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May 1, 2020

Preserving the Folklore traditions of foraging edible weeds

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Passing on the know hows and preserving the Foraging cultures Folklore Traditions of the Western Ghats are a much needed thing in today’s world. With the depleting knowledge of edible weeds, we are sunk in an ocean of overcast knowledge that is being forcibly enforced on us. I wonder why can’t we construct demands for these local greens as opposed to the newest fads in the market. Why can’t a bunch of sessile joyweed leaves that just grows anywhere or a bunch of kanne soppu, or maybe a bunch of the most common malabar spinach greens be sold at super markets? Have these ingredients gone too old or too common or uncommon? Writing as I am still reminiscing the flavours of the soppina sambhar/curry I just had a couple of days ago made from these foraged greens. The purpose of this article is to solely throw a lot of light and shove the dust off the notion of all weeds generalised and being inedible, the false notion of the need to discard them if they are found thriving in our fancy lettuce patches!

Foraging, an age old practice of searching for food and greens out in the wild or the backyard has everlastingly been one of the most popular and old method of accessing rare ingredients / greens / vegetables / edible weeds in ancient cooking. This is more or less like free food for the common man. A simple recipe of a Keerai Masiyal made from these foraged greens can pep up your meal to the next level that is rounded off with a light curd rice. Such activities can transmit so much of jubilance and whats not to love this task so much, that you trade all your time on this planet for these soulful ventures, if you’d have a chance.

I’ve been hankering to share my experiences of foraging greens from my garden, considering the amount of time (in years) I’ve spent with the plants, trees and herb populace around my abode. Although I’ve moved various homes and cities through the last couple of years and now ostensibly settled down, it wasn’t a difficult thing at all to have a garden everywhere, or, I could promptly say “a vegetable garden” that can actually suffice the needs of a family of 2-4 people very efficiently. A well planned garden has to be the motto of a gardener, if you you’d really wish to make it work efficaciously for your regular culinary needs.

I’ll take you through pictures of some of the few greens I’ve scoured in my garden. The point here is, I’ve specifically grown these greens separately in bag as and when these accidentally popped up in the midst of my other vegetable crops. The Hongone Soppu (Sessile Joyweed) is one of the most blatant among these, with their seeds getting dropped all over by the butterflies and teensy garden bugs. You bring in a twig and plant it in one of your planters, you’re in for a lot of duplicate offsprings in the next few months. Similar is the case with malabar spinach, horse purslane, mint and even the kanne soppu. No, I’ll not be covering the medicinal properties or such specifics about these greens, since these are so unique and distinguishing from our regular farm greens, and moreover these have vast histories attached, that each of these greens need a separate page attached to them! Briefing on one particular herb needs a lot of research. So while I unravel some of the mysteries of each these edible weeds, I’ll share the properties one after the other.

Gubbachi Baale – Kanne Soppu – (Commelina benghalensis): I use these to make fritters and they taste beautiful with a crunchy outer gram flour covering. I also add these to some of my stir fries and Sambhars.

Hongone Soppu

Hongone Soppu – (Sessile Joyweed): These are delicious greens and one of the most sought for greens before any other leafy vegetables! That is the glory of sessile joyweed. These are the tiny variety of greens and these are supposedly said to be beneficial to the eyes. Kootu is one of the best recipes you can make from these greens.

Horse Purslane

Horse Purslane – Komme Soppu – Dodd Goni Soppu – (Boerhavia diffusa): I mainly add these to Massoppu or Stir fries that go well with Rasam. Known for its Ayurvedic pain remedies and deliciousness, This green leafy wonder grows fast and spreads rapidly if left to grow.

Common Purslane – Sann Goni Soppu – (Portulaca oleracea): Purslane is quite a common edible weed which is foraged in numerous amounts in vegetable fields. Nomenclatures of this green herb is quite vast with people calling these greens with different names. Similar to Horse Purslane, this herb is soft stemmed and the whole plant is edible (including stems)

Malabar Spinach

Basale Soppu – (Malabar Spinach): We need no introduction for this leafy green! Though, once grown in some part of your garden, the dark seeds produced would be dropped off at numerous parts of the garden producing more seedlings. It gets overwhelming when there’s lack of space.

Kaki Ganike Soppu – Nightshade – (Solanum Ptychanthum): Ganike soppu is a perennial herb that produces leafy greens with black/purple berries. The leaves are used for wide culinary recipes and the berries are generally dried and stored to make Gojjus and Sambhars.

