Burmese grape

What it is

Each round or oval fruit is about 2–3 cm (0.8–1.2 in) across. In Tripura, the leathery skin turns from green to yellow, yellow-brown or yellow-orange as it matures. Inside is pinkish-white pulp around three or four seeds. The edible part, called the aril, is the juicy pulp exposed when the skin is peeled away.

Where it comes from

Baccaurea ramiflora grows naturally across South and Southeast Asia, including India, Myanmar, southern China, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and Peninsular Malaysia. In Tripura, northeast India, it grows in backyards and as a forest crop. Local names include lotkon, bubi and kusumai; in Bangladesh, lotkon is the name used at its wholesale markets and in recipes.

How it's eaten where it grows

In Tripura, the fruit is a fresh snack and goes into jam, preserves and juice. In Bangladesh, lotkoner achar (লটকনের আচার) cooks peeled fruit into a pickle with tamarind, vinegar, chilli, sugar, cumin and panch phoron, the Bengali five-spice blend.

Cook Selina Shilpi’s lotkon diye chhoto machher jhol (লটকন দিয়ে ছোট মাছের ঝোল) puts the fruit in a small-fish stew. Onion, garlic, turmeric, mustard oil and fresh chilli flavour the broth, served with hot rice.

How it's grown

The evergreen tree suits warm, moist conditions and fertile soil that drains well. Male and female flowers grow on separate trees. Growers raise plants from seed or by air-layering, rooting a branch while it is still attached to the tree. In Tripura, flowers usually appear from mid-March through April, with fruit beginning to develop in mid-April.

When and where you'll find it

In Tripura, whole fruit usually reaches local markets and railway platforms from June through August, during the monsoon. In Bangladesh, a lotkon wholesale market sits beside Morjal bus stand on the Dhaka–Sylhet highway in Narsingdi. Crates leave this market for other parts of the country.