Beli

ORIGINS

Beli’s likely origin is India—ancient texts from the Vedic period (2,000-800 BC) reference the fruit and its religious significance.

TASTE

Beli’s orangey flesh tastes like a mix of sweet papaya and sour lime.

AYURVEDA & MEDICINAL USES

To alleviate constipation and thoroughly scrub the intestines, folk remedies suggest drinking a beverage of blended ice and bael flesh.

For diarrhea and dysentery, traditional remedies prescribe consuming unripe dried or powdered bael.

Soaking bael leaves overnight and drinking the strained water supposedly helps peptic ulcers.

Drinking blended bael pulp with pepper and water reduces acidity; upon adding honey, the mixture alleviates asthma and respiratory problems.

NOTABLE FACTS

According to Hindu scriptures, beli’s inception coincided with the world’s creation: The book, “Handbook of Tibetan Buddhist Symbols,” states that goddess Parvati’s sweat beads fell and created beli trees while she was churning the oceans and creating life on Earth. Hindu iconography is replete with beli, too—its trifoliate leaves emerge on Shiva’s crown and trident, and the points of three-pronged leaves also represent the holy trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.

TRY-ME RECIPES

Eat beli like a grapefruit by adding just a pinch of sugar. Just as some Floridians may eat half a grapefruit and drink strong black coffee to start their day, many Indonesians eat a bael for breakfast to jumpstart their digestive juices.

Make beli toffee by combining the fresh or dried pulp with sugar, coconut powder, and vegetable oil.

The fruit’s texture and consistency make it ideal for jam and thick, gooey marmalade. Syrup is another common bael concoction.