Avaram Senna – Thaikilo – Thajanku – Cassia Tora – (Senna Auriculata): Cassia is a flowering weed that grows into a beautiful tree producing yellow edible flowers that are little bitter to taste. The flowers are ideally used for hair care and skin care. Tora leaves are also used for making fritters/vadas too in the Mangalorean coast.

Daglaare Soppu – Keere Soppu These are the wild kind of Amaranthus Leaves that grow in between vegetables patches producing lots of pods and seeds. The stems are harder unlike the normal Amaranthus that are usually tender. I just pluck the tender leafy part from the stem and leave the stem to produce more leaves. I just get a handful of these

Kasre Soppu – Tharai Pasalai Keerai – Siru Pasalai Keerai – (Portulaca Quadrifida) These are more like Purslanes but very tiny. The leaves are juicy and plump. The plants produce yellow flowers and form a mat like patch wherever these grow. The leaves wilt too soon, hence they need to be plucked just as you are about to cook with the leaves. Masiyal is something I’m looking forward to cook with these greens!

  • On: May 1, 2020
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I’m Pratiba Bhat from Udupi; currently living in Mandya, Karnataka, India. Welcome to my website.. Read More...

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Continuing from the Magali beru anecdote and a lit Continuing from the Magali beru anecdote and a little about this pickle I’ve been nurturing since a few weeks.

This specie of Liana grows in the thick forests of the Peninsular India. The swallow root tree is is declared to be an endangered specie, which made the prices of this root skyrocket in recent years. This Liana has been found growing in the dry and deciduous forests of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Its a woody climber that grows in rocky slopes and rocky crevices and I’ve even read its could be propagated by seeds, stem cuttings and root suckers, though I’m still at it, never saw a little inch of life in the root which I’ve planted in potted soil. 

So what is so special about this root you may ask? The roots are of prime interest to all the home cooks and researchers too and its termed to be a good digesting agent and an antimicrobial too. People in locations native to this Liana procure these roots and chew on them to seek relief from digestive issues. The roots of are  termed as ‘Sariva Bheda’ in  Ayurveda, but this is sad that I have never yet come across any Ayurveda related book that mentions this name in any of its preparations. Or does it own a different Ayurvedic name altogether?  Still I’m not sure of how this was used in Ayurveda apart from being a replacement to the good old Sariva (Indian Sarsapilla/Nannari) in tonics, beverages and Churnas.

A heady aroma wafts out when you chop these roots whilst grooming this ingredient for a pickle or beverage. You open the jar of a pickle made from Magali beru and the aroma just drifts off into the atmosphere. Can’t get enough of these million dollar relishes of pickling. My pickle here is already resting in a dry wooden larder fermenting nonchalantly at its own sweet velocity and I can sense all the flavours rendering into one beautiful jar of mystical nuances of pungency. 

#picklingstories #picklingstation #pickles #magaliberu #makaliberu #decalepis #sariva #ayurveda #goodvibes #darkaesthetic #pickling #justthemethod #jjstilllife #beautyinnature #beautifulcuisines #larderpickles #forestculture #digestiveenzymes #sarsapilla #nannari #karnataka
Ever since I espied the joy of pickling with the r Ever since I espied the joy of pickling with the root vegetables, I feel disposed to submerse myself in the world of Beru -Naaru (roots and coirs) used in old heritage foods, drinks and pickles. And one fine morning, when I was just collecting and sun drying my ingredients to make the Heralekai - Shunti pickle, this hard working cycle pulling vendor came by with the most fragrant Magali Beru and Mangai Shunti stuffed in his baskets all the way from the Mysore Devraj aras market. A sack of Nellikai (Indian Gooseberry - Amla) was lurking there too. I take my fair share of pride from the fact that pickles at my place have never gone bad and I even let them on the counters without confiding on refrigeration. The craft to successful pickling is the addition of copious amounts of rock salt and pungency. I do have memories tasting the Magali beru soaked in the hunse kai rasa (A spicy tamarind juice made just for pickling other ingredients) a few years ago, though my taste buds didn’t adapt to the pickle so well for the first time I ate it due to the strong flavours. Magali beru has to be used sparingly, in any pickle. Although the taste is so similar to the Indian Sarsapilla (Nannari). You can hop to @paticheri's stories where she has beautifully portrayed the Nannari in her stories, the making Madurai’s popular Jigarthanda ice - cream. This root has a beautiful anatomical structure and a inner stem as that of a Naaru (fibre) like structure. Magali beru is a root of a maturely grown swallow tree. Not to be confused with the Indian Sarsapilla. Both the roots have similar properties and I've even read that the two are used interchangeably when either of the them is unavailable. The two have different scientific names. The Magali beru is called Decalepis hamiltonii and the Indian Sarasapilla is called Hemidesmus indicus. Magali Beru (Makali beru) is the root of a woody climber called swallow tree which is endemic in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Keral and Andhra Pradesh. I’ve heard stories from elders saying that it’s only available in dense, thick internal forests and is harvested by the tribals living there. 

