“I sold these chiku powder packets to local shops in Bordi and to my friends who were living in Mumbai,” says Mahesh. Luckily, this worked well and he started manufacturing this powder in small amounts in 2008 to see if it would be well received. To powder the chips, he developed a special machine in-house that could grind the chips roughly and prevent the sticky-ness. Undeterred, he then cut the fruit into small thin chips and dried it using a solar tent dryer. Since it is widely available in Bordi, I started thinking of innovative ways in which I could source these fruits from farmers and start a social enterprise around it,” explains 67-year-old Mahesh. It is rich in phosphorus and dietary fibre which helps in digestion. Mahesh was also aware of the fact that since there was an abundance of the sweet fruit in the region, these farmers weren’t really getting a fair price for their efforts and the produce would go to waste. Growing up in the middle of this chiku paradise, Mahesh Churi, naturally, grew to love these sugary delicacies and developed a lot of respect for the farmers who nurtured the fruit with so much love. The Chikoo farms in Bordi are famous across the country.
In fact, Bordi’s chikus are so well-known that a Chiku festival is held each year and people from all over flock to the coastal village to attend it! Who wouldn’t? Situated by the sea and boasting of verdant downs, Bordi is a respite to eyes so accustomed to high rises and smoke-choked air.īesides being a feast for the eyes, Bordi is also famous for its chiku farms that span across the entire village. It is a perfect weekend getaway for city dwellers who hustle throughout the week. And if this is not exciting enough add, some toasted coconut chips were great as extra toppings!.About three hours away from Mumbai, lies a tiny village called Bordi. As you eat the ice cream, the first flavor that hits you is the rose essence, then you are introduced to the cinnamon flavor and finally you are left with the hint of the chikoo flavor. The freshness and cooling feeling of rose fragrance went well with the cinnamon sweetness.
I liked the pale pink color ice cream in which the brown mint chips were sticking out their sunny heads! The rose essence also aligned well with pink color of the ice cream.
#Chikoo dessert full#
I decided to throw in some cinnamon to bring some fragrant sweetness, added rose essence for hiding the sourness on account of preservatives, and gave it the quintessential topping of chocolate mint chips to give it a texture and appeal similar to the popular ice creams! Not knowing how the combination is going to turn, I eagerly waited for the ice cream maker to churn and for the clock to turn full twenty four hours, for me to dig in a bite of my very own concoction! I have primarily used only fresh fruits in my ice cream so this was a bit of challenge for me as to how reduce the taste of preservative in the ice cream? Not afraid to experiment, I let my creativity guide me. Naturals brand in Mumbai and many other local ice cream shops across Gujarat have this chikoo ice cream readily available, but they also have a dense taste of chikoo in it. Now came the part of trying this in an ice cream. I always liked the grainy texture in this fruit which only recently I realized gave it a malted taste. If nothing else, I can have the popular chikoo milkshakes which have a flavor of the malted milkshakes, the older cousins of the current milkshakes. Frozen chikoo slices have a sourness and so does the pulp of chikoo, with its dose of preservatives.Ĭasual wandering around a newly opened a grocery store, I spotted a Chikoo Pulp can, and was immediately excited to use that. So in the twenty-five years that we left India, eating this favorite fruit has been a rare opportunity. Even if I get some fresh chikoos, they do not ripen well. The chance of getting to eat fresh chikoo that is nicely ripened is very slim in US. It is known for its sweetness and malty flavor, and this has been a favorite fruit of mine.
#Chikoo dessert skin#
Its skin is rough brown and the ripened flesh has a nice brown color. A berry like fruit with dark black almond shaped seeds. “Chikoo” is also a pet name for young kids, in many Gujarati households, including mine! The fruit is also known as sapodilla or zapota or sapota. Chikoo Ice Cream with Cinnamon Rose Mintchip is made from a highly popular Asian and Mexican fruit.
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