If I had to select one fruit or vegetable, which is a prized possession and a seasonal favourite, it would have to be the breadfruit. This luscious fruit is heavily used in Goan cuisine, and especially during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival.
Breadfruit is an ingredient in local delicacies, such as Khatkhate, and is also used to prepare rava-coated, fried fritters, called kapa.
This tree actually begins to fruit in summer in Goa – mainly during May and June and not so much these days. Thus, it is in high demand at this time of the year, while prices jump around the time of the festival and during the festive days.
The breadfruit is a vital part of the Chaturthi celebrations and is also used in the matoli decoration. Thus, it is an indispensable item in every shopping bag for Chaturthi festivities.
It is locally known as nir phanas, where nir means ‘water’ and phanas means ‘jackfruit’. It also highlights that it's a tropical fruit, requiring plenty of water and a hot, humid climate to thrive.
Native to the Malay Peninsula and the western Pacific islands, the tree has large, thick leaves, with a peculiar shape – deeply cut into pinnate lobes. And, its flowers are pollinated by the fruit bats.
It is known as breadfruit because, when cut, the inside of the fruit resembles white bread. It is also one of the highest-yielding food plants considering that a single tree can produce up to 200 fruits per season. The oval-shaped green fruit is nutritious, delicious, and can weigh anything from 500 grams to 5 kg.
Nowadays, it is considered a superfood as it is rich in starch, vitamins and minerals. It is believed that one breadfruit tree in your backyard can feed five people, making it a possible option to eradicate global hunger.
That could possibly be why our ancestors thought of planting this tree in our backyards, with the result that it is easily found in Goan villages.
Interestingly, the tree can be found in urban areas as well. There was one in the compound of Kala Academy, in Campal, although it is no longer around.
The presence of such trees in our public and urban spaces is a valuable asset, and we must cherish and protect them at all costs.
Another tree species, known as breadnut (Artocarpus camansi), has an oblong shape and is covered in spikes. It is a seeded variety of breadfruit, although the fruit is different and looks more like a small jackfruit. While it is edible, it is virtually impossible to distinguish between these two species of trees as they look very similar.
In fact, breadfruit comes in many varieties and is cultivated in 90 countries worldwide, and that includes Goa.