[caption id="attachment_46" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption="A basket of Mesta fruit"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_47" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption="Varun shelling mesta fruit"][/caption]

When (Sonati's) Ma visited us in October she had taught us to make jam from the Mesta Tenga (pullipu keerai / gongura / rosella) fruit. We successfully made vast quantities of the jam from this year's crop which finally ran out yesterday. We are not likely to forget the rich deep purple  and the wild flavour of the jam.

Recipe: Separate the seed from the covering. Cook the red petals in water till they are  tender. Add sugar ((half the weight of the petals). Stir occasionally and allow to thicken to the correct consistency. This is when it slides off the spoon in lumps. A small steel plate at the bottom of the cooking pot will prevent the jam from sticking. Cool and bottle.