By Supipi Udashashi
Velvet Tamarind anyone? It is a taste which takes me back to my school days where we stumbled on to each other trying to get near the ‘Gal Siyambala achchi’ (the old lady who used to sell Gal Siyambala near the school gate). These tiny velvety pills when the season turns were clearly the best palate pleaser during school interval. I wonder she still comes near the school gate with the gunny sack full of Gal Siyambala.
Growing on large trees of semi dry regions of Sri Lanka such as Moneragala, Ampara and Anuradhapura districts, Gal Siyambala is also found in South East Asia and even in the bushes of Africa. The encasing shell is dark brown in colour and the plush feeling of it is so inviting. It cracks easily between the fingers revealing the tangy powdery pulp which covers a hard dark brown seed. More of a powdery version of tamarind with the same sour taste (definitely sweeter too), the moment you pop one in your mouth, it tickles the palate and makes you yearn for more.
The Gal Siyambala tree also has many uses, the wood is often used in the construction of houses in villages, the bark is used as an ayurvedic medicine for scorpion bites, the seeds are used as a medication for ulcers, and the list goes on.
Nibbling too much of these pods of sweet and tangy pulp would make you feel a thick coating in the throat. But, who cares? This is a seasonal fix and you gotta try if you have not had them and even if you have had them. I would never in my life forget that cracking sound and velvety feeling, and last but not least, the oh-so-smooth pulp which literally melts in the mouth.
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