Sunday, June 22, 2008

Photos: Kerala fruits

Sapota (Chikku)

Cashew

Mangostein

Papaya

Mango

Guava

Pineapple

Photos by me from Olavipe. (Copyright reserved)
Click on images for enlarged view.

Also see:

Kerala photos: Village paths


Kerala Flowers?

14 comments:

Maddy said...

that i have never heard of - mangostein...

Anonymous said...

Mangostein, was made famous in Kerala by the 'Sultan of Beypore' Vaikom Mohammad Basheer. Infact it was beneath the famous Mangostein tree in his compound in beypore, did Basheer spend most of his happiest times , in the last three decades of his life.

Lakshmi Bharadwaj said...

Really? That's interesting. EVen I've never heard abt that book.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Lakshmi,
Basheer was known as the 'Sultan Of Beypore'.
For the average Keralite or anyone who is familiar of Vaikom Muhammad Basheer, any reference to 'Mangostein' will bring the context of Basheer in to his mind as Basheer spent many a days under his favourite 'Mangostein' tree in his Beypore house compound.
And that tree could be the most famous/publicized among Mangosteins due to the attention it gathered for being Basheer's favourite .

jK said...

Quite a surprise to read about mangostein..it's one of my favorite fruits. In Singapore we get it from Malaysia...and if I am not mistaken grows also in India, the Philippines and Thailand in this region...

Good post Papachayan...brought back a lot of memories..

Kurian

Sunita Mohan said...

Well, if he spent his time under a mangosteen tree, I'm not surprised they were the happiest years of his life !
I think another quintessentially Kerala fruit is the 'anjili chakka'(Jungle Jack). Do you have it at Olavipe? I always preferred it to the regular 'chakka' because of its slightly tart, yet sweet flavour. Delicious !
And that's the NRK (Non - Resident Keralite) in me speaking : )

RAJI MUTHUKRISHNAN said...

We had a mongostein tree in my grandfather's front yard in Trivandrum. I got so nostalgic looking at the picture here. My cousins and I used to rush out in the mornings to pick the small lemon-sized fruits off the ground.
The mangostein has a strange flavour of sweetness and sourness, and the segments look like those of a very much smaller sapota, while the colour of the skin varies from orange to red.

Unknown said...

Maddy, I'm sure that you would have seen it somewhere.

Unknown said...

Kariyachan, thanks for reminding of the Basheer link. Talking of Basheer, the first thought that comes to my mind is of 'Balyakalasakhi'.

Unknown said...

jk. Thanks Kurian. Glad you liked the post. Kerala is exporting mangostien, I think mainly to the Gulf.

Unknown said...

Yes Sunita, we have a lot of Anjili chakka at Olavipe. You have given me an idea for a blog post on it. Thanks. Next time I go to Olavipe, shall take some photos of and write.

Unknown said...

Thanks Raji. Mangostein reminds me more of cocum (kudampuli). One difference is that the flesh covering the seeds of cocum is too sour to eat.

Maddy said...

i am mystified and wondering if amnesia is the case in my case - i have read 'ende uppakku oru ana undaiyirunnu'- truly enjoyed it... how on the earth did i ever miss this- i cannot place the name mangostein for the life of me..i will be in india in august and i have to search out one of these trees