CHINCH (Tamarind) Photos: http://bit.ly/Tamarind-Chinch Last week, our housemaid asked me to buy a lump/ball of ambttan/amsann or tamarind from the Mapusa market. I paid Rs. 180 for a lump of a kilo, which during our childhood was collected free. The following article is the result of recent purchase of tamarind from the market. During the months of January to April there usually is very strong breeze blowing, especially in the coastal areas. As children, besides aiding us to fly our kites, the breeze helped us in many other ways. To begin with, whenever there was strong breeze, boram or wild berries would fall on the ground, which we collected effortlessly and ate. In the absence of breeze, we had to throw stones at the tree or climb it and shake its branches and make the fruit fall to the ground. Similarly, ripe mangoes also fell to the ground with strong breeze in which case, otherwise, again we had to aim stones at them and throw them down or climb up a tree and pick them up and eat them. There was another fruit which we did not only eat but also collected as a monsoon provision and that was none other than the chinch or tamarind. Tamarind (Tamarindus indica) – tamar hind ‘Indian date’ is a tree of the family Fabaceae. It is native to tropical Africa and grows wild throughout the Sudan. It was introduced into India a long time ago probably through human transportation. It is well adapted to semi-arid tropical conditions, although it does well in many humid tropical areas with seasonally high rainfall. The tamarind is slow-growing, long-lived, evergreen bushy tree that under optimum conditions can grow 80 feet high with a spread of 20 to 35 ft and more. The bright green, pinnate foliage is dense and feathery in appearance, making an attractive shade tree with an open branch structure. The leaves are normally evergreen but may be shed briefly in very dry areas during the hot season. There are usually as many as 10 to 20 nearly sessile ½ - 1 inch, pale green leaflets per leaf. The leaflets go to sleep at night i.e., they close up at night. Since tamarind trees spread to a large area, they provide good shade. We had many tamarind trees in Goa but sadly people keep cutting them to build concrete structures and I am afraid one day these trees are likely to become a rarity in Goa. The 3 - 6 inch long, brown, irregularly curved pods are borne in abundance along the new branches, with a hard, brown shell. As the pods mature, they fill out somewhat and the juicy, acidulous pulp turns brown or reddish-brown. When fully ripe, the shells are brittle and easily broken. The pulp dehydrates to a sticky paste enclosed by a few coarse stands of fiber; in Konkani they are called xinkim. The pods may contain from 1 to 12 large, flat, glossy brown seeds embedded in the brown, edible pulp. The pulp has a pleasing ‘khattha-meettha’ or sweet/sour flavor and is high in both acid and sugar. It is also rich in vitamin B and high in calcium. There are wide differences in fruit size and flavor in seedling trees. Our types found in Goa have longer pods with 6-12 seeds. In Konkani, such long pods are called “chinchechem konkel” – konk = bent or curved shape; small pods are called chinchechem/chinche bott or tamarind finger. The pinnate leaves with opposite leaflets give a billowing effect in the wind. On our way back home from school or soon after we returned home from school, if there was strong breeze we would run to tamarind trees and collect all the fallen fruits, which we would take home and pile in a corner in the kitchen. Sometimes we carried a small “panttulo” (basket) to place fallen tamarind. Once we had sufficient quantity, we took pleasure in breaking the brittle shells and kept the fruit aside in the form of a pile. Next, we would remove xinkim or coarse stands of fiber from each pod. People did not throw away xinkim as a waste but kept them aside and used them instead of tamarind; one would dip them in water in a container and use that water for daily fish curry, etc. The next step was to “ambttan/amsann korlavnk” or separate the seeds from the cased pulp. We used an addollo or a coconut scraper and cutter for this purpose. Finally, we would prepare korlaile ambttanniche gulle or seed-free tamarind balls and apply some rock salt on the outside, which served as a preservative. These gulle were then stored in a donddull or a small oblong clay container. Tamarind meant for daily use was stored in a buddkulo or a small pot made of clay, which was kept close to a chul or fireplace. In Konkani a tamarind seed is called chincharo/chinchro – plural = chinchare/chinchre. Chinchre were not thrown away, as they came in handy as eatables in our daily lives, especially during the monsoon season. In order to prevent chinchre from being eaten by borodd or veevil during rainy season, we first washed them thoroughly, applied salt, dried them in the sun and then stored them in a container as monsoon provision. For our daily consumption, we