The Good Ol' Peru our Childhood friend is somehow getting lost as time flies fast ... Where has the good ol' peru gone from our lives ??? Isn't it time we brought him back into our lives ... Isn't it time we gave him the right credit he deserves ... Do that today by bringing him home and reaping in the benefits ... There is much more to this humble fruit than that meets the eyes ......
** "Spiced Guava / Peru" ... A delicious snack that can be relished during the mid morning break when you are free at home or enjoying a chitchat with friends or just to kill boredom. You don't need a reason to enjoy these perus spiced up as a mid morning snack. These red colored peru's are a little bit difficult to get at the place where I stay compared to the white normal one's which are available in plenty. I have always yearned to eat this as they have a very different taste. During childhood when I used to see pictures of them in magazines like Femina or Women’s Era, I always wondered when I would get to relish them. After marriage and settling in outskirts of Mumbai, Thane to be precise, I found them once or twice with fruit vendors who take to pushing carts for selling of these fruits, but somehow could never find them when I wanted. These are available in plenty if you are travelling towards Pune by road. During my trips out of the city I always find lots of different types of fruits with roadside vendors. I always stopover to buy them whenever possible. I was so happy to get these that I ended up buying them in bulk to the vendors surprise. LOL God knows what he thought I would be doing with it. These perus are also called “Chirimoya” in some parts of the country and may also have some other names as per the city / state or language that is spoken in different parts of country of which I have no much knowledge. However, in all this is a creamy tropical fruit and once upon a time was referred to as “the most delicious fruit known to man” by writer Mark Twain.
** There is actually an interesting story or should I say information about cultivation of the perus. It is said that though human beings are the source of cultivating most of the plantations, sometimes birds and squirrels too contribute extensively in doing so in some particular fruits. Birds love to pick and eat on some of the fruits and peru is one of them. By doing so they dispense the seeds within here and there, which becomes the source for the plant when fallen over on good soil, getting its roots on in the place. Isn’t that interesting? I think we have a lot to thank birds for too in our life coz. not only fruits they even sometimes dash about in such a way that the breeze they create while on run dispenses the pollen's of flowers again which leads to plantation. God’s Creation is simply Amazing that which man actually cannot boast of having achieved at all. Guava / Peru when in raw state has far less sugar content in it and can be prepared into chutney too or bhaji/upkari, but the inner seeds has to be removed for the same. Again, the ripe ones are prepared into juice with addition of pepper powder, ginger, lemon juice and salt to taste. They can also be prepared into sweet dishes like appo, jams, dips etc. The best of all is you can prepare the semi ripe one's as raita's that is adding them on to beaten curds and spicing them up. The coolant tastes awesome when served chilled and I have posted a few variations of the juice here before, you will find them if you just use the search option on the Blog. Guava is high on Vitamin C and Iron among fruits and is said to be good in preventing cold and viral infections. You can relish them by just spicing it up a little by adding on a dash of kala namak along with black pepper powder or red chilly powder. You can even sprinkle some chaat masala on it and it taste chatpata and yumz.
** Childhood is one of the happiest periods in almost every person’s life. The reason for it is very simple, kids have nothing to fear, care or worry about, have almost no duties or problems, are carefree and can hang out with their friends, enjoying all day long. They usually know no hatred and mingle with all children of their age immaterial of color, caste, creed or status. The gleam in their faces when they play around, the laughter, the shouts are all a delight to watch and somehow your heart melts and you never feel like disciplining them during that young childhood days. We children, my siblings, cousins, neighbors were a whole large lot that enjoyed childhood to the hilt. Come holidays and Mom and my Aunts made lots of savories like, chakuli, tukdi, banana chips, karo, sev sweets and other goodies etc. and filled them in large steel dabbas / containers and we had such a lovely time coming in between our playtime and relishing them. We took turns in ransacking each of our friends homes in turn, hopping in and out all the time. Perus and oranges were the fruits we enjoyed the most not to mention raw mangoes and raj~Avalos(Amla). We always enjoyed eating peru, raw mango and amla all salted and spiced up. Those days chat masala was unheard of or at least we had no access to it, we children made our own spice mixture by mixing in salt, pepper powder, dash of hing powder, red chilly powder in a bowl and adding them to the fruit pieces to relish the chatpata / tangy spicy taste. Ahha .... that taste still lingers on ... Not coz. we can't get them now, the difference actually lies in the fact that it was relished with friends, siblings, neighbors, cousins sitting under that large mango tree branch or on the steps that led to the home or just while playing hide and seek. Yes while playing, we too did cheat on a little bit by eating them quietly in our hiding places where we sat and did not come out till we finished the same without sharing it with any one ... Such lovely days are just memories now.
