Taste 'hard-to-find' fruits easily

Wild fruits like wild jack, star-fruits (carambola), bilimbis, amlas, kala jamuns and guavas were some of the common fruits which were easily available in Mangaluru and surrounding areas a few years ago. But not any more. These days, most of these wild fruits are hard to find, even if one goes to rural areas or in any market.

However, there is one person in Mangaluru (at Old Service Bus Stand) who is getting these ‘hard-to-find’ wild fruits and making a brisk business almost throughout the year. You could name a wild fruit and perhaps he has it. He has a good stock and regular customers too. Mohammed, a fruit vendor who hails from Bantwal, has been selling such rare produce which is specifically grown in rural parts of the district for the last 16 years.

Quite interestingly, he gets these fruits grown in Puttur, Hebri, Bantwal and other parts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts and sells them in the city. The popular Anjili Chakka Jack fruit, commonly known as ‘Hebbalasu’ in Kannada, is seasonal and belongs to the family of the wild jackfruit and is priced at Rs 100 per kg (for about 3-4 medium sized fruits). It is also quite high in demand and is often considered a delicacy by many. Guavas were priced at Rs 60 and he mentioned that the guava season is almost over. Kala Jamuns, Amlas and Kokum are priced at about Rs 100 per kg.

According to Mohammed, he gets a good number of customers almost everyday and some people come in search of him seeking a particular fruit. He is as good as being the only vendor in Mangaluru to sell so many varieties of wild fruits in one particular spot. Besides eating raw, these fruits are used to make different delicacies of the region, such as curries, jams, sweets, squashes and juices.

All of these fruits are high in medicinal value, he said and added that many do not know this but consume them for taste. They are a boon to humanity having great importance in Ayurveda and can also be used as natural medicines, he noted.