Seasonal Eating – Monsoon’s foraged vegetables of Maharashtra

Thanks to the charmed food geek life I lead, I’m surrounded by friends and colleagues who are happy to fuel my curiosities. Recently I was fortunate enough to get my hands on some indigenous pre-monsoon wild vegetables from the Sahyadris, thanks to the folks at Triple OOO farms. It led to a wonderful day of documenting the ingredients and cooking with them.

According to traditional Indian dietetics, we eat what is in season. The cereal-pulse aspect of the Indian diet stays fairly uniform around the country. Year-round, we eat a diet in which lentils and cereals provide the bulk of meals, their repetitive monotony is made exciting by with vegetables that provide taste, texture and flavour variants to daily meals, varying according to season. With the advent of the Monsoons our diet changes.

Circumvent the carrot, cauliflower, beans offerings of the supermarket and forage through your local subzi markets. You will discover an amazing variety of seasonal vegetables. Methi is one green that is available year-round. Gourds, cucumbers, squashes also abound. As do (thanks to their hardiness) tubers like yam or suran, tapioca and bulbs like onions and garlic. And then there are the greens that come into season during the monsoons. Some for just a few days, others for the entire season. These are eaten to keep digestion sound and health optimal. As I write, the last of the Phodsi, Takla, Shevlya, are being consumed and the first of the Moras Bhaji, spiky Teasel Gourd and Colocassia are coming in.

But for some of us who can go beyond the city, there is an even larger monsoon bounty waiting to be discovered. Right here in Maharashtra, just a little over 2 hours from Mumbai, lie the Sahyadris, where the local tribals subsist on a diet rich in foraged wild foods that come into season in the monsoons. Some of these such as the Takla, Phodshi and Shevlya even make it to Mumbai Markets from Arey and surrounding forest areas. In fact if you follow some of our local food experts like Saee and Soumitra, and chefs like Zach you might have seen a lot of conversations around these lately.   

Foraging is a hot trend these days, thanks to Chefs like Rene Redzepi at Noma. Closer home, Chef Prateek Sadhu is doing some very interesting work in this space at Masque. But foraged foods have always been an integral part of global traditional food systems. I first clued into the huge repertoire of foraged foods in Maharashtra when Dr. Kurush Dalal wrote about Raanachya Bhajya (Forrest Greens or vegetables) them on his blog. And then I explored some more, realising that in India many regional cuisines supplement their diets with foraged foods. I know Garhwali cuisine uses many foraged foods such as wild figs, a fruit called Kaphal, stinging nettle, and fiddle head ferns. Similarly I know that the Assamese food Gitika Saikia cooks uses a lot of foraged foods like fiddlehead ferns, wild cardamom, ant eggs and silkworm larvae. Things not seen in the mainstream. And then, thanks to the passionate folks at Triple OOO I got a chance to actually learn about the wild foods of the Sahyadris.

Wild versions of  familiar veggies, 
Green Pumkin, Drumsticks, White gourd (Doodhi),
Cucumber, Onion,  Sweet Potato, Eggplants, Okra, Bitter Gourd

An organisation set up by Karan and Pranav Khandelwal, Shailesh Awate and Abhay Bhatia Triple OOO Farms work with the Adivasis of the Sahyadris to conserve the ecosystem of their area by encouraging local farmers to cultivate indigenous seeds and propagate holistic traditional farming practices. Working here over the last few years, they discovered the Adivasis have a traditional diet that is extremely high in nutrition from eating a lot of foraged wild foods. Unfortunately as a result of commerce, unscrupulous traders and aspirations they were losing this traditional food knowledge.

Pranav Khandelwal, Shailesh Awate and Abhay Bhatia
 of Triple OOO farms

In a move to bring pride in their own foods back to them the folks at Triple OOO have been educating and propagating use of these wild foods in their home region as well as making food aficionados in Mumbai more aware of them. They first brought them to Mumbai at a Wild Foods festival last year, which is when I met them. We stayed in touch ever since and they have continued to fuel my explorations in local ingredients, bringing me all sorts of indigenous grains, fruit, herbs, vegetables and all manner of things to discover.

Here are some of the plants I got a chance to play with:

Phodshi and Takla (Dont have a picture) – are available in Mumbai markets June - end September. Both are powerhouses of minerals, vitamins and natural anti-oxidants. They are valued for their medicinal qualities and the ability to keep monsoon-related illnesses at bay. In fact according to Shailesh of Triple OOO, “The Adivasis believe that these greens must be consumed when they appear after the first rains. They are considered cleansers, that acclimatize the body to the coming monsoon diet, and must be eaten as a precursor to all the other monsoon produce that will come as the season intensifies. Phodshi (safed musli, mulshi, or Karli), in particular has moist vegetal undertones, and a slight bitterness that lightens on cooking. I first discovered it when Saee used it to make Pakodas for #ChaiPakodaDay a couple of years ago. To prep the white bottom and central vein needs to be removed prior to cooking. The Aadivasis sauté it with wild garlic and onions into a subzi. It can also be eaten raw in salads or fried into pakodas. It’s also cooked with Karandi, (tiny fresh shrimp) and Sukhat (dried shrimp) or chana dal. 

