Summer may be mango season all over India, but for the hill people, summer is Kafal season. Kafal is a local fruit, whose light sweet-tart amazing taste is amazing. Not only this, but its consumption also keeps you away from stomach diseases. Kafal, rich in antioxidants, is effective in most diseases and is also the real reason for the healthy lifestyle of the hill people, but have you ever heard about this fruit before? If not, then let us know about this juicy fruit that grows in the beautiful plains of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand today.
Kafal is like small berries in appearance, but it's sour-sweet and juicy taste takes anyone's heart. Although it is not so easy to grow Kafal, because it does not grow in low temperatures and it does not survive when the temperature is high, in this case, Kafal is found only in hilly areas like Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Especially Nainital, Almora, and Ranikhet have suitable climatic conditions for growing Kafal. In February itself, flowers start coming on the kafal tree and by April the kafal ripens, initially its color is green and at the end of April the fruit is ready, then its color is red. It happens. This fruit does not last long, and because it grows in the mountainous region for a short and limited period, its sale is limited to the local market or mandi only.
Though everyone has their way of relishing this fruit which grows between deodar and oak trees, the local people especially like to eat this sour-sweet fruit with salt or rock salt and chili powder. Please tell that this is the state fruit of the country's hill state Uttarakhand. Many times it is also mentioned in the folk songs of Uttarakhand. On the other hand, apart from eating directly, Kapal is also used to make syrup, jam, pickles, and fresh cold drinks.
Let us tell you that Kafal fruit also has a separate history, food historians consider the origin of Kafal in the Himalayan region. According to him, kafal is a kind of wild fruit and it has been present in the Himalayan regions for thousands of years. Apart from Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, this fruit is also found in the surrounding areas of the Himalayan range like Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram etc. It has different names in different regions and there is some difference in its taste and properties as well. It is also claimed that apart from India, other species of Kafal are also found in Nepal, China, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Sylhet (Bangladesh), Pakistan, and Japan.
(PC: TOI)