fried small quantities of chinchre in the embers and stored them in small containers. We fried big quantities on a tovo or frying pan and these were stored in containers with tight lid. While leaving home for school, we took some chinchre and placed them in our pockets and iskolachi pothi or school bag and kept eating them on our way to and from school. They taste very good, especially in the monsoon season. Even people who cultivated porsum or orchard and laborers who worked in the fields carried chinchre with them and ate them at work. Today’s children miss all the fun that we had in our childhood. They eat chocolates, wafers and other stuff for which they pay a lot. Many people, including football and cricket players, chew chewing and/or bubble gum and keep moving their jaws while at play or seated as if ruminating. During our childhood, when we kept eating chinchre all the time, our parents would say: “Kitem baba ho/hem gorva/bokdde baxen ronvtti kaddit asa!” (You ruminate like a cow/goat all the time!) Even elderly without any teeth would place a chinchro in their mouth and just leave it there until it got soaked with saliva and kept sucking on its till it became soft. We lived on simple food and used stuff like chinchre or tamarind seeds, which was a challenge to our strong set of teeth. During the summer sometimes we ate tamarind leaves, which are sour in taste, and, as you know, anything that tastes sour, tastes good during summer time. As children, we used fresh ambttan/amsann to stuff into raw mangoes along with a dry chili or chili powder and rock salt. We would take a piece of stick and bore a hole into a raw mango and then fill the above-mentioned ingredients into the cavity until it was full and then we ate it with great satisfaction – my mouth is already watering! Sometimes, we placed stuffed raw mango in between the side of a wooden door and its frame and pressed it to make it a little softer so it was easier for us to have a bite at it! Some ambttan or tamarind is sweet – in Konkani it is called moum-i ambttan, which we enjoyed the best. We also enjoyed amorpiki or semi ripe tamarind. But keep in mind excess consumption of tamarind results in traditional laxative! The fruit pulp is edible and popular. The hard green pulp of a young fruit is too sour and acidic but the ripened fruit is more palatable, as it becomes sweeter and less sour or acidic as it matures. Goan cooking is incomplete without tamarind. For every day curry, a small quantity of tamarind is ground along with massala or a small ball of tamarind is dissolved in water and it is mixed with fish curry massala and other curries for flavoring. Doubtlessly, it adds special taste to the curry. Similarly, a little tamarind water will give a totally different taste to dal or lentils dish, which otherwise would taste flat. Famous Goan dishes of sorpotel, vindaloo, green beef, etc would not give that great taste without tamarind. Moreover, tamarind acts as a preservative ani prat bellxenam or the dish does not get moldy. During our childhood days, we played cricket with a bat made from coconut leaf stem and a tennis ball under tamarind trees. We used tamarind tree trunk as a wicket! In Anjuna, we have a hotel called ‘The Tamarind’ in Igroz vaddo or Church ward, behind the church, on the main road. It is so called because there is a tamarind tree at its entrance; it has been there since our childhood. The other day when I visited Baga, I noticed there is a shop called ‘The Tamarind Art Gallery!” I am quite sure there are many shops in Goa named after tamarind tree. Sometimes, a tamarind tree is used as a landmark and/or address like Chinche Pondak or under the tamarind tree. In order to harvest the fruit from the tree, people hire an expert climber, who climbs up, goes on its branches and shakes them. Not all tamarind fall easily; some have strong stem and these have to be removed with a xintari or long bamboo stick. Whatever tamarind fruit remains at extreme ends of branches is also removed by beating branches with a xintari. Nowadays, a person charges between Rs.400-500 to climb a tamarind tree and remove the tamarind. In the meantime, we have hordes of baboons, which get on tamarind trees and destroy tamarind before harvesting time; hence, shortage and rise in tamarind price. A mature tree produces around 200 kg of the fruit per year. In the past, until the early Seventies, most tamarind trees were accessible, as there were no compound walls securing each one’s property. Moreover, neighbors did not mind if other neighbors came and collected fallen tamarind, but today it’s a totally different story – your neighbor might call the police or file a case against you if you enter and collect even fallen fruits from his compound. Oh, how times have changed! Everyone has become selfish; hence, we have more problems today than ever! Most pregnant women yearn to eat sweet-sour things like raw mangoes, bimblim, pickles, etc during their pregnancy. One