Health
Benefits Of Ice Apple or (Nungu)
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ICE APPLE (NUNGU) |
Ice apple, also known as palm fruit or Nungu in
Tamil is a delicious jelly like fruit that beats all the others for its cooling
effect on a hot summer day. This seasonal nungu is the tender fruit of the
palmyra tree. This tree is
found in plenty in the villages of South India lining the paddy
fields. It is the official tree of the Tamil Nadu State.
Summer
season Health Uses:
During summer you can find clusters of palmyra
fruit in the tree hanging down below the palm leaves. They have a thick
violet black husk. The top
greenish covering is cut to reveal the three sockets in which the fruit is
located. The jelly has a
tender brownish-yellow skin. Watery
fluid is found inside the jelly which has excellent cooling properties.
Seasonal problems like prickly heat affect
children and grownups alike in summer. Ice apple is an excellent remedy
for prickly heat. This has
been my personal experience. In
my childhood days I was prone to prickly heat of the summer.
Come the
month of April and my chest and back would be covered with prickly heat. My mom used to coat me with a thin
layer of ice apple jelly. The
soothing effect of the ice apple provided an immediate relief to that nasty
itch.
Health Benefits:
Benefit out of ice apple it should be consumed
along with its tender pink, brownish skin. Though
taking the fruit with the skin may taste a bit sour it can heal stomach
ulcers. So take a few
fruits along with the skin for your benefit.
The jelly part is cut to pieces and
added to milk and honey. This
preparation cools the body and helps tackle the hot summer. People suffering from chicken pox can
take ice apple regularly to bring down the intensity of the disease condition
as well as aid rapid healing.
Eaten fresh Best:
Nongu is best eaten fresh but it can also be
soaked in coconut water and chilled for some time to enhance its natural
coolness. Sprinkling cardamom powder (elaichi) and some sugar is one way of
eating it; another way is to make nongu payasam – cooking the pieces in milk
and sugar till it is soft and creamy.
If plucked when
tender, the thick fibrous outer covering has three translucent white kernels
inside, covered with a thin creamish membrane. This when peeled off, reveals
the soft jelly like flesh underneath which holds a small quantity of sweet
water inside.
The flesh itself is almost bland and somewhat
similar to the litchi in texture without the sweetness and
is refreshing to eat. It is best eaten tender and fresh as soon as it is cut
since it tends to become rubbery when stored and the sugar inside ferments
changing its taste. The season is very short and the fruits usually appear in
early summer.
The fruit is packed with minerals especially phosphorus and calcium. It is extremely cooling for the body, contains B complex vitamins like thiamine and riboflavin and almost no fat or carbohydrates. It is often used in traditional therapy to cure stomach and skin disorders.
The fruit is packed with minerals especially phosphorus and calcium. It is extremely cooling for the body, contains B complex vitamins like thiamine and riboflavin and almost no fat or carbohydrates. It is often used in traditional therapy to cure stomach and skin disorders.