...More to continue in my next instagram post!
A cake, decor wise, not perfect at all, yet triump A cake, decor wise, not perfect at all, yet triumphed the heart of a five year old, who tiptoed and plundered out a cherry from the top 🍒 and grazed off the cream when I left it to rest in the cooler. I could not even be sure of being able to take a picture of the finished cake in its whole form fearing the chocolate lover would gorge on the cake like never before. I would always bake his birthday cakes when he'd be off to school, this year it was a chaotic task for me to make this in his presence. But this cake got the stamp of approval from a good crowd!
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A moist egg free, black forest cake with cherry syrup made from whole wheat 🌾 flour as always. Recipe would be up soon, and I wish I could soon fulfill the promises of everyone seeking for recipes to be written about and screened into the blog. 

#blackforestcake #birthdaycake #egglessbaking #egglesscakes #egglessdesserts #egglesscake #jjstilllife #moodygrams #mycreativelife #mycreativebiz #chocolatecake #pastrycake #darkaesthetic #darkfoodphotography #darkfoodphoto #beautyinnature #verilymoment #chiaroscuro #foodygramskarnataka #f52grams #stilllifegallery #simpleandsustainable #foodfluffer #feedfeedprops #getminimal #darkchocolate #darkness #chocolatelovers #chocolovers #chocolatechip
Some heart warming moments here! 🌼 🍃🍃 Th Some heart warming moments here! 🌼

🍃🍃 The aurora of setting up a pickling milieu on a timbered layout, scrubbed and sun dried for creating an axenic center for chopping up the ingredients for my precious Magali beru and Mavina shunti pickle with a touch of Bettada Nellikai (Indian gooseberry) and Hagalkai (Bitter gourd). Priceless! 
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#wildatheart #pickling #moodygrams #nomnom #bestoftheday #limegreen #magaliberu #mavinashunti #nellikai #indiangooseberry #lemonpickle #picklingstation #verilymoment #darkandmoody #darkaesthetic #darkhumor #postmonsoonvibes #goals #breakingtheisolation #citronlime #pungent #uppinakai #justthemethod #jjstilllife #stillwithstories #stilllifephotography #still_life_creations_loop #stilllifegallery #still_life_gallery #stilllife
Bellada Kaafi is one lovely beverage that elders w Bellada Kaafi is one lovely beverage that elders woul make. I have hardly seen someone make it, albeit, the stories of my paternal ancestral home described about a jaggery syrup was made first and then the coffee making process was continued. The only lucky people in the house were the elderly men, as in, the husbands and brothers in law who would get to sip on their golden beverages of energy every day. The little notorious and rampant children of the house never got to relish that wonderful coffee. (I chuckled when I heard this. Children love tasting coffee in fact!) This would indeed happen in my paternal ancestral home decades ago and it was a joint family of 20 to 25 folks! So you can imagine how hard it was to brew the Bellada Kaafi afterall. A story narrated here and there in bits and pieces by my father. 

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Making a lota of filter coffee isn't rocket science but a good filter coffee is something that every aspiring filter coffee lover has to appreciate. A freshly brewed decoction on one side (which is again another side of it - I'll probably come to that a few days later?) and bubbling milk on the fire. 

....and then you stream out a little decoction into your lota and then add the bubbling milk into the same lota to make it blend and dance with the decoction. Add jaggery as you please and start frothing up the coffee with a dabari. Pour out and in. 
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No reheating please! That's a spoiler. 
Then sip it when you are at ease. Always! I love it strong, less sweet and fragrant. 