such fruit that they ate and still eat in order to satisfy their “duallo” or vehement desire during pregnancy, was and is raw/or ripe tamarind. During the Fifties and Sixties we lived on natural products, including fruits. Many relatives and friends spent their summer vacation at our place and what did they eat? Of course, they ate natural fruits like mangoes, bananas, chickoos, guavas, cashew apples, bananas, churnam, kannttam and their favorite tamarind - the Bomboikar call it imli (Hindi.) The best tamarind is local korlaileli ambttan or seed-free tamarind, as it is free from broken seed pieces; readymade tamarind packets contain tamarind with crushed seed residue. The tamarind plays a vital role at Hindu Tulsi Lagna or Tulsi Vivah festival. The ritual of Tulsi Vivah is performed in the evening. Devotees observe fast for the day and in the evening they decorate the Tulsi plant just as a bride is decorated before going to get married. The Tulsi Vrindavan is decorated with wild flowers and yellow colored rozam or marigold. On Tulsi Lagna, a tender stick of dino (Leea Indica) is brought, designs carved on it and it is planted next to the Tulsi. This dino stick symbolically represents the bride groom of the Tulsi. Fresh branch with avalle/amla or gooseberry (Emblica Officinalis) is cut from an avallo tree and the Tulsi Vrindavan decorated with it. Here avallo symbolically represents a dheddo or best man. Similarly, fresh branch with raw tamarind pods is plucked from the tree and planted in the Tulsi Vrindavan. Here, chinch/imli or tamarind symbolically represents a dheddi or brides mate. A stem of sugarcane with shit’ti or shoot is also added as a part of decoration. Colorful clothes, sindur, flowers are offered to the Tulsi. Tamarind timber consists of hard, dark red heartwood and softer, yellowish sapwood but it is not used to make any furniture, at least in Goa, though some carpenters use it for wooden flooring. Since the wood burns easily and produces good fire, the poder or baker in Goa uses it for fire in his khorn or oven. Nowadays, people buy ‘Brasso’ or some other product to clean brass objects. In the olden days, we used pulp of tamarind to polish brass items like brass divli or lamp, brass vattleo or plates, brass candle holders, etc. It removes dulling and the greenish patina that forms on brass objects. Christians did not and still do not use a divli in their homes regularly but some did own them. A divli was used in Christian homes only at funerals. We would borrow one from a Christian or Hindu family. If it was not in use, it would be dull with greenish patina on it. One of the male members of the family or neighbor would be given the task to clean it, and boy, we felt great when it shone and glittered! The divli was kept lit in the deceased’s home for nine days. Christians inherited this custom from our Hindu ancestors 500 years ago, and we are still following it. Brass vattleo were cleaned at least once a month to give them that shiny look. This task was usually carried out by women but sometimes it was assigned to males in the family. As for brass candle stands, they were cleaned once a year at Easter time, in preparation of blessing of the home. Here are two real short tamarind-tree related stories: Speaking about providing shade by the tree, one of the travelers, as he walked his way, came across a tamarind tree and was impressed by its huge size. But he was quick to criticize the Creator and said sarcastically: “Instead of making a huge tamarind tree bear large fruits compatible with its size, it produces tiny fruits. On the other hand, large fruits like pumpkin, water melons, etc are produced by weak weedy plants! What a stupid Creator!” He was tired. So, he decided to rest under the tree. A strong breeze caused tamarind fruits to fall to the ground; one of them fell on his nose. The traveler woke up from his nap with a start and was quick to apologize to the Creator. He said: “Lord, please forgive me for criticizing you. Had it been a big fruit, I would have died instantly. As a Creator, you know better what is good and bad for us. Here is another real short story about an “addecho girest” (recent rich man) and the tamarind tree: One of the locals worked hard, came up in life and amassed a lot of wealth. There was a huge tamarind tree in his compound. He built a beautiful house next to it. He was so proud of his wealth that he would tell everyone: “He chinchecho palo zoddon kobar zait punn mhoji girestkai kednanch kobar zavchina.” (The leaves of this tamarind tree may wither, fall down and get over but my wealth will never.) Unfortunately, the man began to lose in every direction and within a few years he almost became a pauper. To make matters worse, one fine monsoon season, the tamarind tree was uprooted, fell on his house and destroyed it completely. So much for a person’s pride! That’s all for now from Dom’s antique shelf! Moi-mogan, Domnic Fernandes Anjuna, Goa Mob: 9420979201
