katkari tribe living in the Western Ghats. Their massive knowledge of forest resources is a skill worth documenting.

And it was all yellow: It’s called obtuse leaved mimusops in English, but we’ll go with the Hindi khirni or rayan. Slightly sweet and acidic, they leave a sticky after-feel in the mouth, but you can use them to make jams, jellies and desserts.

Flavour burst: In the bylanes of the city, streetcarts mounted with litchees are a beautiful sight to behold. They are grown in large orchards in Bihar, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Uttarakhand.

Fruity, nutty and delicately sweet, freshwater chestnuts are vegetables that grow in the marshes. Pick the firm ones with no spots and add them to stir-fries.

Carambolas or star fruit is fleshy and juicy. Some of the best ones you’ll find are on carts where the seller sprinkles salt and chilli powder on slices.

Did you know: As a young boy, Gautam Buddha was first found in a meditative state under a rose apple tree?

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