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#coffeestories #goodvibes
#coffee #coffeelover #filtercoffee #justthemethod #jjstilllife #lifestyle #southindian #coffeetime #coffeeaddict #filterkaapi #afternoonswithcoffeespoons #dabarilota #keepgoing #beautyinnature #beautyinspo #bestoftheday #darkandmoody #chiaroscuro #darkfoodphotography #darkaesthetic #moodygrams #foodfluffer #foodygramskarnataka #southindia #beverage #monsoon #postmonsoonvibes #sodarksomoody
Feels obsolete to be writing again from a silken c Feels obsolete to be writing again from a silken cloudy town, reminding myself of something called writing about food! A few weeks of draping my dreams a little more, staying quiescent and nurturing my energies with a cheerful garden by my side that is sprouting fresh leaves and produces, I could hold up my heart and bask in a lot of inspiration. My heart cruised through a feeling of solace while picking up fresh peachy tomatoes and beans that are so sweet and succulent. I think I have never enjoyed urban farming for vegetables this much ever in my life! ❤️ Clinging to my impulse for cooking with fresh vegetables has been so rewarding...

.... and then

.... I ventured into pickling and pounding a big batch of some fragrant puliogare powder. There I am, pickling wedges of the fresh heralekai that arrived at our doorstep. Thanks to our regular cycle pulling vendor who picks the best for me. Topped it up today with some extra juice of limes, helping the wedges to soak-in in the comfort of the citrus-salty concoction, a preservative of sorts. I love citrus pickles and hope to soak some bitter oranges too in the coming months. 
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#artistsoninstagram #aquietstyle #udupirecipes #heralekaipickle #pickling #beautyinnature #bestoftheday #citronlime #citruspickle #lime #limegreen #lemonyellow #loveforpickling #verilymoment #darkandmoody #darkfoodphotography #darkhumor #goodvibes #foodphotography #foodthatwillneverbetrayyou #pungent #chiaroscuro #coastalliving #fermentation #bitterlime #goals #justthemethod #nomnom #beautyinspo #gardening
Uppu Puli Dose, as how Amma would make it years ag Uppu Puli Dose, as how Amma would make it years ago, maybe two decades ago I think! She'd make the ele kosu dosa, roast it further for my liking, and don it with extra butter so I'd put together some additional kilos but, pathetically, her efforts were to some extent, all in vain. I find these attached memories to recipes are so beautiful. There's something more beautiful about this recipe if you demand. Until you deeply look at the method of making this dosa, you cannot fathom how exquisitely this recipe amalgamates all of the six tastes of Ayurveda. A post on this was awaiting last week when an unimaginable glitch with disorientations and the #covid dismay put blinds on all things outlined.. 🤦 Until then you can only anticipate for the detailed write up and gape at the red hued Uppu Puli Dosa.

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#kitchenbowl #foodfluffer #realsimple #cucinandoarte
#chiaroscuro #aquietstyle #seasonpoetry #fellowmag #stillwithstories #simplethingsmadebeautiful #saveurmag #darkandmoody #darkfoodphotography #justthemethod #jjstilllife #theartofslowliving #nomnom #feedfeedprops #onmytable #photographerslife #f52grams #tastethisnext #dosa #kharadosa #uppupulidosa #stilllifephotography #wildatheart #livefolk #udupirecipes
Moringa Podi idlis. Pure Therapy! Nothing more. No Moringa Podi idlis. Pure Therapy! Nothing more. Nothing less. 

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#moringapodi #mlringapodiidlis #podiidlis #verilymoment #darkandmoody #darkfoodphotography #foodphotography #foodsustainability #coconutoil #seasonedidlis #southindian #buzzfeast #southindiansnack #eveningwithcoffee #isolationship #quarantine #breakingtheisolation #goodvibes
#jjstilllife
#idlis #breakfast #breakfastideas #creative #moodygrams #mycreativelife #tamilnadu #chutneypodi #foodforjoy #keepgoing #lifestyle
Katt Saar. As frugal as it can get! The soup for t Katt Saar. As frugal as it can get! The soup for the South Indian. The ginger, chilli and lemon rasam we wanted to look at! Today it had some pepper and cumin too. 

