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Summer is a time of fewer vegetables. Ruchira tells us about the not-so-palatable veggies of the season. An exclusive for Different Truths.
Come summer, and the enthusiasm of hardcore foodies like me, hits an all-time low. This is a regular feature every year. It becomes a Herculean task to fix up a suitable menu for the two major meals of the day. For the simple reason that the bulk of vegetables disappear from the shelves and pushcarts unable to withstand the overpowering heat which makes them rot, wilt, or both. So, there you are: left with a small range of veggies. The staple vegetable during the season happens to be lauki / lau/ bottle gourd. It may keep you jolly well hydrated, but it tastes bland and insipid. You must manage with chheNchki /ghonto (lit sautéed), aaloo-lau in gravy or lau boiled in lentils.
I detest bhindi (okra/ lady’s finger). Though a powerhouse of nutrients yet its slimy taste and prolific seeds don’t appeal to me in the least. Unfortunately, my husband and daughter gorge on bhindis. So, it appears frequently on the table. Who cares for me? (Sigh!)
Another much hyped healthy vegetable happens to be spindle gourd (aka parwal/potol).
Another much hyped healthy vegetable happens to be spindle gourd (aka parwal/potol). As fritters /bhaaja these are hot favourites among Bengalis. Plain daal and rice with potol bhaja in every morsel, is sheer paradise! Another dish you may like to try out is aloo-potoler daalna. This involves a gravy spiced with salt-turmeric-green chilli-jira-dhania powder finally tempered with dollops of ghee and garam masala.
Pumpkin (kaddu/sitaphal/kumro) tastes a shade better. I am talking about the ripe golden-orange one. Sweet to taste and easy to cook it is best consumed as chheNchki /ghonto and as kumro’ r chhokka when sautéed with boiled Bengal grams/black chana.
Ridge gourd (jhinga/ tori) and sponge gourd (dhuNdhul/ toroi) mainly stay off my menu. I’ve never had a chance to cook either. I have sampled jhinge-posto (cooked in poppy seed paste) though. Passable for me.
Yet another eyesore is Tinda (apple gourd). Bongs are not too familiar with it…
Yet another eyesore is Tinda (apple gourd). Bongs are not too familiar with it since its production and consumption is by and large confined to Northern India. The taste is not worth writing home about anyway, though experiments are constantly underway to popularise this item.
Its infamous bitter taste notwithstanding, Karela (bitter gourd) is another summer staple. Fried Karela rings with ethnic mustard sauce (Kasundi) are popular and effective in beating the heat. I also relish the stuffed (bharwa) version and another with mustard paste.
Being a chronic patient of dyspepsia, I often must rely on green papaya and green plantain to bail me out. They are panacea for any or all types of gastrointestinal ailments. But ‘tis such a pity that often they are in short supply. Either or both may be eaten in dalna form as described above. Alternatively, boil potato and green plantain (kanch kola) together, mash, and season it with a little mustard oil, green chilies, and salt. Light on the tummy. Try it, if you so desire.
Brinjal is not a summer vegetable per se being available all-round the year.
Brinjal is not a summer vegetable per se being available all-round the year. Nonetheless it’s a no-fuss veggie. Eat it as baingan ka bharta or begun pora – using mustard oil, green chilies and julienned onions (optional). The innocuous potato-brinjal gravy-less dish is always there as is the ubiquitous begun bhaja – crispy crunchy, salty, fried brinjal discs.
I bring up the rear with a new-kid-on-the-block. The Kundru (ivy gourd / tendli) that is hugely popular in Mumbai-Goa-Gujarat circles and now making inroads into other regions as well. When stir-fried with a mustard-onion-green-chili-ginger combo it affords an achaari (read spicy) taste that is bound to uplift your mood and whet the appetite during a dull, languorous summer day.
Picture design by Anumita Roy, Different Truths
