Kunnaaru ( Jujube fruit)

Kunnaru is a local fruit which is loved by my family and even by my extended family from my paternal side. For years I used to think this was called Stone apple because they look like little mini green apples and has a  seed that is as hard as a stone.  It was until recently I discovered in one of my son's Dhivehi  reading books that these are actually called Jujube.
 Kunnaaru grows in a large tree( although in the wiki it says shrub) that has sharp spines. Depending on the area its grown it can grow quite large. In my aunt's house, where we stayed during our trip to Kulhudhufushi , there was a large kunaaru tree and my husband climbed up the branches onto the roof the house to pick these.  But for us and  the kids, we used long sticks and whacked the poor tree with it and the fruit fell down on the ground.

My son and my cousin whacking the kunaaru tree  with a stick

Kunnaru has a sharp, tart taste but the tartness mellows as it matures.  Once it turns brown it gets slimy and can be quite unpleasant to some, although I used to love them when I was small. The flesh is white with a small hard seed.

  In my home especially on Friday mornings( that is if we have any Kunnaru in the house) or when going on picnics in Kulhudhufushi, kunnaru is mixed up with unripe mangoes and unripe papaya along with chillies and lime juice into rihaakuru, a local fish paste. It is super hot, bound to get you sweating, but still enjoyed even with all the chillies added in. When I say chillies I am not talking about green chillies I am talking about the fiery hot scotch bonnet chillies.

Through recent years I have seen various forms of Kunnaaru from overseas, the ones from India and Pakistan are more oval , and the ones I saw in Thailand are larger more green apple-like and more sweeter than the local ones.  These have now become quite popular in the local shops.