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@paticheri @thethiruvarurgirl @leftofwrite Adding this to the #rasamseries 

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#rasam #lemons #justthemethod #buzzfeast #beautyinnature #beautyinspo #belesaaru #coconutoil #gheeseasoning #verilymoment #growveg #darkandmoody #farmtotable #artistsoninstagram #beautyinspo #kempusaaru #kattusaaru #goodvibes #dreams #southindian #foodsustainability #frugalmeal #simplicityofmeals #simpleandsustainable #sustainableliving #smallworldplay #keepgoing #udupirasam #udupirecipes #instafood
The garden preliminary is keeping the other parts The garden preliminary is keeping the other parts of my world buried! The little Sparrows have plundered on my greens and now I have to ransack for a system that keeps these tiny hawkers well fed with something else leaving my seedlings alone. These notorious creatures are so hungry all the time! 😄 Little did I know that sparrows love freshly sprouted methi greens. I have to redo my efforts now and make seedlings again. These allowances of nature are sometimes aggravating too along with the startling cloudbursts last night!  Enough of repining about naure’s acrimony now! I have to make peace with her ways as she's been kind in most ways always. 🍃🍃

This Udupi Rasam is a salvage and more for me at this moment. 🧘 I could eat this for lunch everyday and stay jubilant! 

Adding this to #rasamseries @paticheri. 😍😍
 
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#rasam #udupirasam #udupirecipes #coastalliving #saaru #togaribelesaaru #samaradhanesaaru #kempusaaru #delish #justthemethod #bestoftheday #buzzfeast #mangalore #udupimemories #ajjimane #loveforrasam #belesaaru #coconutoil #seasonedwithlove #creative #mycreativebiz #mycreativelife #beautyinnature #beautyinspo #southindian #lovefornature #storyofsparrows #sparrows #sparrowsofinstagram
The watermelon rind dosa, a source of rich and nat The watermelon rind dosa, a source of rich and natural citruline, that never made it to my kitchen all this while, until Navya's recipe from @konkanifoodrecipes wrote about this on her feed quite recently. I was head over heels for this delicacy from the Konkani home and it was something I couldn't help but try making it in a way to suite my requirements. We would customarily make the ash gourd dosa when there was a gourd at home but this "Kalingana Polo" is something what I call the state of the art, even though it is something that the Konkani home cooks have been practicing since generations! Some left over urad flour and extra rice left soaking for the iddiyappam batter I made recently and some watermelon rind, which I usually juice up, gave way to this filling, aromatic dosa. My regards to the whole community and the culinary masters who lived in generations through thousands of years, who  have mastered and passed on the art of making the most of these natural resources of nutrition and sustainable living. 

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Do visit Navya's website @konkanifoodrecipes for the detailed recipe. http://www.konkanifoodrecipes.com/recipes/watermelon-dosa-kalingana-polo. Although I've made a few modifications to my recipe by way of adding a few tablespoons of leftover urad flour, the dosa vented out a beautiful fragrance throughout my home 🏡. 

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#gloomandglow
#dosarices #darkaction #darktablemood #darkfoodphotography #healthylifestyle #sustainableliving #slowsimpleseasonal #stylingtheseasons #beautyinsimplicity #verilymoment #plantpowered #creativelifehappylife #handsinframe #handmodel #calledtobecreative #zerowastegoals #distractionandinspiration #cookingwithfruits #watermelondosa #warmandearthy #warmandearthyfood #chiaroscuro #mangaloreculture #konkan #konkanifood #beautyinsimplicity #goodvibesonly #chiaroscuroinspired #coastalliving #cornersofmyworld
One of the things in the bucket list of this garde One of the things in the bucket list of this gardener is to cultivate natural loofahs / luffa in the garden and see a resurgence of home made loofah growing all over the vines around the hothouse, rekindle and pass on this lost art! Luffa is just a basic over matured vegetable gourd growing in a vine and its looks are gorgeous as bird nests beetling from greenscapes. 
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Speaking of luffa gourds, it implies to 3 kinds of gourds. The acutangula (the everyday ridged gourd), the second kind of actangula i.e. also called as Var Amara (which is a smaller variety of ridge gourd, quite a rarity) and the aegyptiaca (which is called as a sponge gourd with smoother surface). All of these were first called as 'Kosthakai' in Sanskrit by Kautilya somewhere between 375 BC and 283 BC. Here and now called as Heerekai in Kannada, Thorai in Hindi, Pirkankai in Tamil, Beerakaya in Telugu and Peechinga in Malayalam! Look at the multifariousness in just the name of this distinguished humble luffa gourd. 
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On drying completely and going into seed on the vine, this gourd turns into a fibrous and sturdy sponge which is a natural source of fibre and customarily a skin exfoliator. Reforms and studies further broke down the walls and these were even brought under the Momordica family, meaning, the bitter gourd and melon vine family! Nevertheless, food gown on vines have been legendary and a very integral part of the food legacy from the ancient BCs.

