The great Indian ingredient trail
The HinduEarly on a warm May morning in 2022, we wind our way between lush green bushes and neon-pink homes to the edge of the Shivalik Hills. “It’s a small, wild melon but we use it to tenderise the meat, pickle it with red chillies, or simply use it as a paste in a curry.” But as chef Bahadur Singh of Mihirgarh says, kachri, which is often mistaken for a fruit, is resilient and one of the few vegetables that grows on khejri trees. “For Goans, the full potential of seaweed has still not been realised.” The power of green Kerala Rediscovering: pachakurumulaku, vazha It’s October, and the final pit-stop in my ingredients trail is the vividly-coloured lanes of Fort Kochi, where the lessons from Rajasthan echo. The larger purpose of the trail, says Arun Ashok, regional manager Luxury Escapes, is to make local hero ingredients mainstream and empower the local communities. “Even at Breach Candy market in Mumbai, you see them parading imported fruits and not so much the Indian ones, because they are less consistent and not pretty to look at.” So, from incorporating them in our larger supply chain to creatively interpreting their uses, the onus is on us to keep them alive and empower the local communities who are protectors of their tales.
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