The ice-apple and Naturals ice-apple ice cream sundae

A popular summer cooler is again available and with ice cream

Ice apple is the English name for tadgola (Marathi). Indians also call this jelly-like fruit nature's halwa and by following words in local languages.

Thati munjalu (Telugu), tala shaansh (Bengali), tari or tadgola (Marathi), pananungu in Malayalam, tala saja in Oriya, taati nungu in Tamil, munjal (Urdu), targula (Konkani), tale hannu (Kannada) and tadfali (Gujarati)

I wrote in Times of Urbania's January 2020 issue about ice apple: Summer cooler on the coldest day of winter after eating ice apples.

This year, we got ice apples from Gokhale Road in April, where you can find women selling them on the footpaths. I also spotted pushcart vendors with ice apple clumps at Thane this month. Still, with the government's movement restrictions, we have to wait till May to savor ice apples.

In season, from April to July, you do find a pushcart vendor selling ice apples on the junction of Rustomjee Urbania and Saket- Balkum road junction.

Ice-apple is an unusual fruit that only Indians from coastal states know and relish. You would have noticed above that the Indian languages with ice apples are from the southern, western, and eastern Indian states.

If you are not familiar with ice apples, take a look at the college we have shown the nut, the ice apples inside, and the ice apples without gelatinous skin.

Ice apples have the texture of lychees and the flavor of coconut, making them unique. While buying them, you should select the tender ones who have thin gelatinous skin, which you can easily remove before eating the ice apples.

The mature ice apples are harder and are more likely to taste bland. Choosing ice apples is thus like what you would do while selecting tender coconuts. The tender nuts with a cream-like layer have more sweet water, whereas the thicker layers tend to have less and blander water.

Ice apples are very healthy fruits that quench thirst through their minerals and electrolytes.

They are good to treat prickly heat and summer rashes. For the higher than normal heat of the Indian summer of 2021, ice apples are ideal for hydration. Weight watchers like Ice apples' ability to generate satiety for longer and to avoid hunger pangs.

You can consume ice apples as is but can make a range of dishes out of them. You could make pudding with ice apples or use ice apple cubes in tender coconut water. The rose milk recipe with sabja (basil) seeds is a popular refreshing ice apple summer cooler.

At Bengal and Odisha, people use ice apple to make many dishes such as taaler bora fritters, taaler luchi, or pooris and kheer. Payasam at Tamil Nadu can have ice apple. At Kerala Souffles containing ice, apples are an unusual dish.

Ice apple trees also produce palm jaggery, which is a good sweetener popular in the south and eastern Indian states, which have a large number of those trees. Palm jaggery is dark brown, coarse, and a good replacement for sugar and jaggery from sugarcane.

As palm jaggery production is limited, it is more expensive than either sugar or sugar cane jaggery. You find it at stores selling Bengali food ingredients.

On a visit to Naturals Now in December 2020, we learned of an ice cream sundae they created by using ice apples. Following is an account of Naturals Now, their ice apple sundae, and the other things you can experience by going there.

At Juhu, where it was born, Naturals ice cream now has a concept store foray into ice cream retailing with a spin.

For many years, Naturals called themselves Naturals of JVPD to indicate where it originated. Naturals spread in Mumbai and across India through its ice cream parlors and are now a pan India brand.

Naturals Now is an unusual ice creamery. In a multi-story building, Naturals uses for Now eatery the ground floor, and the floors above for offices. In the evening, the lights of the signs at the ground level and the building brighten the surroundings.

At Naturals Now, waiters usher you in a restaurant after collecting details and scanning you for your temperature. A host takes over and chaperones you in your ice cream journey. The staff at Now caution you that you should order takeaway ice cream only if you can consume it within fifteen minutes of buying it.

The serving counter of Now has ice cream churners behind and large mirrors above to follow the churners as they make ice cream. A digital display at the center shows you information about the Naturals' range of ice creams.

They serve few flavors at Now, of which I tried the Sitaphal and tadgola sundae. Both ice creams were creamy and fresh as Naturals made them on site. I was eating tadgola in ice cream for the first time. I was happy not to have to skin and open tadgola pieces to eat them. Tadgola was bland compared to the ice cream. However, Naturals preserve the fruit in sugar syrup and serves the tadgola sundae nine months of the year.

Naturals also serve multiple flavor platters. Variety is low as Naturals wants to deliver only fresh flavors. I could not get the Apricot flavor on the day we were there.

Chef-like ice cream makers flit in and out of the eatery.

They have open space all around for serving ice cream. Naturals have cleverly placed plants below steel mesh on which you walk around and on which they have placed seats and tables. Furniture is simple.

The staff at Now is attentive and provides personalized service.

If you are a Naturals fan and there are not too many who are not, you should head to Naturals Now now.

I hope you enjoyed reading this account of ice apples! Like every year, vendors shall offer ice apples at Thane in the summer and monsoon of 2021. Do try some of the recipes that we have shared with you here.