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#ridgegourd #koshtakai #luffa #loofah #naturalloofah #actangula #gourds #vines #thorai #beerakai #heerekai #jjstill_life #beautyinsimplicity #verilymoment #ridgegourdrecipes #ridgegourds #naturalhabitat #creativephotography #creativelifehappylife #moodygrams #mooodygramkarnataka #darkaction #darktablemood #darkandlovely #darkandlovely #darkactionfood #darkandmoody #darkfoodphoto #zerowastegoals #livemoremagic #lifeandthyme
Recipes cooked from jackfruit seeds are many. In t Recipes cooked from jackfruit seeds are many. In the Asian continents, people vouch for recipes made from these seeds as sustainable and simple. Obbattu, rasam, thambuli, palya, sambhar or a charred tea time snack have been some of the diversified recipes curated from this viable nutty ingredient.

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With abounding seeds in hand, my mind was lurking around the Sri Lankan Kos Kariya which is a coconut milk based curry that pairs well with rice. What a mouth watering recipe that is indeed. But the recipe calls for a good lengthy pandanus leaf (rampe) which I’m still on the lookout for in Mandya. These seeds are good substitutes for chestnuts as well, meaning, an equal proportion of jackfruit seeds in place of chestnuts will do the trick.

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For now it’s a simple or rather a light and cooling Udupi recipe from these warming seeds waiting in line. 

Link in profile: 
 https://foodforjoy.in/2020/08/kotte-thambuli-halasina-beejada-thambuli-jackfruit-seeds-thambuli/

#jackfruitrecipes #jackfruitseeds #sustainableliving #sustainablefood #lifeandthyme #jackfruit #justthemethod #udupirecipes #udupi #udupimemories #verilymoment #zerowastegoals #stilllife #smalljoysoflife #smalladventures #kotte #kottethambuli #healthylifestyle #karnataka_ig #thambulis #thambulirecipe #thambuli #historic #foodygramskarnataka #foodcapturecollective #foodphotography #foodstylist #foodbeast #foodfluffer #naturalhabitat
I was just looking into this old decrepit book tha I was just looking into this old decrepit book that was written in the 70’s, “Dictionary of Philippine folk beliefs and customs”, and it says, if one finds money on the streets, he’d be poor throughout his life and if one finds a twin jackfruit seed (Pair) in a pod (The Ovary - as mentioned in the book), the finder will get lucky in business, love and in most of his/her endeavours. Now thats something! I wonder if there ever was such a thing as a twin jackfruit seed in pod.
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These tantalising seeds have been life savers in Indian and Asian cuisines ever since this fruit was sighted and eaten. Life saving even as literally as healing. Drinking liquor was a universal thing from times archaic. Folks who even had no money to buy liquor, used to make their own using festered fruits and the soldiers would drink wine seethed from sprouted grains. Even women were fond of drinking, drinking with their lovers to be precise and it did cause extreme volatility even among the sturdiest people who ever lived. Hence a number of antidotes to the heavy imbiber were discovered. One included chewing a piece of ginger immediately. One more was a concoction made from ripened jackfruit seeds, tamarind, buttermilk and gruel from boiled aged rice. So, healing in a way!
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If you have read the old 50’s novel “Pather Panchali”, a book written from a child's perspective who lived in a rural setup and the hardships he had to come across in his living, (which is in my bucket list of books to read by this year) there’s a very minute mention of this life saving ingredient there again, which will stir you up if you love jackfruit seeds.
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For now it's a simple Udupi recipe from these warming seeds waiting in line. 🍃🍃

#jackfruitrecipes #udupirecipes #kotte #oldstories #darktablemood #onthetable #onourcreativetable #jackfruitseeds #sustainableliving #sustainablefood #onmytable #natural #seekinspirecreate #inspiredbyfruits #cookingwithfruits #beautyinsimplicity #verilymoment #indianfood #asianfood #stilllife #karnataka #udupicuisine #udupimemories #nourishingtraditions #creativephotography #calledtobecreative #zerowastegoals #farmersofmandya #mangaloreculture #mandyaphoto
The older generations have this thing to say every The older generations have this thing to say everytime when jackfruits and mangoes are in season, “hasidu halasu tinnu, undu maavu tinnu”, which implies, eat jackfruit when you are hungry and round off your meal with mangoes. 🍃🍃

