Hi dear Friends... Today I am here with few pics of this rare plant, which is called Bilimbi or Averrhoa in English. We call it Bimbul or Bimbuli in our local language here.
It is a sour tasted fruit. The tree grows around 4 meters high with lush green leaves and looks very beautiful with red or Marroon colored flower' bunches. This fruit grows in bunches and makes a feast for eyes like that of the bunch of a green- grape!!
This Bilimbi Fruit has got a lot of nutritional value and is a rich source of vitamins and minerals. It can also be used as a substitute for tamarind, tomato or lemon in the preparation of foods. While preparing curries with chickpeas, horse grain, kidney beans, soya beans etc, we can use 4 to 5 bilimbis, instead of tamarind or tomato. The pieces of this fruit in curry tastes so good and it helps in quick boiling of the vegetables and grains!
The pickle made with tender bilimbi fruits tastes so good and is mouth watering!
It can be used to make squashes, juices (If mixed with honey), jams and wines too!!
The shelf life of fresh ones is just 4 to 5 days. But
we can also dry it in the Sun (cut and sliced ones), and store it for rainy season, and can use it after soaking the dried fruits in hot water for a few minutes.
So enjoy the pictures, my dear Friends.... :)
All these photos were taken using my smartphone Honor.
Here in our small city, we can find these bilimbi trees in many places. But because of the urbanization, in next few years, we may not be able to find these types of rare fruit bearing trees and our next generation may not be able to see these, and have to find it only in Google I think!! :(
Friends, If there are any rare variety of trees like this in your place, then please share it here on this platform.
