My Grannie used to tell me this story about how in Hinduism the jamun tree is the life force of our world, in the era when the Gods roamed on earth, the huge jambu tree with its fruit was the source of nourishment for the Lord Rama when he was exiled from Ayodhya. Moreover, the Jambu fruits are associated with Lord Krishna whose skin color had a bluish tint like the inside of the fruit,  and Lord Shiva, known as Jambunath, it is said that Lord Shiva appeared to a devotee under such a tree, and it is why Grannie would say there are always Jambu trees around the temples.

Mythology or not, we had one in the compound of a home gifted to her by her father, it was hardy, tall, and magnificently shady, under which grew a bushy tulsi plant(Holy Basil), its fruits falling on the ground staining the concrete purple.

We would pick and eat right from the tree, and once we were done chewing through the tart flesh, we would shoot the seed out of our mouth with amazing force onto unsuspecting younger siblings and passers-by!

On days we weren’t climbing the tree, Mum would wash and rub the fruits with salt to cut down the tartness,  and with the rest of the fruits concocted the most delicious Jambu Mojito drink for us–sweet with homemade fruit syrup.  

A very pretty elixir, palest blush pink against the green of mint leaves and with hints of lemon.  She made the fresh fruit syrup by boiling the fruits, lemon, and sugar and then mixed that with some seltzer water and mint.

The fruit is high in fiber, vitamins A, B, and C, and iron.  Jamuns are tart to taste – which is why just like tart cherries, also have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.  Mum would dry the seeds and grind them into a powder.  A teaspoon of which she mixed with water before lunch, apparently helping to control diabetes.  

These small recollections remind me how much I had to learn from my Mum.  It’s one thing to pick fresh fruits, and then another to have the skills to prepare them.  Here is Mum’s and my take on her Jambu Mojito.

Ingredients

• 1 cups deseeded fresh jambus
• 1/2 cup sugar (or a little more depending on how sweet the jambus are)
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 lemon squeezed 

Assembly and Garnish:

• Bunch fresh mint leaves
• Lemon/ lime slices  
• Seltzer water
• Ice cubes
• Salt/sugar for rimming

Method

 Mums’s Jambu Mojito:

• In a pan heated over medium heat, add jumbu, sugar and water. 
• Cook until boiling and a pulp forms (this refrigerates well)
• Let it cool for 30 minutes and then blend and strain the pulp.
• Add lemon juice and stir.

How to assemble:

• Take glass and run a wedge of lemon on the lip of the glass and dip it in salt or sugar.
  
  
• Add mint leaves and lime slices, take a muddler and give everything a good muddle {I add my blended mix right to this}
  
  
• Add 3-4 tablespoons of above jambu syrup (depending on how big/ small your glass is). 
  
  
• Add chilled seltzer water/ lemon lime seltzer or whatever you like.
  
  Watch me make it!

Note

My method: I use frozen jamun so I boil the jamun, sugar, lemon or lime and strain the syrup. I add it to the muddled mint and lemon with ice and top it with seltzer