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A dansala that brought back the sweet and sour taste of Kirala fruit
View(s):By Malaka Rodrigo
Among the many dansal that were organised across the country to mark Vesakwas a special dansala held in Weheragampita, Matara, offering fresh kirala juice mostly unique to the southern part of the country.
The Kirala fruit grows in the marshes and the drink made from it is known to be very refreshing.
Though older generations are familiar with the taste, the present day generations have not even seen the fruit, said Malindu Gajadeera who organised the Kirala juice dansala with a team of villagers. He said the team had gone by boat along the Nilawala river banks and its streams and walked through muddy marshes in search of the fruits. “It wasn’t an easy task, but we wanted to do it to bring back memories of this forgotten fruit,” Mr.Gajadeera told the Sunday Times.
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- Going in search of Kirala fruits along the Nilwala river banks
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- The Kirala fruit juice dansala
Kirala (Apple Mangrove) is a mangrove found in coastal wetlands. The tree grows up to 40 metres high and has a white flower with a reddish base. Kirala has a special rooting system that grows upward like spikes out of the mud and water to get atmospheric oxygen while its other roots remain submerged. These roots were used to seal bottles decades ago, popularly known as ‘kirala aba’. This mangrove is mainly found in East Africa, Asia, Australia and Western Pacific regions.
There are three species of Kirala found in Sri Lanka, said Prof. Siril Wijesundara, former Director General of the Botanical Gardens Department. The most common species, scientifically categorised as Sonneratia calceolar is found in Southern and Southwest Sri Lanka while S.apetala grows on the East coast and S.alba in Puttalam area, he said.
Kirala has both a sweet and sour taste. The Kirala drink is prepared the same way as wood apple juice by adding coconut milk and putting sugar and salt to taste. In Ayurveda, Kirala juice is believed to be a cooling drink.
Prof.Wijesundara pointed out that Kirala was an underutilised fruit found in Sri Lanka’s rich biodiversity and sadly like other mangrove plants, Kirala too was fast losing its habitat.
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