In the year that I have been in Dun, I have eaten more local and more in tune with the seasons than I have since my childhood. I make no claims to eating truly local- my coffee comes from Mysore, the nutty-sweet parboiled rice I love was grown along the Konkan coast, and my olives, sadly, have given many a whale a migraine.
But when it comes to produce, I do tend to eat seasonal and local. It makes so much sense, I have been doing it unconsciously. I just realised it yesterday when I had a lets-dance-a-jig moment on seeing some baby radishes with their tops still attached.
and today i saw these..
They are called 'singadhe' here, and I have no idea what they are..some type of marsh/water loving plant seems to be indicated by the occasional slimy bits I find near the stems. Beyond that, I haven't a clue. I first saw them a year ago when I arrived in dun, and here they are again.
And now lots and lots of greens will flood the market, and grapefruit, and other such yummy things. this is a fun way to eat- stuff oneself with the freshest, best, (and funnily, cheapest) of produce. By the time I get tired of something, it's season is over and there is something else to look forward to.
Addenda (28 September)
- The singhade are water caltrops, and thanks to Maals for telling me of them
- I take back the 'corny title' comment, because since I posted this article, I found a website by that name and a fine one it is too..
4 comments:
singhade is something i have grown up with and it seems so strange to hear you gush over them...!...do enjoy them fully...you can peel and eat them raw...ot boil them -whole with the skins...then peel and fry with a little zeera and masalas that you would add for the typical 'sukhe' aloo...and there is yet another-very U.P. way of making the...will check with my ma and tell you...
mamta
Thanks a lot, Mamta..
I normally eat them raw- often on the way back from the sabzi-wallah. But will try your stir-fry method
you can also roast them, they turn coal black and deliciously sooty from inside. Peel and eat with me and some good wine :)
once on a train journey from Supaul to Patna, the train suddenly stopped in the middle of nowhere- the ACs switched off, and we were not allowed to open the doors for security reasons.
after one hour, however, the TC himself opened the door and let a man in- I bought what he was selling, would figure out how to eat it later, I decided.
and I did. peeled and ate Singhada's raw.
they were filling, And had water content.
hungry and a little scared I was; it was a delicious meal.
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