03/08/2015
katu Anoda
There is a local belief that when the katu aththaa or anoda (soursop) fruit begins to ripen on the trees, the dimiyas (weaver ants) arrive. Big, red and fierce, they set up a colony, milk the flowers of sweet nectar and weave the large leaves into nests. They guard their terrain, the soldiers scanning the environment, waving antennae and snapping deadly jaws in the air to warn off intruders. They evacuate en masse when the fruit is ripe enough for us to pick.
This strange facet of dimiya behaviour is welcome because they guard one of nature's finest fruit feasts. The delicious anoda, a welcome immigrant to Sri Lanka from the West Indies and South America, was introduced to the tropics by the Portuguese and Spanish in the 16th Century. Now thoroughly naturalised, it ranks high on the list of favourite fruits of most Sri Lankans. The local moniker anoda is a corruption of its genus annona, a member of the family Annonaceae. Sri Lanka has just four varieties of dozens worldwide - the katu anoda (soursop or annona muricata), weli anoda (sweetsop, sugar apple, annona squamosa), matti anoda (custard apple, bullocks heart, annona reticulate), and the cherimoya (annona cherimola). All four varieties are largely found in home gardens and forested areas, and are not commercially cultivated.
The soursop, the largest variety, is the most common and favoured. Originating in the Andes, it has happily settled in Sri Lanka growing everywhere, but most delicious when cultivated at slightly higher elevations. And although the fruit is said to be relatively new to Asia, it has made its way into sub continental mythology, as well as ayurveda. It's said that Hanuman and Prince Rama of the epic Ramayana fame, dined on soursop on their way to Sri Lanka to save Princess Sita from the clutches of her kidnapper, the Sri Lankan king Ravana. Perhaps the fruit provided them with the vigor needed to outfox the Island's multi-talented monarch.
A healthy soursop can grow up to a foot long. When ripe, it is soft but firm, with a few blackish tinges on its pale green skin. The fruit is packed with soft white cottony flakes steeped in flavours that carry a hint of pineapple, while the soft central stem tastes just a little like banana. It's best enjoyed whole, scooped with a spoon and deseeded, but also makes a wonderful smoothie mixed with honey with or without milk, or whipped up with plain yogurt or paired with ice cream. Unripe soursop make a delicious spicy stir-fry, sliced and tempered with onions, garlic and chillies, curry leaves and curry powder, and simmered in light coconut milk.
In comparison, weli anoda, mati anoda and cherimoya are smaller and rarer. All three are plump and most often heart shaped and delicious. The weli anoda is the most widely cultivated next to the soursop, and definitely the sweetest. All three are best consumed when the fruit is soft and a little squishy and the flesh is white but now browning.
Like soursop, weli anoda and cherimoya should be cut open and scooped. Matti anoda is somewhat chalky in texture and has slightly elevated protuberances. The rind peels off easily when the fruit is ripe, and the flesh can be eaten fresh or frozen and blended into a sweet/sour yogurt like puree.
Packed with nutrients, anoda in all its variations has made its way into the compendium of ayurvedic herbal cures. It's high anti-oxidant and Vitamin C content has brought it fame as a heart-smart fruit. To enjoy its nutritional benefits, it's best taken fresh, straight off the fruit. Ayurveda makes use of almost all parts of the anoda tree. Katu anoda is said to be the most potent of the four varieties. Its leaves boiled into a broth or ‘tea' or ground and added to rice gruel is not only delicious but said to prevent cancer and treat kidney stones and urine infections. Mati anoda flesh is said to invigorate, which makes it a refreshing fitness food.
Elsewhere in the world, the anoda has other curative uses. According to Materia Medica of British Guiana, a drunk man will sober up if his head is rubbed with soursop leaves that have been immersed in a bowl of water into which the juice of couple of limes has been squeezed. There is no scientific background to this tale, and it may stem from the belief in the West Indies of the tranquilising effect of soursop leaves. It is given to calm fevers, and in the Netherlands Antilles, the leaves are stuffed into pillows or strewn on beds for a good night's sleep. In Africa, young anoda shoots and leaves are used to remedy gall bladder ailments, coughs, catarrh, diarrhea, dysentery and indigestion. The leaves are said to have a cooling effect and also aid the delivery in childbirth. Anoda leaf compresses are applied on inflamed skin and swollen feet. Chewed leaves mixed with saliva are used to get rid of scar tissue. A poultice of mashed leaves is used to cure eczema and other skin afflictions as well as rheumatism. Anoda seeds should not be consumed because they are mildly toxic.
Sri Lanka’s anoda lovers have learned to appreciate the dimiyas. In the tropics, such unintended collaborations can be mutually beneficial
Sri Lanka has one other contender for the anoda name - the wal (wild) or beheth anoda (abutilon indicum), a potent wild shrub that does not even remotely resemble anoda. Wal anoda fruit resemble the kokis achchu (molds used to make kokis sweetmeats) and are not eaten but used in medicines. Decoctions prepared from the leaves and often mixed with rice flour are used to cure skin ailments like rashes, boils and ulcers, while the roots are diuretic and are boiled to cool fevers and to purify the circulatory system. It is also used as a mouthwash for toothache and gum boils, while its seed is used in herbal birth-control preparations. The beheth anoda's formidable curative powers make it a fitting company for the true anodas.
Sri Lanka's anoda lovers have learned to appreciate the dimiyas. In the tropics, such unintended collaborations can be mutually beneficial. The anoda tree is generous, and the ants love its nectar. We humans love the fruit's luscious flesh. The ants keep off other insect pests like fruit flies and anoda moths that bore holes into the fruit. This partnership between people and weaver ants is a win-win sharing of the spoils of one of nature's finest life-giving treats.
