The seeds of the fruit is used in various alternative healing systems. The Indian and Chinese and the people in South Asia, Southeast Asia are familiar with this fruit. I used to climb and pluck the fruits near father's workshop in Segamat, Johor (my hometown) It's sour, mildly sweet and astringent in taste. Grandparents loved naava palam (tamil word).
It tend to color the tongue purple when we eat it. The usual way to eat is to wash it clean and add few pinches of salt, to neutralize the sour taste. Whenever granddad took a walk along the road that leads to JKR workshop ( Public Works Department), he would ask me to climb and pluck the ripe fruits and being an expert tree climber back then, I would oblige with great sense of satisfaction. The fruit could not be thrown on the land because the soils would stick on the external soft skin, making it difficult to eat.
So, the best way are to put them into a plastic bag or throw them to granddad to catch. The whole family do like to eat this fruit. Granddad mentioned that it is good for diabetic patients, stomach cleanser, relief asthma attacks, effective against heart diseases, high in vitamins and minerals.
It's rare to find this tree nowadays. There is one tree near Kampung Chitti in Melaka (behind Mariaman temple). I am not sure if it is still there as construction has been going on near the location of the tree.
I chanced to buy a few fruits in Little India last week and to my astonishment, it cost S$0.50 for just one fruit!! or S$5.00 for 250 mg. Most likely they're imported from India. After a few years of missing this fruit, finally I had the chance to savor the taste of Naava palam. Simply good!!
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