A perfect fruit to beat the Summer heat in India.

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I was browsing through my photos that we had taken during our visit to India last year. That’s when I came across this pic that I had taken .

Well, this is Nungu in Tamil . In English it is called Ice Apple.

If you haven’t heard of this fruit check the link below.

Click here to check out the benefits of Nungu
It is said that there are over 2600 species of Palm trees .The Palm fruit containing the ice apple is a fruit from one of the species of Palm tree.

The palm fruit is about 4 to 7 inches in diameter and it has an outer husk which is black. The fruit is to be cut open horizontally from top .Once you slice it open you can see three seed sockets which contain the ice apple or Nungu.

These are translucent jelly like fruits containing watery liquid inside which gives the cooling effect.

South Indians might be familiar with this palm fruit(Nungu). In Tamil it is called Nungu.In Telgu it is called Thaati Munjalu and Thaati Nungu in Kanada.

Everytime you travel in South India along the village areas you’ll find a myriad small stall huts selling Nungu and Coconuts for travellers passing by. You can hardly find these in the cities.

Villages and interior areas of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradhesh and Karnataka are quintessential places for Nungu Cultivation. These Palm fruit trees grow in dry and hot desert areas.

During Summer to beat the extreme hot weather people thrive on Nungu. It is called Ice Apple because of it’s cooling effects. ‘Having a glass of Nungu especially when you are parched due to the summer heats is something one is truly grateful for’. This is truly a blessing from God.

My dad loves Nungu I remember he used to tell me stories about how he and his friends used to stop by these Nungu stalls and enjoyed having different flavours of the drink. They add a slight sweet sharbath along with the Nungu. I have always wanted to try these out after listening to all the stories told by my dad and when I finally did, I loved it. I tried Nungu with and without the sweet Sharbath in it. Though my personal favourite is the Natural Nungu without any flavours in it.

From that day on every time I go back to India this has been on my lists of ‘Must -Do’ things when in India. I enjoy having Nungu especially with my dad, mom, sis and hubby .

Stopping by near the stalls selling Nungu every time we plan a road trip and spending a quality time together with family had become more like our favourite family trip by now.

To everyone reading this , don’t miss out on this amazing fruit do try it out when you go to India. Every fruit has it’s own unique taste and benefits and this Palm fruit ( Nungu) has it too.

By :Aswathi Ashok.