Bunches of wild fruit ‘kembal kai’, locally called ‘sanyasi kai’, used in making pickle was the cynosure of all eyes at the one-day organic mela organised by the Department of Agriculture at the Kadri Park here on Tuesday.
Srinivas, a farmer from Bantwal who exhibited it, said that it grew in a creeper which is found in some pockets of the Western Ghats. Hence ‘kembal kai’ is not widespread in the Western Ghats region. “We can find it only in some forests,” he said.
Mr. Srinivas said that it tasted salty. If put it in brine for 90 days before making pickle, the product would last up to three years and the pickle taste would remain intact. “Its quality would be good,” he said.
The farmer also exhibited ‘mara tondekai’ (ivy gourd grown in a tree creeper). He said that commonly used ivy gourd available in the market is cultivated by allowing its creeper to spread in a pandal. It is thin in size, while ‘mara todekai’ is thick in size.
