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| Bilimbi |
as too acidic to be eaten raw.
This picture shows bilimbi vegetable in raw form.
Bilimbi is a good substitute for lime, lemon, raw mango, tomato or tamarind to give a sour flavour to soups and curries. Its botanical name is Averrhoa bilimbi.. Fruits are available throughout the year. When the fruits are in excess, they can be preserved as jams, chutneys or even sun dried. The fruits also can be pickled in brine and kept for up to 3 months. Bilimbi can be made as a curry by itself or cooked with fish, prawns and meat.
The fruits yield 44.2% juice with a pH of 4.47. In some parts bilimbi is taken raw with salt. Bilimbi juice is popular for making cooling beverages like lemonade by adding water and sugar. Freshly made concentrated juice has a very high oxalic acid content. Frequent consumption of highly concentrated juice may cause acute renal failure (ARF) by deposition of calcium oxalate crystals in renal tubules.So use this in moderation.
It is used as a stain remover for clothes and as a disinfectant to wash hands.
Bilimbi is found in the Philippines, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar (Burma) , Malaysia, India, Zanzibar, Jamaica, Central and South America (where it is known as mimbro), and Queensland.
It is a tropical tree and it grows well in rich and well-drained soil. It can grow also in limestone and sandy regions. It has less resistance to cold. It requires 3 months of dry season.
Bilimbi tree can grow up to 50 feet high but is normally kept short by pruning to facilitate harvesting. But heavy pruning can diminish the flowering. The waxy, pale green fruit is slightly lobed, about 3 to 4 inches long and up to an inch wide. Seeds are about ½ inch long. The sour fruit changes from green to light yellow when ripe. It matures 50–60 days after flowering. The tree is extremely sensitive to cold and wind.
Moisture 94.2-94.7 g
Protein 0.61 g
Fiber 0.6g
Ash 0.31-0.40 g
Calcium 3.4 mg
Phosphorus 11.1 mg
Iron 1.01 mg
Carotene 0.035 mg
Thiamine 0.010 mg
Riboflavin 0.026 mg
Niacin 0.302 mg
Ascorbic Acid 15.5 mg
Medicinal Use
Dilute bilimbi juice is used to cool fevers. It is used as home remedy for acne, rheumatism, bowel hemorrhages, stomach problems, hemorrhoids, rectal inflammation, internal bleeding, biliousness, coughs, throat irritation, venereal diseases , beriberi and itching.
It is said to control high cholesterol and diabetes.
Bilimbi is called by different names in different parts of the world. In English it is called cucumber tree or sorrel. In India it takes several names such as bilimbi, Irumban Puli, Chemmeen Puli, Bimbul and Orkkaapuli. In Sri Lanka is is called Bilincha, bimbiri or Biling. In Malaysia it takes the names of belimbing buloh, belimbing asam,b'ling, or billing-billing while in Indonesia it is known as belimbing wuluh, Carambola wuluh and belimbing sayur.
Names of bilimbi in other countries are:
Dominican Republic: Vinagrillo; Philippines: kamias, kalamias; Thailand:
taling pling, or kaling pring; Vietnam: khế tàu; Haiti : blimblin;
Jamaica: bimbling plum; Cuba; grosella china; El Salvador & Nicaragua: mimbro; Costa Rica: mimbro or tirigur; Venezuela: vinagrillo; Surinam and Guyana: birambi; Brazil:limão-de-caiena, biri-birí, bilimbim, bilimbino, aramboleira-amarela; groselheira, azedinha or limão-japonês; Argentina: pepino de Indias: France : carambolier bilimbi or cornichon des Indes;
Cambodia: talingting; Seychelles: bilenbi.
In some parts a star fruit is called bilimbi and in some other parts bilimbi is called star fruit. On the right there is a picture of star fruit. This article is not about the star fruit.
It is used as a stain remover for clothes and as a disinfectant to wash hands.
Bilimbi is found in the Philippines, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar (Burma) , Malaysia, India, Zanzibar, Jamaica, Central and South America (where it is known as mimbro), and Queensland.
It is a tropical tree and it grows well in rich and well-drained soil. It can grow also in limestone and sandy regions. It has less resistance to cold. It requires 3 months of dry season.
Bilimbi tree can grow up to 50 feet high but is normally kept short by pruning to facilitate harvesting. But heavy pruning can diminish the flowering. The waxy, pale green fruit is slightly lobed, about 3 to 4 inches long and up to an inch wide. Seeds are about ½ inch long. The sour fruit changes from green to light yellow when ripe. It matures 50–60 days after flowering. The tree is extremely sensitive to cold and wind.
Nutrition Chart for bilimbi
Moisture 94.2-94.7 g
Protein 0.61 g
Fiber 0.6g
Ash 0.31-0.40 g
Calcium 3.4 mg
Phosphorus 11.1 mg
Iron 1.01 mg
Carotene 0.035 mg
Thiamine 0.010 mg
Riboflavin 0.026 mg
Niacin 0.302 mg
Ascorbic Acid 15.5 mg
Medicinal Use
Dilute bilimbi juice is used to cool fevers. It is used as home remedy for acne, rheumatism, bowel hemorrhages, stomach problems, hemorrhoids, rectal inflammation, internal bleeding, biliousness, coughs, throat irritation, venereal diseases , beriberi and itching.
It is said to control high cholesterol and diabetes.
