Fruits

This is a whole coconut of the type commonly used for pooja (Hindu religious ritual), called nariyal in Hindi and Kokosnuss in German. It is the mature brown coconut with a hard, hairy shell, chosen here for its role in worship and offerings rather than as a cooking ingredient.

Beyond ritual use, once opened it can be treated like any whole coconut: the water drunk fresh and the flesh grated for cooking.

How to use

• Keep the shell intact and dry until it is needed.
• To open it, tap firmly around the middle with the back of a heavy knife or a hammer until it cracks.
• Store at room temperature for one to two weeks unopened; once opened, refrigerate the flesh and use within a few days.

Banana is called kela in Hindi and Banane in German. This is the common yellow dessert banana, with soft, sweet flesh once ripe and a thick peel that is removed before eating.

Beyond eating them plain, ripe bananas are used in Indian cooking for banana halwa or as an offering in pooja, while slightly under-ripe ones are sliced and fried into banana chips or cooked as a vegetable in some regional dishes.

How to use

• Leave at room temperature to ripen; a fully yellow peel with a few brown spots means it is ready to eat.
• Once ripe, they can be moved to the fridge to slow further ripening, though the peel will darken.
• Use within a few days of ripening for the best texture.

Pink Lady is an apple variety, called seb in Hindi and Apfel in German, with pink-red skin over a yellow-green background and firm, crisp, juicy flesh with a balanced sweet-tart flavour.

It is eaten fresh as a snack, added to fruit salad, or used in German baking such as Apfelkuchen, where its firm texture holds up well during cooking.

How to use

• Wash before eating; the skin is edible and thin.
• Core and slice for baking, or cut into wedges for snacking and salads.
• Store in the fridge, where it keeps for two to three weeks, or at cool room temperature for about a week.

This is watermelon, called tarbooz in Hindi and Wassermelone in German; the term 'kernarm' describes this variety as having relatively few seeds. It has a hard green rind, and juicy, sweet, deep red flesh that is almost entirely water.

It is eaten fresh, cut into wedges or cubes, and is also blended into juice or used in fruit salads. It is not typically cooked.

How to use

• Cut the rind away with a knife and slice the flesh into wedges or cubes.
• Remove any visible seeds if present, though this variety has few.
• Keep a whole melon at room temperature; refrigerate a cut piece, covered, and use within a few days.

Avocado is known by the same name in Hindi and German (Avocado). It has tough, dark green to near-black skin over pale green, buttery, smooth flesh surrounding a single large central seed.

It is not a traditional Indian ingredient but is increasingly used in salads, sandwiches, and dips, and can be mashed into a version of guacamole or mixed into a raita-style side.

How to use

• Leave at room temperature until it yields gently to pressure, which signals ripeness.
• Cut lengthwise around the seed, twist the halves apart, and remove the seed with a spoon or careful knife tap.
• Once cut, the flesh browns quickly in air; a squeeze of lemon juice slows this, and it is best eaten the same day.

This is a small pineapple, called ananas in both Hindi and German. It has a tough, spiky brown-yellow skin and firm, juicy, sweet-tart yellow flesh around a fibrous core.

It is eaten fresh on its own or in fruit salad, and in Indian cooking is sometimes cooked into a sweet-and-sour pineapple curry or a raita.

How to use

• Cut off the crown and base, then slice away the skin in strips, removing the small brown 'eyes' that remain.
• Quarter it lengthwise and cut out the tougher central core before slicing or cubing the rest.
• Keep at room temperature until it gives slightly when pressed, then refrigerate a cut piece and use within a few days.

These are light green seedless grapes, called angoor in Hindi and Trauben in German; 'hell' means light-coloured and 'kernlos' means seedless. They have thin skin and firm, juicy, sweet flesh, eaten whole without needing to remove pips.

Grapes are mostly eaten fresh as a snack or in fruit salads, and are sometimes added to raita or a light fruit chaat.

How to use

• Rinse well under running water before eating, as the skin can carry residue or dust.
• Snip or pull grapes off the stem individually rather than eating straight off the bunch, to check for any spoiled ones.
• Keep in the fridge, ideally in a perforated bag, and use within about a week.

These are blueberries, called Heidelbeeren in German; there is no widely used Hindi name, as they are not a traditional Indian fruit. They are small, round, deep blue-purple berries with a firm skin and juicy, mildly sweet-tart flesh.

They are eaten fresh on their own, added to fruit salads and yoghurt, and used in German baking such as Heidelbeerkuchen.

How to use

• Rinse gently just before eating, as washing too early can make them spoil faster.
• Pick out any soft or shrivelled berries before storing the rest.
• Keep in the fridge and use within about a week.

These are dark, seedless grapes, called angoor in Hindi and Trauben in German; 'dunkel' means dark-coloured and 'kernlos' means seedless. The skin is deep purple to almost black, with firm, juicy, sweet flesh underneath.

Like other grapes, they are eaten fresh as a snack or added to fruit salads, and can be used in a light fruit chaat or raita.

How to use

• Rinse well under running water before eating.
• Remove grapes from the stem individually and check for any soft or spoiled ones.
• Store in the fridge, ideally in a perforated bag, and use within about a week.

Coconut is called nariyal in Hindi and thengai or kobbari in South Indian languages, known in German as Kokosnuss. This is the mature brown coconut, with a hard hairy shell, firm white flesh, and a small amount of water inside.

The flesh is grated fresh for chutneys, for coconut-based curries and thoran, and for sweets, while the water can be drunk on its own after the shell is opened.

How to use

• Crack the shell by tapping firmly around its middle with the back of a heavy knife or a hammer.
• Drain the water first, then pry the flesh away from the shell once cracked open.
• An unopened coconut keeps at room temperature for one to two weeks; once opened, refrigerate the flesh and use within a few days.

Guava is called amrud in Hindi and peraka in Telugu, known in German as Guave. It has thin, pale green to yellowish skin, firm flesh that ranges from white to pink depending on the fruit, and small hard seeds scattered through the centre.

It is most often eaten fresh, cut into pieces and sometimes sprinkled with a little salt and chilli powder in the Indian style, and can also be made into chutney.

How to use

• Wash well, as the skin is eaten along with the flesh.
• Cut into wedges or slices; the small seeds in the centre can be eaten or cut around, depending on preference.
• Leave slightly firm fruit at room temperature to ripen, then refrigerate and use within a few days.

Chikoo, also called sapota or sapodilla, is a small brown-skinned fruit with soft, grainy, very sweet flesh similar in texture to a ripe pear, and a few hard black seeds inside that are not eaten. It has no widely used German name.

It is eaten fresh on its own once ripe, and is sometimes blended into a milkshake or added to fruit salad.

How to use

• Choose fruit that gives slightly to gentle pressure; hard fruit is unripe and can be left at room temperature to soften over a few days.
• Peel the thin skin away before eating, and remove the black seeds as you go.
• Once ripe, refrigerate and use within a couple of days, as the flesh spoils quickly.