Goraka

What it is

Garcinia quaesita is called Rathgoraka in Sinhala. The fresh fruit is about 7 cm (2.8 in) across, yellow or red when ripe, with six to eight deep grooves. Inside, juicy flesh surrounds six to eight seeds. For the cooking spice, the rind is the part saved and dried after the seeds come out.

Where it comes from

This tree’s natural home is Sri Lanka. It grows beneath the canopy of lowland tropical rainforests and in home gardens across the island’s wet and intermediate zones. Growing districts include Kandy, Galle and Matara. In home gardens, the sour fruit is a cash crop harvested for its rind.

How it's eaten where it grows

In Sri Lankan ambul thiyal, goraka paste coats pieces of fish, often tuna, making a dry, sour curry. A southern Sri Lankan fish curry takes a different form: tuna cooks with tomato, green chili, curry leaves and pieces of goraka, then thin coconut milk. The gravy can stay plentiful or simmer down.

For a spicy Sinhala fish curry, dried goraka is soaked and ground with chili and black pepper before it goes into the pot. The finished fish is served with rice and other curries.

How it's grown

Goraka is a slow-growing evergreen tree that likes shade and deep, well-drained soil. Young trees need shelter from direct sun. A tree grown from seed takes 7–9 years to fruit; a grafted tree takes 4–5 years. The ripe fruits are picked and handled carefully to keep the rind from getting damaged.

When and where you'll find it

In Sri Lanka, the fruit usually ripens with the rains from June to September. Dried rind is the familiar curry ingredient, and it also comes as a paste made from the dried fruit. The black pieces start as the rind of a fresh, grooved fruit.