Manathakkali- The Wonder berry
In an era prior to video games and 24x7 TV, one of the main pass time for kids used to be to search for the ripe purple fruits of manathakkali (aka kaagesoppu/kamanchi chettu/makoi/black night shade in other languages) and eat it.
It has amazing medicinal and nutritional value, which was known to and valued by our grandparents. However, like most things easily available, since it is a wild berry that is easily available, we have stopped valuing it. Instead we have started buying varieties of exotic berries sprayed with pesticides , imported from the world over.
This Wonder berry has anthocyanins and is a powerhouse of anti oxidants and has anti cancer properties. It also has high amounts of Vitamin A, which will help improve eye sight and night blindness. It is used in traditional medicine to cure peptic and mouth ulcers, improve gut health and digestion.
The ripe berries are either consumed directly or can be processed naturally at home. The ripe and unripe berries are mixed in spiced/yogurt/buttermilk and dried thoroughly in sun(to increase Vitamin D ). This mixture can then be stored and fried whenever required in oil/ghee. This snack is generally given to expecting/ new/nursing mothers. The probiotics in the mixture, the Sun exposure and essential fat(Short Chain Fatty Acids) from frying in Ghee, put together ensures that this is a perfect recovery food for new mothers. It helps heal their internal wounds, strengthens their bones and improves their lactation and digestion.
The leaves of this plant are edible and are highly nutritious. They have high amounts of Vitamin K which is the miracle solution for the Vitamin D deficiency and osteoporosis. Instead of buying Vitamin D and Calcium supplements to rectify your deficiency, include these leaves in your diet in any form that will suit your palette.
It’s time to move over the blue/black/goji/acai berries and find the wonder berry in your market or your backyard. Just because the spinach lady near your house doesn’t sell this with tags such as ‘anti-oxidant rich’, ‘organic’, ‘anti-aging’, ‘anti-cancer’ doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have all these properties. In fact it has all of this and one more, ‘ fresh’, as it grows close to you and not in a place you have seen/heard of only in a map.
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