A TRUE SWEET : " JONI BELLA "

 

A TRUE SWEET!!

    It still makes me rouse from those reveries. It was that time of the year when mother nature herself arranged a concert for us in which dark clouds were the percussionists, piercing wind was the flutist and pouring droplets of rain was the vocalist. It was a core monsoon evening in a tiny hamlet ‘Samagodu’ near Bidanuru fort in Hosanagara thaluk. The greying sky, ear splitting thunder followed by strident scream of my cousins in fear created some sort of a horror ambience. The gas light was turned on at its scheduled time nevertheless a complete darkness filled the place even before the time of switching it on. Elders urged us to sit in a big dining hall. With a small plantain leaf in front of each one of us, we started to giggle and chit chat until then a sublime fragrance of hot ‘patrode’ made of Colocasia leaves over powering the pungent smell of the gas light hit our nose. We patiently waited for our serving and it was evident to our watering mouth that patrode can be relished only with a generous volume of ‘jonibella’. Even the taste of akki rotti, kotte kadubu and dose with jonibella blended with freshly churned butter was something we always choose over chatney!

All I can say is before I knew how it is obtained and what are the benefits of inculcating it in our cuisine, the Jonibella had redefined the taste of sweet for me.

     No words can define the bliss that you get after indulging in a heavenly sweet delight without worrying about its after effects like weight gain, increase in blood sugar level etc and that is where the sweet alternatives like jonibella come into picture. Jonibella is a semi liquid jaggery typical of Malnad region which is extracted from the juice of sugarcane by boiling the juice rigorously till 118 degree Celsius. The   Places like Uttar Kannada, Sirsi, Yellapura and Sagara are known for this liquid jaggery produce. It is the most staple sweetener in every household of this region. The annual harvest of sugar cane and preparing jonibella is done in Alemane. It is celebrated more like a festival and a get together event than a process. I am so privileged to witness the Alemane and I have taken a closer look at how things work, which I have penned down in my blog https://justhopon.blogspot.com/ as a series of chapters under ‘Kopparigeya bella' ( https://justhopon.blogspot.com/search/label/Malenadu )where the whole essence of nativity is brought up in vernacular.

    Replacing sugar with jonibella is highly recommended by all its beneficiaries and its usage and benefits are passed on to us from generations. I have seen my grandparents, relatives and neighbourhood consuming the jonibella and all are owning a comparable fitness and enjoying a guilt free sweet delicacy. As the production of jonibella undergoes no chemical treatment except the boiling of sugarcane juice. This process promises the retention of iron, copper, magnesium and other essential nutrients which is effective in boosting immunity and serves as a useful remedy for several ailments. It is advised to have a spoon of jonibella with ghee as a substitute for that irresistible sweet craving after lunch. This not only lifts our taste buds, also ease the digestion process and it acts as a natural cleansing agent. I have seen my mother offering our guests a spoon full of jonibella before serving water especially in summer, as it acts like an energy booster. It provides gradual energy that lasts for a longer time and it makes sure that blood sugar levels are not altered immediately hence prevents fatigue. To prevent anemia, it is required that the adequate level of RBC is maintained in the body. Jonibella is rich in iron, hence a good way to prevent anemia especially in adolescents and pregnant women. Dry fruit laddus can be made using jonibella as sweetener would fetch a great deal of health. Additionally, those who experience mood swings or PMS should also consume jonibella as it helps to release endorphins that relax one’s body. Jonibella is thus referred to as ‘Superfood Sweetener’ and it contains 70% sucrose, Less than 10% glucose and fructose, 40 to 100mg calcium, 70 to 90mg of magnesium and 10 to 13mg of iron.

    Jonibella being a versatile sweetener can be used in several ways; add to tea or coffee, include in deserts and puddings, mix it with peanuts to make chikki and with grated coconut to make prasadam or laddus in temples, add to toffees, muffins and cakes.

    The growth of consumerism has made n number of sweeteners available in the market and which serves the purpose. Is just serving the purpose only enough? Even the widely used jaggery is chemically coated! to get that bright yellowish colour sulphur phosphate and other chemicals are added. This way jonibella can surely be used as a substitute for jaggery so that one can reap any potential benefits from it.

    To be frank, I was getting to enjoy the taste of jonibella only when I go to Samagodu but I wanted to have that in my kitchen too. I craved for such a tasty, healthy and freshly prepared jonibella in my city where I live, because sweets are the integral part of our rich culinary heritage. Though many people are not aware about this liquid gold, it is still in great demand in urban areas, as it is considered chemical free and it is produced from the native variety of sugar cane popularly known as ‘kempu kabbu’ under rain fed method, ideally around 1.5 quintal of jonibella which can be produced from a tonne of sugarcane but however over the years the decline in sugarcane yield per acre owing to moisture stress has resulted in grieving adulteration to meet the needs of spiralling demand. Thus, in my quest of an authentic jonibella I faced plenty of challenges. The big challenge was every time I cannot go to my native to buy joni but then I had to rely on a local vendor. When I bought jonibella from a neighbourhood shop I found that, the taste of jonibella turned sour and salty after sometime hence there is no value for money. As there was no provision to get jonibella in a desirable quantity I had to buy it in large quantity which is available. In the current time there is more scope to sustainable living but the quality of the container which is mostly plastic, holding the jonibella was substandard. It was then clear to me that there are ample of counterfeit products in the market which are deteriorated in quality but still claimed as bona fide. The saddest part was I could not even share my grievance with the manufacturer.

    My quest for an authentic jonibella which is endowed with our heritage has now come to an end. I happily tried all those sweet recipes which my mother and grandmother thought me using jonibella as sweetener which I ordered from https://www.truesweet.in/

    If you want to savour a guilt free sweet in a true sense? now it’s just a few clicks away.