The Golden Fruit of Health: Must-try apricot recipes from stew to jam

Hyderabad: On a recent shopping trip to a new supermarket in Hyderabad, I was pleasantly surprised to see fresh golden apricots among the fruits. The season for fresh apricots is generally from April to August, but these days they are available in all seasons as they are exported from many countries.

The trip—I came back with a boxful of the golden fruit—made me think about the benefits of consuming apricots and the delicious dishes that can be made from them.

Countries that grow apricots

Turkey, Italy, Russia, Spain, Greece, the USA, France, Iran, Pakistan, Australia and New Zealand produce apricots.

I reminisced longingly about the various open-air bazaars of Turkey, where the fresh and dried apricots are perhaps the juiciest in the world; and the fruitful voyages when hybrid fruits were loaded on board ‘Reefer’ or refrigerated carrier ships in South America.

Apricot can be transformed into many variations. The best and most delicious stone fruit has some part of an apricot in it.

For example, Plumcot is half plum and half apricot, Aprium is 3 parts apricot and 1 part plum and Pluot is 3 parts plum and 1 part apricot.

Benefits of eating apricots

Apricot is low in calories when fresh. The dried version is healthy too but higher in calories. The fresh fruit is rich in vitamins A and C, Riboflavin (B2) and Niacin (B3).

It is also an excellent source of minerals like calcium, phosphorus, iron and traces of sodium, sulphur, manganese, cobalt and bromine. The beta-carotene and lycopene in this golden fruit are said to help prevent heart disease.

The apricot seed has an extremely high content of vitamin B17 known as Laetrile. These bitter-tasting seeds can be chopped up, ground and swallowed with a teaspoon of honey. The inner seed can be eaten and has a taste very similar to almonds.

However, it contains small quantities of cyanide and should therefore be consumed with caution as it can lead to poisoning.

Delicious preparations with apricot

Best eaten fresh, as the number of calories increases when the apricots are dried, this fruit can be made into desserts, jams and health bars to substitute for chocolate bars, brandy and liqueur.

Amaretto is a famous Italian liqueur made from apricot seeds and a little pulp. Hyderabad’s world-famous dessert is ‘Khubani ka Meetha’ made with dried apricots. Parsis are fond of their ‘Jardalu ma Gosh’ or mutton and apricot stew.

Jardalu ma Gosh (apricot and meat stew)

Ingredients:

2 tbsp of oil

1 cup of potato, sliced thin

4 onions, finely sliced

1 teaspoon garlic-ginger paste

½ kilo boneless lamb (or chicken), cubed (substitute with soya nuggets or potato, paneer/tofu and cauliflower for a vegetarian version)

2-inch cinnamon stick, 3 cardamoms, 4 cloves

1 teaspoon of salt

½ kilo of dried pitted apricots soaked in 1 cup water for at least 4 hours

1 tsp of sugar

Method

- Sauté potato strips in oil, until brown. Keep aside.

- Fry finely sliced onion in oil till golden brown. Add garlic-ginger paste and cook for 5 minutes. Add meat (or vegetarian substitute) and cook for 5 minutes. Add cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamoms, salt and ½ cup warm water and simmer with the lid on for 15 minutes.

- Add 2 ½ cups of water and continue simmering with the lid on till approximately ½ cup gravy remains. (Alternately, for meat or chicken only, add 1 cup of water and pressure cook on low for 10 minutes after whistle.)

- Heat sugar in another pan and allow sugar to brown. When sugar gets dark brown, add soaked apricots with the water they were soaked in. Bring it to a boil and lower the heat; cover and cook for 15 minutes till the apricots are soft.

- Add apricots with their syrup, to the meat/soya/vegetable mixture and serve garnished with potato strips.

Apricot Jam

Ingredients:

1.5 kg of ripe apricots

3 cups of sugar

1/2 cup of water

Juice of one lime, strained.

Method:

- Halve, remove the pit and coarsely chop the apricots. Combine the apricots with sugar and water in a saucepan and keep it for at least 2 hours.

- Cook the mixture over medium heat until it starts to boil, skimming away and discarding any foam from the surface. This will ensure a clear jam.

- Reduce heat to a low and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the mixture thickens. Add lime juice and remove heat. Cool, spoon into jars and store in a refrigerator.