Shevlya and Kakad, grow together
 and are cooked together.
(Pic courtesy the Velkars)

Shevlya/Shevul/ Dragon stalk yam - is a wild uncultivated vegetable that shoots out of the soil in the hills and forests of Maharashtra after the first rains and is available for a very short time. Many Maharashtrian communities really value it. It’s a delicacy that one looks forward to. According the Soumitra and Manju Velkar, who first introduced me to this vegetable, "in Pathare Prabhu Cuisine it is cooked with tamarind, pureed and made into a prawn curry, in Saraswat cuisine it is cooked with Kadve Vaal and in CKP cuisine it is cooked with fresh or dried prawns (called Soday) or kheema. It is eaten with rice or bhakri or just by itself.” Shevlya are valued for their functional properties, namely restoring gut bacteria that pollution destroys and boosting immunity and micro-nutrient B12, D and more.

Gharbhadi

Fatangdi / Phangota/ Phatangdi/ Ambat tingra is a shrub and eaten as a vegetable. Fatangdi also known as Ambat tingra is a leafy green, slightly sourish green eaten as a vegetable. The leaves and tender stems of the plant are used (Larger, less tender stems can cause itching in the mouth and throat).

Gharbhandi – is a creeper that is found in the forests at this time of the year. It grows in symbiotic conditions with the karvanda. It is cooked into a vegetable. 

Pendhra

Pendhra - Another fruit that comes into season from Jun to September is Pendhra. It is almost extinct in the world today, and one of the last bastions of this plant are in India. The fruit is eaten in all its stages from unripe to ripe. Small tender fruit are cooked whole, Large ones are boiled, sliced, de-seeded and cooked into subzis. They may also be stuffed and cooked.

Fiddle head ferns - are a rainy season staple in many hill areas of India. It was pleasantly surprising to learn that they are also found in the Sahyadris. The Adivasis there cook them into simple subzis.

Mahua Flowers - Fresh and dried

Unripe Mahua Fruit

Mahua - The Mahua tree (called the Butter Tree) is an important food source across the tribal cultures of India. The Adivasis of the Sahyadris value the Mahua tree greatly. Legend has it that they survived famines on Mahua alone and call it the Kalpa Vriksh. Mahua flowers and fruit are consumed through the different stages of their cycle. Mahua flowers are made into the famous fermented "Mahua" or Mhaudi a local alcohol that was drunk for its medicinal functions. The flowers are also dried. Currently the unripe fruit is in season. Consumed as a vegetable in the months of May to June only the fruit that fall to the ground are foraged and cooked. Fruit left on the tree ripens with the advent of the monsoons and will be foraged as it falls and pressed for Mahua oil.

Phodshi or Kauli Bhaji / Fatangadi Bhaji

Serves 2 | Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

Phodshi bhaji, 2 bunches, white base and central vein removed and finely chopped OR Fatangadi bhaji 2 bunches

Onions, 2, sliced thin lengthwise

Garlic, 4 cloves, sliced

Oil, 2 tsp

Niger seeds, ¼ tsp (Or use Cumin)

Salt to taste

Method: 

Heat the oil in a pan and add the niger/cumin seeds. Once it splutters add the garlic. When it begins to get golden around the edges, add the onions. Saute till they begin to turn golden around the edges. Add the chopped Phodshi/Fatangdi and sauté till wilted and bright green. Serve hot with dal and rice or bhakris.

Gyaan and LINKS

Dr. Kurush Dalal's post on Raanachya Bhajya on his blog Eats, Feeds and Digs. 

My story on Monsoons Bounty for Mumbai Mirror (featuring Jackfruit Seeds And Papaya Curry By Gitika Saikia, CKP Style Shevlya Kheema Bhaaji By Manju Velkar 

Also find the recipe for Shevlya Che Sambhare by Soumitra Velkar in this Curries for Comfort article in Mumbai mirror.

My post on Fiddle Head ferns and a Video on how to cook Lingre /Fiddlehead Garhwali style

Dried Mahua is available from Triple OOO for purchase along with a bunch of indigenous dry ingredients  (no vegetables though). Call/connect on whassap at 9116666066 to get on their updates list)  Website | Instagram  | Facebook

Get a Taste of The Wild in Mumbai!

PP Prawn Curry made with Shevlya from Mumbai Curry 

This weekend (13th & 14th June) Mumbai Curry, a new urban Maharashtrian food delivery and catering service, based out of Mahim is celebrating a Maharashtrian Monsoon Special with a menu showcasing 'Shevlya.' The menu features a CKP style Mutton Kheema and a Pathare Prabhu style Prawn Curry paired with the exotic Shevlya blossoms to tickle the taste buds. Prices range from Rs. 300 to Rs. 450 plus GST & Del as applicable. To pre-order contact: 9920093266

Also ‘A Taste of the Wild’, is an exciting new menu celebrating seasonal wild vegetables from Maharashtra ongoing till 31st August at The Bombay Canteen to help create greater awareness of the rich and diverse culinary heritage of our forests (seasonal availability of produce means changes to the menu every 2-3 weeks but look forward to tasting sweet Mahua Flower, salty Moras Bhaji, meaty Shevlya and more along with cocktails like Karvanda Bramble and Wild Mahua Sour)

I will leave you all with this recipe. Would you like to experience a tribal foods meal ? I am planning  a pop-up this monsoon. Leave a comment if you are interested.