Premarani Thingom

Today I watched a documentary on the SBS channel about the island of Chios, in Greece. It was wonderful to see the weeping tree which produces mastic (a kind of gum) and the medieval villages. There was this part where tomatoes in strings were hung outside the doors and windows to let them dry. How beautiful they were! On seeing them, I remembered our HEIBI (scientific name: Vangueria spinosa, Muyna in Hindi). I remember our childhood days when we had a Heibi tree, in our backyard. We used to collect the fruits, put them on a string and hung it outside for sun-drying, on phiyankhok (a bamboo structure used for drying clothes). How delicious they were, although they look like an old woman's cheek; better not think of it that way while eating! I can still remember how I used to feel the leaves, touching them and searching for the perfect one as a Sinju ( a Manipuri dish) ingredient. How much I wish I could have those Heibi and Heibi mana singju (singju with Heibi leaves)!

Picture credit: Thingnam Sophia and Dinesh Valke ( http://www.flowersofindia.net/catalog/slides/Muyna.html )