Herbal dishes of Chhattisgarh, India XXXIV. Karonda Ke Athan

Research Note - Pankaj Oudhia
© 2001,2002,2003 Pankaj Oudhia - All Rights Reserved

Karonda is a local name of Karanda (Carissa carandus). It is popularly planted as herb plant in Chhattisgarh. The natives plant it in home gardens and also it is under commercial cultivation. Its fruits are used for pickles (Athan), jams and chutneys. As it is hardy plant and needs very less care, the agriculture experts are motivating the farmers of Chhattisgarh to plant this herb. The natives use Karonda as home remedy in treatment of many common diseases. The traditional healers also have in depth traditional medicinal knowledge about medicinal uses and properties of different plant parts of Karonda. They informed me that its consumption in any form is beneficial for health. They are aware of Karonda ke Athan. According to them, it is good appetizer. Its regular use in this form throughout the cropping season, flushes out the intestinal worms. It is also considered good for stomatitis. Material Required : Karonda fruits, Tel (Oil), Masala (Spices), Namak (Salt). Method of Preparation : The fruits are washed thoroughly in running water. After washing it is cut into small pieces. These pieces are boiled in water. After 5 minutes, water is drained and pieces are kept in sun light for drying upto 10 minutes. All ingredients are mixed with the pieces and mixture is kept in Glassware (Burney). After this, the warm oil is added in the glassware. On second day, it is served with meals. Once prepared, it can be used upto long time.