Panasa, a name given for Jackfruit in Sanskrit, was been mentioned in the year 400 B.C. in the Jain and Buddhist literatures along with other fruits Bananas, Coconuts, Palms, Tendu, Grapes and a few more Citrus fruits. All the more reasons, why you need to catch hold of a jackfruit when its in season because its purely an Indian origin fruit. From the Neolithic times, this fruit was being used even for making sweet vinegar using the ಕಿಣ್ವನ (ಹುದುಗುವಿಕೆ) / fermentation method along with sugarcane juice, jaggery and jamoons. The season of Mangoes and Jackfruits get over my food and cooking. In fact, I cannot fathom eating a jackfruit just like that, without cooking fritters, appams or a gidde.🍃

So with all the glorifications of this wondrous fruit, if you are picking a heavy jackfruit for cooking, or the one that goes into this recipe, it has to be roped down carefully from the tree and not flung down from an elevation just like how its done for coconuts. The Jackfruit has to come with well ripened ‘Solegalu’ (Pods/Meat). I can’t stress that enough but make sure you never drop the jackfruit from even a considerable height. If you do, then be prepared for some awful bitterness clouding the dish. This is some eye-opening wisdom handed over to me by my father. But what is so different about this regular rice cake you may think. A gidde has to be made from a Jackfruit, that is completely ripened to a consistency that has soft melt in mouth lumps. 

And then, comes the stage setter, the wrapper, Saguwani ere or the Teak leaves! But no wait! I'm not sharing the whole story here. For the full narrative hop onto the link in profile. 🍃🍃

Thank you 😊❤️

#jackfruitrecipes #jackfruitsteamedcakes #pelakaigatti #pelakaigidde #jaggeryphotography #jackfruit #udupirecipes #udupicuisine #udupimemories #udupidiaries #moodbooster #darktablemood #darkaction #historic #historicfood #beautyinsimplicity #verilymoment #myseasonalwindow #chiaroscuro #gloomy
My travels in recent times have never been swept w My travels in recent times have never been swept without traversing through the Sugarcane farms in Mandya. You visit this sugar city, and your eyes can never be tired of the grassy bushes growing all over the fields. There are stories narrated of how sugarcane farms were vastly invaded by Jackals in the 19th century. When the canes were mature enough and were approaching ripeness, the crops were to be protected from Jackals. Either you throw mud into the base of the plant or keep a bowl of Jaggery water at every strategic location. Jackals hate the aroma of mud or clay and the sweet jaggery is a jackal's ever favourite food. Jackals were searched and hunted down at these deliberate points.. The rest of the family would desert the place in fear. 
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In the picture, our very own Indian Jaggery in its glory since it's discovery and this went into the engaging course with the mellow yellow Jackfruit to become an object of an enticing palate.
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 #MandyaJaggery 

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#udupirecipes #teakleaves #cookingwithteakleaves #udupimemories #udupidiaries #beautyinsimplicity #creativelifehappylife #stilllife #sessilejoyweed #aseasonalshift #allkindsofmagic #artistsoninstagram #bella #beautyinspiration #beautyinsimplemoments #beautyyouseek #gloomandglow #moodygrams #jaggery #jaggeryphotography #mandyabella #foodygramskarnataka #festivevibes #jackfruitrecipes #jaggeryrecipes #karnataka #udupicuisine #nammaudupi #mangalorecuisine
... extending the Pelakai / Gujje streak from wher ... extending the Pelakai / Gujje streak from where I paused and stood still extolling the charm of this beast of fruits. Plucking through the fresh Sole or the Thole, as many call it, I was reminded of how my mother would oil her hands with Coconut oil and hollow out the meat of the Jackfruit with seeds sometimes flying all over the place. She would make the most scrumptious fritters as it was her personal favourite and then, one big batch of a "Steamed Delight" which is a family favourite back in Udupi, again of which I shall write about in the coming days. But for now, this mammoth encumber has to be observed in a tranquil mode so that the agitating soul can be calmed down, of not being able to see another jackfruit until the next monsoon.

