Sweet ‘Taati Nungu’..

A roadside vendor seen busy taking out the Taati Nungu, Targole (singular form is Targola), the fruits of Palm trees… Known as ‘Nunguu’ in Tamil, ‘Tadgola’ in Marathi and Gujarati, ‘Taati munjalu’ in Andhra, ‘Taati bonda’ in Tulu, ‘Taati Nungu’ in Kannada…

They are soft, juicy grey-whitish, slimmy sweet and cool fruit covered with a cream cover that tastes bitter. This is found in groups of three inside palm fruits. Usually available in summer.. They have peelable skins and thick, edible pulp (kind of between thin malai and hard copra, in terms of coconut meat). The pulp surrounds a bit of sweet juice; as you bite into the fruit…