** Childhood has long past gone and we have outgrown in many ways but the child within us never dies. In fact as you reach older age the child in us bounces back and we really wish to relive those days and enjoy those little things that brought joy into our lives. I have never let anything stop me from enjoying these small things in life, which gives me and my hubby immense happiness unlike the pizzas and the burgers though we love them too and yes eat them too. We are actually in the best of the Era wherein we get to enjoy both new generation dishes as well as the still available childhood one’s, so do make the most of them, I do. Sometimes when I sit on my rocking chair all alone and looking at the rains my mind wander back to childhood and I go through the lanes not at all aware of the time that has passed by leaving the home in darkness. When I think of future, rocking to and fro on my chair, I am dismayed at the fast changing of times, I wonder if the future generations will get to enjoy these small joys of life that we had, for I see it nowhere happening now. Everybody is too busy to even pause and think, If you ask them to have a fruit juice they resist and prefer the colas. Somewhere something is going seriously wrong, Isn’t it? Don't you think so too ?? We have to change it and not let our children suffer from consumption of non-nutritious foods. We have to see to it, that we include all these little thing that brought joy to us in their life too. The onus is on us, how we go about it is by buying these things and preparing them in different ways and seeing to it that they have them from childhood, coz. That habit which is embedded during childhood remains in each one of us throughout our life and so will it continue for generations.
** Guava / Peru has a lot of medicinal properties, so has the seed within them, and that should not be ignored or shunned at. This fruit somehow has not been given its due importance or a table place in homes by many, as preferences are given to apples, oranges, pears, strawberries etc. which are actually good too. All fruits have their own nutrient level and should be consumed equally throughout the year depending on the season as fruits or veggies they are actually seasonal. It is said that God’s creation cannot be questioned and should not be under estimated too. The fruits and veggies made available as per the season are always as per the need on man’s wants for that particular season. Like winter season brings in chill in air and spreads diseases like cold and flu very fast, perus are considered to be very good for building in the immunity / resistance power within our body towards the same. During the onset of summer oranges are still available, they are loaded with Vitamin C which replaces the lost nutrients due to sweat from body. I am sure there is not need for me to spell more on fruits now as in today’s world of technology; knowledge of almost all subjects are available at finger tips. Network and google has made life much easier for us to grasp in more knowledge and it is something again we should be very thankful to, unlike in the previous era, when people groped in for knowledge and did not know whom to ask and what to do. We are lucky, there is so much to read that widens our knowledge on all sorts of subjects and we hardly find the time to fit into everything in proper way. By the way, reading and gaining knowledge on different matters in another thing that should be encouraged in every child. Well, that is entirely another topic, which I will end up writing some other time for sure.
** Well, I hope those who read this little “Thoughts And Notes” written by me think over the same and introduce them into your family life to reap in the benefits. I do know many of you have already done so or have been doing so for ages and I have not written anything new here, but I just felt like writing a little bit on my thoughts on the same as it gives me immense pleasure in writing to my friends here. I love the feedback you all send without any biased opinions whatsoever. And “NO” I have not forgotten to write in the spices added on to "Peru’s the fruit I love to relish eating spiced up" as shown in the above picture. Here it is ... Just wash and wipe the peru’s clean. Slice off the top and bottom edges and them cut them into 1 inch cube sized pieces and put them in a wide bowl. Sprinkle some Kala Namak (Rock Salt) or any salt, black pepper powder, red chilly powder, hing powder and mix well. Add in a few drops of lemon juice, mix well and serve immediately. The powders can be added as per your choice, I add in a little bit more of pepper powder and less of chilly powder as pepper powder is much more healthier compared to the later. Same goes with salt, kala namak is better than normal one’s and hing ie asafoetida as you all know is good for the stomach. However, a word of caution, do not consume these in large quantities as Peru is good for health only when eaten in limited quantities. Not more than one large sized peru in a day is something recommended by some nutritionists, though I personally do not have any knowledge of medical ways. But to remain safe, I do not exceed in the said quantity. Relish the peru’s with your family and friends and have a healthy life, Always.
** Disclaimer : This is an article written by me on my own thoughts on my days through childhood and those fun filled days that we friends enjoyed eating and having fun. It is exclusively my opinion and not taken from any text or any post of any person or book whatsoever. If, any coincidence is found it is just accidental and again the article is not meant to hurt anybody's sentiments or spiritual believes. I am neither a Dietitians nor have any Medical knowledge on health benefits. What I have written is that which has been passed on to us from generations as food habits. I am just a simple working women and homemaker who loves cooking and sharing my thoughts and notes here, and in no way would I recommend or advice anybody on any food inclusion or extrusion. Each body is different and reacts differently to the same type of food, so to each one of you I would say … please continue a pattern on food habits that make you comfortable and is good for your health, do not try following anybody coz. one man’s medicine can be another man poison as the saying goes. Lead a healthy life by relishing all types of home cooked food in limits, that is the best gift you can give to your family and yourself. Stay Blessed and Spread Happiness.
** You can check out a few types of "Peru/Guava" Recipes following the link given below ….
** An Earnest Request : There are many more recipes of different types in the blog. For all my Recipes, use the search option or the label section in the Blog. If you are still not able to find it or have a query, please leave a message in comment section or mail me the same. I will try my best to get back to you as soon as possible. Do try out various types of dishes included in the Blog and Enjoy them with your family and friends and do give me a feedback if possible. I have also started a food group for by the name "KONKANI DELICACIES" where in you will find many more recipes by members and you too can share some of your own. The link to the group is posted on the left side of the blog page. Do join us in our culinary journey. I strongly believe in Sharing and always endorse that "Sharing Is Caring" … Thank You ….
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