Pulichakkai, irumban puli in Malayalam, is bilimbi, a small tree whose very sour, green, finger-shaped fruits grow in clusters straight from the trunk. Kerala cooks use it to sour fish curries and make pickles. It is so rich in oxalic acid that drinking concentrated bilimbi juice as a home remedy has caused acute kidney failure. It is a close relative of star fruit, Averrhoa carambola.
- Botanical name
- Averrhoa bilimbi L.
- Family
- Oxalidaceae
- Tamil
- Pulichakkai
- Hindi
- Bilimbi
- Sanskrit
- Karmaranga
- Parts used
- Fruit
- Habit
- Small garden tree with very sour fruit; high in oxalate
- Last updated
- 2026-10-27
How to recognise Pulichakkai
It is a small tree, usually five to ten metres, with a short trunk.
The leaves are pinnate, with many pairs of small, soft, hairy leaflets clustered at the branch tips.
Small, fragrant, dark red-purple flowers grow in clusters on the trunk and main branches.
The fruits are cylindrical, four to ten centimetres long, green to yellow-green, with five faint ridges.
Star fruit has deeply five-winged fruit that is star-shaped in cross-section.
Traditional use of Pulichakkai
Kitchen
In Kerala, sliced bilimbi sours fish curry and is pickled with chilli and salt.
Kerala food practice
Kitchen
In Indonesia and the Philippines it is cooked into sambal and sinigang-style sour dishes.
South-east Asian food practice
Household
The sour juice is used to clean brass and remove rust stains.
Kerala household practice
Modern notes on Pulichakkai
Doctors in Kerala have reported acute kidney injury from oxalate crystals in people who drank bilimbi juice for diabetes or cholesterol.
The fruit supplies vitamin C, but its oxalic acid content is very high.
Cooking it in a curry with other foods gives much smaller doses than drinking juice.
Pulichakkai safety
Do not drink bilimbi juice or eat it in large amounts, especially if you have kidney disease. Using a few slices to sour a curry is the traditional amount.
Ecology and sourcing
It is native to the Moluccas in Indonesia and was spread by early traders.
It fruits almost all year in humid tropics.
Bees visit its small trunk flowers.
Related plants
Also in Oxalidaceae
Questions about Pulichakkai
Is bilimbi safe to eat?
In small cooking amounts. Large amounts or juice can harm kidneys.
Is Pulichakkai the same as star fruit?
No. It is a close relative.
Why is Pulichakkai so sour?
It is rich in oxalic acid.
How is Pulichakkai used in Kerala?
In fish curries and pickles.
Where do the fruits grow?
In clusters on the trunk and branches.
Sources
- Averrhoa bilimbi L. — Plants of the World Online, Kew (search) (accessed 2026)
- Wikidata item Q237465 (Averrhoa bilimbi)
Educational page about a plant. It is not medical advice, not a diagnosis, and not an offer to sell. Traditional use is historical. If you need care, ask a licensed clinician. Questions: hello@meevamed.com.