Thailand is known for its tropical climate and with the spicy food it offers, it’s quite impossible not to have a chilled drink aside to soothe your taste buds. The Bael drink is one of these delicious options.
Bael fruit or wood apple (Ma Toom) is often planted in Thai households, due to its medicinal properties and nutritional benefits. Every part of the bael tree can be turned into something useful - its young leaves for instance, can be enjoyed as a salad; Its outer layer, roots and trunk can also be used for curing a cold as well.
But its fruit is the most important part. The inside of the bael fruit has an orange aromatic smell and tastes similar to marmalade, leaving a rose-like aftertaste on the palet. This fruit can be cut into slices,
dried and later transform into a delicious tea, hot or cold. Just heat some water and mix with honey until dissolves. Then add sliced, ripe bael fruit and stir until the pieces become cooked. Finally strain with a clean cloth sheet and enjoy. The pleasant smell of this drink is even stronger when hot, since the aroma intensified with heat.
Bael tea is known to have been an excellent blood cleanser and is extremely beneficial for relief from constipation, indigestion, peptic ulcer, piles, respiratory problems and diarrheal. Dried Bael sliced fruit can be bought at any market of Chiang Mai as well as in supermarkets.
