Enter the Dragon Fruits

I have discovered several new fruits since I worked here in Sri Lanka. Among those which I have already featured are the juicy citrus ?ambul dodang? and another variety of naturally sour citrus called ?jama naran?, both of which make very refreshing lemonades. Here, I was also exposed to new varieties of banana such as the rather tiny but sweet ?seeni kesel? which I cooked into ?minatamis na saging? and the quite rare and heavy, in both weight and nutritional contents, called ?nethrampalam? or ?nendran? banana.

I also found here but have not yet posted the island-wide popular wood apple or elephant apple locally known as ?divul? which they make into healthful drinks. We have tried this before but not quite impressed.

In addition, occasionally visiting the fruit sections of supermarkets provided us with opportunity to see some uncommon, sometimes unfamiliar but delightfully colorful and seemingly luscious exotic fruits. Among them is the interestingly pretty dragon fruit. I remember the first time I encountered the fruit; my eyes were immediately caught by its vibrant color and beautiful appearance. Later on, I discovered that the fruit has been commonly available as well in the Philippine markets. But it is only here that I fully enjoyed its thirst quenching flesh.