Farm Fresh
From farm to table
Being a vegetarian was never a challenge back home, in Kerala. We hardly ever ate the same vegetable every month. Every month meant a different vegetable. Even if it was not grown in the small patch of land near every house, the small, stand alone shops, too sold seasonal vegetables. The only exception was, of course the coconut. No cooking was complete without it. Neither was any ceremony in the house, or outside it. Births, marriages and deaths were marked by the presence of the coconut.
The seasons had their festivals: and the festivals, their food. 14th of April was Vishu, and the beginning of Spring. So we had the Jackfruits, the ripe mangoes, and the bananas. And the golden pumpkin.
Out of all this variety of leaves, seeds, roots and shoots and fruits, it is difficult to zero in on one, and say that this is my favourite. Not many people know that the leaves of the pumpkin, of the drumstick (moringa) tree, and of long beans are edible and provide nutritious fare. Or that curry leaves can, and should be eaten, and not relegated to the dustbin. Curry leaves are known to help both grow, and keep hair thicker, for a longer time.
Somewhere around August and September, according to the stars, we had the Harvest Festival of Onam. That, we celebrated with 10 days of flower arrangement. That was also the time when the new batch of rice paddy was harvested. It was a joyous occasion by all standards, because rice is the basis of a Kerala diet.
And in December, we have the Thiruvathira Festival, the day Goddess Parvati met Lord Shiva after her long penance. It is one of the only festivals I know in India that is solely devoted to desire. Of course it has been sanitised now , but back in the day, well…
It is the one day in the year when we do not eat rice. Instead, we make a dish concocted out of root vegetables: the colocasia, the yam, the Chinese potato, sweet potato, long beans, raw plantain cooked in a thick gravy of coconut, shallots, garlic and a pinch of cumin seeds. Dessert is usually a payasam made out of arrow- root powder, jaggery and coconut milk.
The sheer variety of vegetables we have is the reason I find the idea of a vegetable diet non threatening every way I look at it. Through the year, we can eat different vegetables, and hardly ever repeat the same one. I am fortunate to be the off spring of a man to whom all plants are the breath of life itself. I am even more fortunate that he taught all his children to love and care for every bit of green that Mother Earth produces.
God willing, my grandchildren growing up in their adopted land, will care for them, as well.
ⓒ 2023 Suma Narayan. All Rights Reserved.
This piece is a response to the prompt:
Shout out to Dr. Preeti Singh for this piece that smells of freshness:
and to Dr. Fatima Imam and her piece on the delicious okra:
Shout out too, to Trisha Faye and her love of vegetables:
ⓒ 2023 Suma Narayan. All Rights Reserved.
