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Bel Phal and Nectar
 Bel phal is called Wood apple in English. Many times as a child I have seen my mother use certain fruits that she associated with her childhood and she enjoyed them in different forms. I never ventured near some of them. Bel phal is one such fruit. It is the first time 2-3 weeks ago I saw wood apple in the supermarket and picked it up for experiments. I knew I could make a chutney or a drink. Chutney would go waste if it smelt strong I thought so the safest was a drink. We can always dilute drinks right! Now after bringing it home the fruit lay in the tray for weeks. I was seeing it every day and was very sure I would have to throw it out. However this one is a tough nut, literally and metaphorically. It has a hard woody shell. It does not go bad so easily. I used a pestle to break it open just like a coconut. The pulp was ripe brown and very aromatic with a very faint fruity sourness. This fruit is know to be a cure for all ailments of the digestive system. I went to my bookshelf and referred to "Annapoorna" by Mangala Barve. It gave a recipe that I knew I would atleast like if not love. Enumerating it here for you. Ingredients  1 bel phal / wood apple 1/2 cup sugar 1 cup water 2-3 cardamoms powdered 1/2 teaspoon pepper powder Juice of 1 lime More water to make the drink After breaking the fruit with a spoon scoop out the pulp. In a steel box put the pulp and add sugar. Mix it a bit add a cup of water. Close the box and put it in the fridge. The sugar will dissolve over a couple of hours and will make the fibrous pulp easy to extract. The fibrous pulp has a lot of seeds embedded in it. To remove the seeds the pulp has to be strained through a mesh. Pour the pulp in a juice strainer and press it down with the back of a spoon or spatula. Tap the strainer a bit to remove all the pulp. Spice up the drink with powdered cardamom seeds and pepper powder. Add the lime juice to impart a freshness. Now this pulp can be refrigerated and used when needed. To serve in a glass take thick pulp and top up with chilled water. Adjust the consistency of the drink as you like. I wanted to consume all of it so made just three glasses of the juice. It was very thick hence you can call it Bel Nectar! All material on this blog is Copyright © 2006, 2007 to Anna Parabrahma
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