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It took me 4 years to discover certain fruits, and the Bora berry was one of them.
When you come to Goa for a vacation, you end up mostly on the beach hanging out or partying.
Your head is all over the place, you get Sussegad and dreamy, enjoying the sun and culture.
I was definitely not a foodie when I first landed in Goa, we'll back then I was enjoying my independence and a new world, spicy food wasn't my thing, and I was never much of a fruit eater either.
Yeah, it's true, but all this changed. I stopped vacationing and became an immigrant, married into a new life and experienced good and bad times. The summers in Goa are very harsh and torturing.
That's when I rediscovered fruits again and ventured into new unknown organic fruit adventures.
What's the Bora Berry?
There is this Bora berry, common to be found at roadsides and on the hills, a little brown reddish tuff looking berry.
Children traveling walking back home after school, usually plug them and eat them fresh, sometimes even with some salt on the berry.
It's all over the place growing on thorny trees and I hadn't seen it!
Well, it wasn't entirely my fault because it isn't sold like other fruits in the market, rarely you might see some local ladies selling it in big baskets on roadsides or bus stops.
Bora berry, also called Jujube date, is a small reddish berry with thick skin, white sticky flesh, and a seed core.
The drier the berry gets, the more difficult it is to eat it, as it gets harder in age.
It has a strong fragrance which some might not like, but the taste of the bora berry is entirely different, very pleasing.
When you chew one berry, you'll realize why it is called Jujube date too, the taste comes very close to dates.
The plant itself requires suns and grows perfectly in a hot climate and on poor grounds.
Uses
In Goa, it is mostly eaten as snack fresh or sometimes even dried in between or after your main meal.
Nobody uses the fruit in any different culinary way. I honestly wouldn't know if it would make sense in a cake or part as a fruit salad.
In my research, I found that other Asian countries used it as tea syrup.
It would be nice to try out recipe ideas with this unusual berry.
Hi Helene,
It's nice to get some info on bora berry which hears like a Bengali word..in Western Odisha this is available in plenty and people call it 'buro' in local language, in coastal dist of Odisha it is known as 'Bara koli'...actually I came across a big variety of this fruit in Bangalore today sold by a street side vendor...in shape it is like the bora berry but so sweet in test though still looking green...I found it tastier than some variety of apple...just could not believe...trying to post a photo of the fruit which the vendor told me to be berry....
Hi Siddharth,
Since last year we noticed a bigger variety of bora berries being sold here which has much more flesh. I hadn't tasted them but, just as you mentioned, my husband reported saying it was sweeter than the small local ones. Birds love these berries too so it's hard not to find little left over seeds spread all over the floor. 😉 Thanks for sharing all this Siddharth, I had no idea the name was that similar in Odisha!
Bora berries can also be eaten in powdered form when it is dried completely. It is called as BORKUTH in Maharashtra, India. The another famous way to consume these dry berries is 'boiled bora berries' with some sugar, salt, and ground red pepper. It tastes good.
Hi Needhi, thanks for sharing your knowledge with us. I think I had heard a while back that there is a powdered version of Bora berry, but I hadn't researched more. I will try this soon when the bora berries are in season again. With sugar you mean jaggery no?
Yes, another alternative for sugar is jaggery. You can add Jaggery instead of sugar for boiling dried bora berries.....
Well, I thank you for this, looking forward to a seasonal sweet regional treat. 🙂
In my country (Zimbabwe), we make them into a jam.. Or eat them just like that, they're yummy!!!
Hi Helene
I was very interested to read your article about the Bora bery - thanks. I grew up in central Africa in the 50's/60s. My parents were from Goa and one of the many fruit trees in our large garden was a Bora and I loved eating this fruit as a child. I would just love to taste one again and must make enquiries to see if it is available in Australia, where I now live, although we live at an altitude of 500m above sea level, so it may struggle with the frosts!