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Sending this to the "Dramatic Hands" series hosted by @twiggstudios and @boxofspice #chiaroscuroinspired

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#dramatic #dramatichands #chiaroscuro #jackfruitrecipes #jackfruitsteamedcakes #jackfruit #udupi #udupirecipes #nourishingtraditions #moodbooster #moodygrams #mooodygramkarnataka #moodboard #moodedits #stilllifegallery #darktablemood #darkandlovely #darkfoodphotography #onthetable #onourcreativetable #cookingwithfruits #naturesmagic #natural #onmytable #darkactionfood #darkandmoody #darkartists #darkfoodphoto #still_life_creations_loop
And then.... This dramatic jackfruit is driven to And then.... This dramatic jackfruit is driven to recur, because we are not done yet! 😊 
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🍂 One bisection has been devoured and this half is progressing to take a form of something so intimate to my heart. And with this starts a sequence of excerpts for my subsequent recipe of the blog. 🍂

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#jackfruitrecipes #jackfruitsteamedcakes #jackfruit #pelakaigatti #karnataka #knowyourrice #shalikuta #nourishingtraditions #udupirecipes #udupimemories #udupidiaries #beautyinsimplicity #cookingwithfruits #cookingwithleaves #wrappedinleaves #foodwrappedinleaves #steamcooking #steaming #ageoldrecipes #traditonalrecipes #traditionalfood #ajjisrecipes #mothersrecipes #moodbooster #moodygrams #mooodygramkarnataka #chiaroscuro #chiaroscuroinspired #chiaroscurophotography #childhoodmemories
Ragi rottis, nugge soppu chutney pudi, peere chutn Ragi rottis, nugge soppu chutney pudi, peere chutney or (the peere bajji) as we call in it my native ooru's language, bella (jaggery) and hot ghee is something I could not envisage qualifying for today's breakfast. I had to literally pull myself out of my deep dreamy slumber at 6:30 in the morning to initiate my day today. But then, there was this ridge gourd waiting for its turn! (Recipe on my stories) 
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Be-wildered in a world of dreams this morning after a ramble, which was rather aimless I would say, on the side of a half constructed highway yesterday at around 12 noon with lunch stuffed in steel dabbas sealed so carefully in cloth bags or the batte chilas that I conveniently call them. I had the privilege of lunching on a self-cooked satvik meal somewhere in between two endless carpets of green grasslands. And yes, evidently, the boy is a fan of my way of adventures. Of all the joys that the world has got to give me, this kind of an encounter with dame nature has given me a colossal gratification and what's not to treasure, worship and rejoice if it's something on the loops of nature. 🍂🍂

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#gardenlife #jj_still_life #recipes #karnataka #mandyaphotographers #magic #naturesmagic #beautyinsimplicity #verilymoment #creativelifehappylife #naturefreak #smalladventures #smalljoys #smalljoysoflife #beautyinsimplemoments #calledtobecreative #breakfast #ragirotti #moringapodi #ridgegourd #chutneys #southindianbreakfast #southindian
Vasudeva, you ushered in such a huge difference in Vasudeva, you ushered in such a huge difference in how I perceive and receive circumstances. All my life I struggled to secure a belief and strode through the wrong side of the street most of the times. You came down in a form where I could see you as a sentinel making me realise how good or bad things are! You showed me the taste of the materialistic world and the spiritual world, you even showed me the three modes of the materialistic world. You were kind enough to stand by me when the heart needed to be held from falling apart. Thank you for being a guardian all this while, I find you so profound that I have named a little angel that I brought into this world after you, so I can chant "Krishna Krishna Krishna" most of my life. Oh my dear friend of Sudhama, accept my offering of your most adored Avalakki - Bella and keep showing your sparks of splendor every now and then in the journey of our lives! 

#janmashtami #avalakkibella #avalakkimosaru #tulsi #krishnatulsi #krishna #krishnaconsciousness #bhagavadgita #myprayer #mylife #mylifeinaphoto #offering #naivedyam #neivedhyam #krishnajanmashtami #love #loveforkrishna #jj_still_life #flatlay #festive #festivevibes #avalakki #flattenedrice #beatenrice #karnataka_ig #karnatakarices #karnatakarecipes #karnatakaphotographers #mangaloreculture #mandyaphotographers
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From the people…

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  • Divya on Sajjige Bajil (A typical traditional Tulunadu breakfast)
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