these days we have papayas galore at home.my wife who runs a home for senior citizens at neral has a passion for floriculture and horticulture.she likes to grow vegetables,fruits and flowers.papaya is one of our favorite fruits.everytime she visits neral,which is atleast once a week,she returns with a carload of papayas after distributing them to the inmates and staff there.this time she brought some real jumbo papayas. they weighed about 2.5 kgs on an average. we shared these with our neighbours and friends and we all so to say had a papaya feast!
a favourite breakfast food in india is a boat of fresh papaya served with a sliced fresh lemon. you are supposed to squeeze the lemon over the papaya and sprinkle the juice all over. papaya is generally eaten as a fruit but one can cook papaya like any other vegetable too. when cooked, green papayas become soft and and sweet.
papaya has a low calorific value but rich in vitamins b and c and it is rich in carotene. it contains lot of water. it is an amazingly rich source of enzymes. enzymes are chemicals that enable the digestion of proteins. papain is the most important of these enzymes. papaya has the property of rejuvenation and helps in controlling premature ageing. unfortunately, papaya loses some of its enzymes when it ripens, so eating them green is ideal. papaya contains arginine which is good for the male fertitlity and carpain which is an enzyme good for the heart. as a juice it is a popular thirst quencher. you can make a good and tasty papaya soup too. even the skin of the papaya is used for external treatment of skin wounds.
when buying papayas select those that have smooth and taut skins.if you cut them, keep them in a fridge.don't buy papayas having wrinkled skins.
eat papayas and be happy! i must recall an incident some twenty years ago when i was returning from bangalore carrying a few papayas from our garden tree. at mumbai airport, my boss had just arrived from new delhi and he called out to me across the baggage conveyer.i went to wish him and on my return found that my papayas were stolen.i lodged a complaint with the indian airlines authorities .they couldn't find it.after a fortnight i received a cheque. they paid me a handsome compensation. you can be sometimes happy when you have lost your papayas !
3 comments:
Great, gs! I am happy to read your latest post on my favourite fruit which are plenty nowadays. Do you know the present market rate going on? You need not bargain if the vendor offers you Rs.10-12 per Kg. But the rates in Big bazar start from Rs.20 per Kg.Pl note and let me know your observation.
Mangesh Nabar
hello mannab
i have a fruitwallah knocking at my door every night.his rate is around rs 20/kg.and his papayas are not half as good as those from neral.
Haha.....nice to receive a check for lost papayas!
Do try to make raw papaya salad (green papaya), I have posted a recipe for it on my blog. Another recipe I often make is a fresh gujarati athanu with raw papaya, just slice raw papaya paper thin (use a peeler/mandoline)and steam it for a minute, apply haldi powder and salt, then put a "chonkah" of oil, musturd seeds and hing...enjoy!
I remember reading about your wife's organization in the Jan issue of an indian business journal - Business India I think. Kudos to her for running this institution!
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