Bilimbi is called by different names in different parts of the world. In English it is called cucumber tree or sorrel. In India it takes several names such as bilimbi, Irumban Puli, Chemmeen Puli, Bimbul and Orkkaapuli. In Sri Lanka is is called Bilincha, bimbiri or Biling. In Malaysia it takes the names of belimbing buloh, belimbing asam,b'ling, or billing-billing while in Indonesia it is known as belimbing wuluh, Carambola wuluh and belimbing sayur.
Names of bilimbi in other countries are:
Dominican Republic: Vinagrillo; Philippines: kamias, kalamias; Thailand:
taling pling, or kaling pring; Vietnam: khế tàu; Haiti : blimblin;
Jamaica: bimbling plum; Cuba; grosella china; El Salvador & Nicaragua: mimbro; Costa Rica: mimbro or tirigur; Venezuela: vinagrillo; Surinam and Guyana: birambi; Brazil:limão-de-caiena, biri-birí, bilimbim, bilimbino, aramboleira-amarela; groselheira, azedinha or limão-japonês; Argentina: pepino de Indias: France : carambolier bilimbi or cornichon des Indes;
Cambodia: talingting; Seychelles: bilenbi.
In some parts a star fruit is called bilimbi and in some other parts bilimbi is called star fruit. On the right there is a picture of star fruit. This article is not about the star fruit.
Recipes
Bilimbi curry
Ingredients250 gram bilimbi
1or2 tsp vegetable oil (sesame, coconut, sunflower or grape seed oil).
1or2 dry chilly
1or2 onion bulbs
3 green chilly
3 sprigs curry leaves
½ tsp black mustard seeds
½ tsp fenugreek seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
¼ tsp turmeric powder
Salt to taste
1 cup water
1 Tblsp coconut milk (optional)
Method
Wash and cut bilimbi into 1cm pieces.
Cut dry chilly using a pair of scissors into ½ cm pieces.
Cut onion, green chilly and curry leaves and set it aside.
Add oil to a heated pan, after the oil heats up add dry chilly and fry for 10 seconds.
Add mustard seed and as it splutters, lower the heat.
Add fenugreek and cumin and fry till you get the fragrance.
Do not over fry otherwise ingredients will be burnt.
Add onion and fry till it is translucent.
Add green chilly, curry leaves, and bilimbi and stir fry for one minute for it to blend with the other ingredients.
Add water turmeric powder and salt and stir.
Cover the pan with the lid and let it cook for 2 minutes.
Don’t overcook as bilimbi will become soft and soggy. If you cook for only a short while the vegetable will be crispy.
If you like you can add one table spoon of coconut milk to reduce the sourness. If you add coconut milk you you cannot store it in the fridge for long. Without coconut milk you can keep the curry in the fridge for a week. I normally cook this curry without coconut milk.
Tips
I use sesame oil to do this curry as it does not get too hot and burn the ingredients or soften the bilimbi. You can use any vegetable oil to make this curry.
I cut curry leaves fine to let it blend with other ingredients. If you put whole curry leaves people will tend to discard it. Do you know curry leaves are good for your heart and hair.
Nutrition data for this recipe
Nutrition content is computed by adding nutrition values of individual ingredients according to the USDA nutrition database. Water shown here is what is found in the ingredients and not the water added while cooking.
Click the button below to view the nutrition data. Click again to close it.
Bilimbi in Brine
Ingredients250 grams of bilimbi
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| Bilimbi in brine |
1 tea spoon (5 grams) of salt.
Sterilise the jar in a microwave oven.
Add salt to the water and bring to the boil.
Blanch the bilimbi for 10 seconds and take fruit out of the hot water. (You can omit this step if you want firm pickles). Blanching will make bilimbi very soft. You can also soak in salt water for 20 minutes.
Pack the fruits in a jar.
Let the brine cool to the room temperature.
Add the brine to the vegetable and seal the bottle with the lid. The brine should completely cover the vegetable. To be on the safe side start with a higher amount of water. Another alternative is to put the vegetable in a jar and pour enough water to cover the vegetable. Take the water out and measure it. To determine the salt required for the brine use the 2% formula. For example, you add 2 grams of salt to every 100 ml of water.
Keep the bottle for at least 3 days in room temperature and then refrigerate it.
Now the pickle is ready for consumption.
This method can be applied for many kinds of vegetable. During the pickling process examine the bottle for any mould or fungus growth. If you find any mould or fungus, discard the pickle.
Pickling process makes the produce become sour. Even cabbage and carrot will become sour. Since bilimbi is already sour, I did it not want to make it taste worse. So, I added twice the amount of salt to reduce the sourness. This extra salt will kill the lactic acid bacteria and the pickle will not be probiotics. But it will taste extremely delicious.
Picked bilimbi can be taken on its own or consumed as an accompaniment to grilled, baked or barbequed meat.
Bilimbi Wine
Because of its high acidic content bilimbi fruit can be used in making wine in a way similar to cider and such other wines.
Ingredients:
1/2 kg Bilimbi
1 kg sugar
5 cups of water
1/4 teaspoon yeast
Method:
Boil bilimbi, sugar and water together in a bowl. Let it cool down by 30 degrees and then add the yeast to it. When it is completely cooled pour it into a clean, dry bottle. Keep the bottle closed with an air-tight cap and leave it in a cool dry place for 20 days. This is called the primary fermentation. For the secondary fermentation strain out the wine with a couple of layers of fine clothe and keep this strained wine in an airtight container for another 20 days.
After the second fermentation the wine will have to be siphoned into another bottle leaving the excess yeast and must behind. This process is called racking and if it is not done the wine will have a yeasty flavour. Racking should be done twice but if you do more the taste will improve.
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