For the letter J, I am partly repeating a post I had earlier for ABC
Wednesday, I do have my kids to thank for this post. I ran out of ideas for this letter while trying to stick to my theme as well – recreating childhood memories (be it places/activities/things/food/drink) with my kids. So I turned to my kids and asked them – ‘what word comes to your mind from the letter J when you think of things Indian or our trips to India that we all enjoy together – be it a place, activity, or food? and their answer unanimously, was the word jamun – and to my surprise, they actually meant it to refer to both the fruit and the dessert:)’

 

So I bring the Jamun – the fruit and the dessert. 

I bring the Jamun –A very popular summer fruit in India, this is touted for its medicinal
properties. As for me, I love this super juicy fruit for just being.
Unfortunately, it is not widely or easily available in the US. The fruit is rich in vitamins A and C. It is used in making jams,
jellies, wine, and even vinegar. It possesses antibiotic properties and
used in medicines.
With absolutely no trace of sucrose, this fruit with minimum calories is
wonderful. The leaves, the seeds, the bark, and the wood of this tree
are used for various purposes. (used for treating diabetes, diarrhea,
dysentery; as a mouthwash; to control blood pressure; and more)

This tastes really great with a sprinkling of salt. As a  kid, I recall picking up jamuns fallen from the only tree in our neighborhood (and that to our eyes, was an ancient and really huge tree that always had more than enough fruit for all of us) and enjoying it with friends in the park.  And just last year, on our trip to the Golden Triangle of Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur in India, we stopped at the Bharatpur bird sanctuary. We definitely enjoyed watching the birds, but one other thing we all loved – fresh, sweet, ripe jamuns (though smaller than the variety we normally ate) in the forest. 

 

In addition, if I mention the word ‘jamun’ most Indians would end up salivating since their mind’s eye would first conjure the dessert that is named so – or more correctly, gulab jamun.  I have not made this dessert myself too often (or my kids might say never) but we have enjoyed it at grandmom’s, at weddings and other events we always find ourselves attending on every trip to India (lucky us!).. yummmm…

Signing off on the letter J as I continue on the #AtoZChallenge and #UltimateBloggingChallenge