Hi Helene,
Thanks for your invaluable work on Goan berries. I agree that there has to be some way in which these berries are recognised.
The ones which i mentioned - Aasale and Kaneras are found on hills but rarely sold in the market as they are not produced in such a large quantity at all. I guess one has to go on the hills and find them !! If i remember Aasale grow in a bunch and when they ripen they turn brown/black and are in the shape of a drop of water / elongated shape.A very fibrous fruit with a seed in the centre. They are normally 5-8 mm in diameter. The Kaneras grow on small bushes and turn from green to golden yellow and then brown and then black as they ripen. The berry has a different taste in these three stages. The bush has lots of thorns and even an expert is likely to prick his or her finger while plucking them. They are normally 4mm in diameter and have a seed in the centre. Its been almost 20 years now that i saw these berries as i shifted to Mumbai city but am sure they are still there somewhere in Goa.
Warm wishes,
Atul
Hi Helene,
Very nice post. I have spent my childhood in Goa. There are other local berries you may want to check once in Goa ...they are called 'Aasale' and 'Kanera'...hardly any info about them on the net but they are available in the Goan forests and have a very unique taste. Yes we used to pluck same on the way to School along with ' Bora berry '. Normally found in summer . All these are eathen in ripe / semi ripe state. Warm wishes Atul ( Mumbai )
Hello Atul!
I had written some more Articles about Berries in Goa. Sorry that I didn't get the time to link them here before.
Can it be that the 2 mentioned berries above are one of those here in the links?
http://masalaherb.com/2012/05/rare-indian-berries-and-more-north-goa-impressions.html
http://masalaherb.com/2012/05/zunna-berry-chunna-ziziphus-rugosa.html
http://masalaherb.com/2012/05/kantam-karonda-berry.html
http://masalaherb.com/2012/04/zamla-juice-the-jambul-berry.html
I know Zunna, Kanta, Zarra, Jambul and one more (whose name I forgot) brown one which one needs to roll in the hands so that it softens.
I am always excited to learn about new rare berries in Goa. They are so delicious too!
You might be able to order it from an exotic fruit retailer. I know somebody who orders exotic fruits in germany to their house, so surely that service must exist in the US. hope that helps.
@Yuri I would pick bushes from the street if I had somebody to go with me. lol
@Heather I ll update you if I get some recipes. =)
This is such a cool post. I love learning about new-to-me foods...and the bora berry is definitely one of those. I would be interested in knowing some recipes for using them, as well!
I like to learn something new, especially new fruits! Thank you for telling us about this pretty berry which I have never heard of before. It's interesting to discover new edible ingredients. I would love to try picking up trees along the street with local kids:-)
@Cajun @Frugal @Nami thank u girls! your compliments mean a lot to me. =)
I've been eating dates often since I came to Taiwan. They are used in a lot of cooking, but I've never heard of this type of dates. Sounds like delicious and your photography is very nice!
Your photos look great as always 🙂 I have never heard of the fruit, but it sounds interesting. I love how informative your blog always is and the photos are beautiful.
Never heard of them before, but I love the photos!
@Frieda thank u dear. =)
@Courtney I sure will. I was thinking if I should start to keep one post per week for unknown and rare ingredients. I am not sure though yet.
@Kiran desserts was my first thought too but I am not sure what and how. Then I thought maybe a pickle. I am not a pickle expert but it might work. I ll be passing by your blog more often 😉
@Keerthana Its defently a jewel which should be more valued. There are soo many fruits here which are kind of getting extinct and forgotten. Its a shame cause they r awesome! 😉
@UmmMymoonah gooseberry is something else. totaly different type of fruit. we have them growing too at my family house in Austria. Gooeberry are bitter, kind of transparent soft inside. we make jam of them.
@Gerry I like to learn something new too. might be useful for the future. 😉
We get something very similar to this, which is gooseberry. We used to make rice, squash and some spicy chutney with gooseberry, guess same recipe can be used for this one too.