THE POPULAR Hindi adage, “Boye ped babool ka, toh aam kahan se hoye (How would one get mangoes if they plant babool trees),” is a bit unfair in its implication that babool is any less than a mango. In fact, of the two trees, babool or gum arabic (Acacia nilotica) is easier to grow. This perennial tree—whose pods grow abundantly in the months of April and May— can thrive on marginal land, which is unsuitable for agriculture, and can survive both droughts and floods.
Historically in India, the bitter babool has been used as famine food in arid and semi-arid regions like Rajasthan. Even now, people in these regions consume its seeds both raw and roasted, or grind them and mix with sorghum or pearl millet flour. Some also use the young babool pods or phali, which look like a string of beads with flat, elliptical seeds separated by constrictions, as vegetable (see recipe).
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