Kerala cuisine: Kudampuli for good taste, better health

Is kokum (cocum) and kudampuli the same?

Many people seem to think so. But they are different though belonging to the same family. The former is used in Marathi and Konkani cuisine. The scientific name for kokum is Gracinia indica. Some of the other names are amsul, katambi, panarpuli and mangosteen. Photo on the left shows two kokum fruits

Kudampuli (kudam = pot + puli = sourness) is an essential ingredient in many Kerala fish and seafood recipes, and is also used in some vegetable preparations. It is Garcinia cambogia but commonly referred to as Fish Tamarind, Malabar Tamarind or Kerala Tamarind. Other names include Gambooge, Brindal Berry, and Gorikapuli.

The kudampuli tree can grow to a height of 50 feet but starts yielding when they are much smaller. The green fruits turn golden yellow as they ripen. They look almost like a tiny pumpkin. The fully ripe ones fall down, usually at night, and are picked up in the morning. Or one can shake the branches to get them. I have not seen anyone climbing a kudampuli tree to pluck the fruits.

The collected fruits are washed and opened. The seeds inside are coated with creamy flesh. They are edible but too sour for normal palate. It looks almost like the inside of mangostein fruit. I am not sure whether butter, like in the case of kokum, can be made with it.

The thick rind is sun dried and also smoked. When the process is completed, the end product looks almost black. (If the essence is extracted, the remainder would appear brown or less intense in color.) It is then rubbed with a little salt and oil and stored in jars. The shelf life is long. A number of sites on the Internet provide recipes using kudampuli.

The kudampuli pieces in a dish are not eaten. Their function is to blend the flavors and to act as a preservative. A curry known as ‘meen pattichathu’ made with kodampuli would last for a few days without refrigeration. In fact the full bloom of taste is reached only by the third day. Kudampuli imparts its medicinal values to the food while cooking and in storage.

What are the medicinal properties of kudampuli? An effective ingredient in kudampuli is hydroxycitric acid (HCA). In Ayurveda kudampuli is used for treating stomach ulcers, arthritis, some uterine problems, to promote digestion and as carminative and antiseptic.

There are claims that kudampuli may reduce cholesterol levels. It is also widely accepted as a weight reducing agent; several anti-obesity formulations containing dried and ground kudampuli rind are available in the market. New research indicates that kudampuli may be useful in diabetes management as well.

(See: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/05/050523092407.htm)

Kudampuli is yet another of nature’s gifts to man.

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

Ends.

Also see:

Kerala food: Peechappam, a forgotten item?

Photos: Kerala fruits

Mango Memories

Yesterday when I saw a mango vendor on a Chennai street my mind went back to childhood days in Olavipe and I decided to do this post.

Before starting to write today, out of curiosity I looked up the Web about mangoes and of course came across Madhur Jaffrey’s ‘Climbing The Mango Trees – A Memoir Of A Childhood In India’. Then there was ‘Once Upon A Mango’, a nice article by Lavina Melwani in today’s Little India, which begins, “It was a love affair long before we knew what love was. They were golden, dripping with a heavenly juice, fleshy and aromatic.” That was on the banks of the Ganges. My love affair with mangoes started in Olavipe, my home in Kerala.

Basically, we had two types of mango trees – ‘nattu mavu’ (native mango tree) and ‘ottu mavu’ (budded or grafted mango tree). Nattu mavu came up spontaneously all over the place. My grandfather planted several verities of ottu mavu including Alfonso, Salem, Malgoba, Gudadad and Neelam. (Remember the saga ‘The House of Blue Mangoes’ by David Davidar? Read it if you haven’t done so yet.) Incidentally, Madhur Jafrey has dedicated her book mentioned above to ‘grandparents’.

Ottu manga was a table fruit, but that rule didn’t bind the children. For them any time was mango time. And there was no patience to wait for the fruit to be cut and served – just rip off the skin and go for the flesh.

“Almost every child growing up in India remembers climbing mango trees…” says Lavina Melvani in her article. Most of our ottu mavus were sprawling type and had low branches. It was on them that all the climbing and monkeying took place.

By contrast, nattu mavu were generally big, tall trees even though their mangoes were small in size. They were classified for different end uses. Fruits from certain trees were used exclusively for curries and chutneys. Some of the dishes made with mango, were delicious. Shrimp and mango curry, gravy fish with mango, and jackfruit nuts and mango curry were some of them. Another variety of nattu manga was for preserves like ‘salt mango’. The sweet, juicy type was mainly for making a sun-dried delicacy called ‘thera’, a kind of mango mat, which would stay till the next mango season provided they were kept well-hidden from the children.

The ottu mavus of grandfather are all gone. What we have today are the ones planted by the subsequent generations. Of these, the pride of place goes to a Prior mango tree planted by Appan (father). Today I found a Blog, ‘Underneath the Mango trees’ that rates Prior mango ‘the best of the best’!

Possibly, there is a connection between Prior and my family, Parayil. This view by some historians is based on a letter dated October 18, 1870 written to the sisters of a convent by Blessed Elias Chavara when he was the prior of a monastery. It reads (translated by me from Malayalam) “This mango was sent to me by Parayi. Out of the two types, the red ones are the best in India… Having known its taste, I am sending it for germination.” Perhaps, later, one of these two types of mangoes came to be called ‘Prior’.

It would appear that these wonderful fruits have only plus points. New research reportedly indicates that mangoes may be good for diabetes and cholesterol control and in resisting cancer.

Ends.

Also see:

Mango trees: 'ottu mavu' and 'nattu mavu'