A tad(gola) more of goodness
Ice apples, palmyra fruit, tadgola or as we chefs often tend to refer to it as “nature’s finest molecular gastronomy showpiece,” is a fruit that is shaped like a heart, looks like the well-fed kin of litchis and within that jelly-like fleshy exterior is a core filled with a splash of deliciousness: enough to quench your thirst and go for the next. In its reveal too, this spring fruit that comes for a puny fifteen days in a year and boasts of a ‘you blink and miss it’ kind of fandom at least in West Bengal where I come from, tadgola garners quite the spotlight.
To begin with, the fruit comes encased within a hard glossy palmyra pod with varied hues of a brinjal. It is this tough nut that is pried open using a viciously sharp crescent knife to discover a white crown that has a set of three or four whitish-brown globes snuggled in.
Prying these little translucent globes without breaking through the supple skin is where a palm expert’s skill is put to test. In fact, most palm growers admit that it takes practice and understanding of the fruit to get the technique right, which means with a slight of the edge of the knife the translucent globes just topple out like little pearls off the shell. Once freed, arrives the golden moment when you put it in your mouth and bite, and if it has been the right pick, the jelly-like fruit gives way to this cool, sweetish liquid that flushes through the mouth like a giant wave.
The history
In fact, old trade route journals have it that the tadgola was so popular that often traders would pre-book palm trees so that they had enough supply of the ice apple as they waited for the tide to change direction, and it was time to sail again. History also speaks about a cooling drink made with ice apple dunked into coconut water or mildly sweetened coconut milk that was quite popular in and around port areas around the time.
The indulgence
Like every other “nature’s finest instant food,” ice apple too has had its array of interesting interpretations like the Tamil Nungu Payasam and Nungu Sherbet, the Awadhi Gulab kheer and the Bengali tadgola bora, each presenting a different way to enjoy a fruit that is a beloved treat. Its ability to bring in two different elements to a dish with nearly no need for tweaking anything in fact made the tadgola one of the most popular ingredients among chefs, especially during the season. One could add chunks of these globus goodness to any sweet dish and it could add just the right amount of sweetness and slush to make it memorable. Add it to salad and it is just the palate cleanser one needs with an extra hint of sweetness. Panko-crumb-fried and served along with an ice cream, it can elevate the palate appeal two notches higher. In fact, even chopped in half, it makes a delicious pairing with any floral drink, especially hibiscus, and is a match made in heaven when served as part of the Mughlai Rose Sherbet or the old traders’ Coconut Punch — which usually has ice apple as garnish. One of my favourite ways of having the tadgola is as these lightly crumb-fried add-ons in any goat cheese base salad. It is the only way I would eat that salad where the ice apple is crumb fried to lend it that crunch.
(A President's award winner, the author is a culinary anthropologist and slow food advocate.)