CHENNAI : Hidden within a smooth black, hard outer covering is a translucent jelly-like edible fruit, sweet and delicious. Nongu or ice apple is one of the best seasonal refresheners. Sourced from palm trees, this seasonal fruit is available during summer from end of April to July. Known as the state tree of Tamil Nadu, once upon a time the species was spread across the state.
“Palm trees are more resourceful than coconut trees. Literature says that these trees have been around since the Sangam era. But most of them have been given to the brick kilns without realising the importance of their purpose. Palm trees require very little water, are drought resistant and adaptable to soil near the sea shore,” says Selvaraj a science graduate, and an aspiring farmer. He comes from a third generation family of farmers in Kadambur near Villupuram.
Tracing the roots
It’s common to spot pushcarts under shady trees selling summer staples like tender coconut. But, the nongu has become quite rare to find. There are only a handful of vendors found near bus stands and residential areas. We approach Murugan, who is busy scraping the jelly out of the fruit while simultaneously filling up glasses of pathaneer for customers. “The yield might not be huge but we’re having a good market. I make `2,000 a day. People are relatively aware of the benefits of the fruit. This is better than tender coconut but because of the commercialisation you don’t find as many nongu shops,” he says.
The supply comes to Chennai from Maruvathur, Kanchipuram, and Pollachi. A piece of nongu costs around `7. These days, pathaneer is also available in bottles for `20 approximately. Smaller nongus are considered young and ripe, and the jelly portion must be consumed within an hour or it loses its flavour and colour. “Highways are the best-selling places for nongus. There is always a crowd and people consume a lot of pathaneer to keep themselves cool during travel. Each fruit has one, two or three jellies inside. Depending on where it is bulged on the outer surface, we slice it accordingly,” says Anbu, a young seller.
“It is economical to cultivate one male plant for every 10 female plants at a distance of ten feet gap. Female trees produce the fruits,” shares Selvaraj. Palm trees are found in Krishnagiri, Mattur, Pattukottai, Aranthangi, Sivaganga, Paramakudi, Karaikudi and Ramanathapuram. A state that was once flourishing with nongu produce has now found greener pastures in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and some states in the west. We are told that even elephants found it difficult to invade into the dense groves of palm trees.
Palm properties
Along with the fruit, a sweet, delicious and unfermented natural beverage called pathaneer is extracted from the male and female fruits. When pathaneer is left undisturbed inside the pot without lime, it turns sour with time, gets fermented and the end product is toddy. It is, however, banned in most parts of the state. “Female trees are said to produce more water.
On an average, a healthy tree can give 18 litres per day and about 180-200 litres during the season. Usually these are stored inside mud pots coated with lime,” shares Selvaraj. We learn that when the collected sap is boiled to a particular consistency, palm jaggery or karupatti and palm sugar or panakarkandu are extracted. “One kilo of jaggery can be extracted from seven and a half litres of pathaneer. These are healthy replacements for sugar in traditional sweets and juices. They also have a high export value for their unique and strong taste,” he says.