Bael fruit - Vilva pazham Juice

#BaelFruitjuice #VilvaPazhamJuice : #BaelFruit is called #VilvaPazham [ #Vilvamfruit ] in Tamil. The scientific name is Aegle marmelos and it is commonly known as bael, Bengal quince, golden apple, Japanese bitter orange, stone apple or wood apple. We all must have seen vilva tree as native tree in most of the Siva temples in Tamil Nadu. I have heard elders saying that doing pooja with vilva leaves to siva lingam is very good. But they haven't told any other uses or benefits of vilva tree.
Around eight months back we have moved into a house at a township called Chittaranjan in West Bengal. The house is surrounded by many big trees such as mango, neem, guava, jack fruit, vilva [ bael tree ], fig, jamun and other unknown varieties of trees. My dear husband occupied the house before I joined him. During that period he sent a photo showing a glass of juice made from the fruit of vilva tree. It was a big surprise for me. Even more surprising is that the leaves, bark, root and fruit of  vilva tree have innumerable medicinal property. But I couldn't taste it then as the season was over when I reached Chittaranjan. Till now I  have been relishing only its tender leaves in salads and herbal tea.

Now the time has come for me to enjoy bael fruit. Fruits are falling down one by one daily as Summer has just started.

Later on I learned from world wide web that its indigenous to Indian subcontinent and mainly found in tropical, subtropical regions & also lower ranges of Himalayas upto a height of 500 meters. It is being cultivated in Eastern Uttar pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and nearby areas for its fruit, leaves, bark and roots. Various useful products such as squash from fruit pulp, dried leaf powder and other medicinal products are being produced. 

The trunk of the tree in my garden is very big and its bark looks like that of neem tree. I have noticed that smaller tender branches have sharp thick thorns about an inch long. When the leaves are bruised a nice aroma spreads around. The taste of the leaf is somewhat like that of tender raw mango [ வடுமாங்காய் ]. The flower of the tree has a pleasant fragrance. 

The fruit is spherical in shape approximately 3 to 4 inch in diameter while its top and bottom slightly flat. Some fruits are pear shaped. The fruit has a thick hard woody outer shell either green or grey in color and turns yellow when it ripens. 

The shell has to be opened just like we do for vilampazham using a heavy knife or banging on a stone or floor. The fruit has a very nice fragrance near the stalk. A good fruit is selected by its fragrance and weight. The pulp inside the shell has many segments. The pulp is orangish yellow in color. It is soft, sticky, gummy, fibrous and fragrant. The seeds are embedded in the pulp. We could see some honey like viscous fluid in the pulp. The pulp of a ripe fruit is sweet & bland or sometimes sweet & slightly sour in taste.
Carotenoids present in the fruit gives orangish yellow color to it. Tannins, ascorbic acid and riboflavins are present in the fruit. The fruit has considerable amount of fiber which help to ease constipation. Research works on bael fruit and clinical trials proved that it is antifungal, antimicrobial and antiviral.

Henceforth if you see a bael fruit [ vilva fruit ], don't hesitate to enjoy as it is a store house of vitamins & minerals and also for its therapeutic properties.

Relish the fruit after opening the shell and scooping out the pulp. Or an yummy juice can be prepared from vilva pazham and enjoy along with breakfast in the morning.

Ingredients :
2 Ripe	Vilva pazham [ bael fruit ]
2 Pinch	Salt [ Adjust ]
1 Tbsp	Lemon juice [ Adjust ]
1/2 Tsp	Pepper powder [ Adjust ]
5 - 6	Mint leaves [ Optional ]

Method :
Break vilva pazham and scoop out pulp using a spoon.
Take the pulp in a big vessel.

Add 2 to 2 1/2 cups of water.
Squeeze out the pulp with your hand and remove the fibers.
Add salt and lemon juice. Mix well.

Transfer into a tall glass and top it with pepper powder and chopped mint leaves.
Enjoy tasty yummy vilva pazham juice. 

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Mango Milk Shake

Muskmelon Mint juice

Aam panna Raw mango juice

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