Hindu Metroplus , Stalk talking
A veggie that looks like a cross between a tiny brinjal stalk and a gigantic jasmine bud ! ‘How very unusual’ ,was my first thought when my friend Divya of foodshrink blog,sent me this pic ! I carried on with my day and soon forgot about this vegetable ,called Kaambhu kathirikkai. This was the name by which our local ,enterprising vegetable vendor Rajathi ,reffered to it as ! Hence ,that’s the name Divya and I went by ! It was only a few days later when she sent me some did my curiosity actually get piqued further !On trying to locate it on the world wide web , I was completely flummoxed on not find anything to go with this name. It was only after my article in the Hindu ,that so many folk came up with the various names for this tiny vegetable ! I cannot tell you how overwhelming it was to receive mails from people of all ages. An elderly gentleman had apparently eaten it as a young boy while growing up in Madurai and he was happy to have the chance to savour it again after all these years. After looking at the picture ,my friend Laju said they were known as clove beans in English and nithya vazhuthana in Malayalam. Lo and behold ,when I typed those names on Google,a whole new array of recipes and facts were revealed ! An aunt remembered it being sold as mukkuthi avarrai decades ago ! The enthusiasm that this article brought out from folks both known and unknown was very gratifying indeed !
It’s the best feeling to interact with people and gain a wealth of knowledge to pass on to the young ! When I first introduced my kitchen help and others to this ‘stalky’ veg,I pretended not to notice the stunned glances of disbelief and “has she finally lost it ?!?” expressions !!! Yep,this one little veg has led me on to have quite a few interesting experiences and conversations ! I will always be thankful to Divya for that !
The other thing that continues to amaze me is how Rajathi manages to find out about unusual vegetables that we no longer find easily in our markets. She gives credit to her mother who apparently only ate according to the season and dealt only in forgotten country produce. She is a hard worker with a broad beaming smile ,not just for me but for most passer bys. No scales for this street vendor. She prefers her well used ‘paddi’ to measure her wares. Rajathi was quite amused when I told her the English name. She said she preferred to stick to calling it ‘kaambhu kathirrika’ as that’s how it was known in the farms and villages . This cheerful lady has a few farmers who grow her requests on a small portion of their lands,in and around Coimbatore. She is sure that she will never deviate from this practice and has no interest ,at the moment in selling other produce ! She has been an inspiration to me with regard to maintaining self worth by showing pride in her work and belief in her knowledge. With the hope that she will always remain thus,she has found in me ,a faithful customer !
It takes a bit of getting used to ,to deftly remove the bud without damaging the sepals of the stalk. It looks pretty when cooked whole like that ! It keeps quite well for about 5 days in the refrigerator. Clean it when time permits and store. Then you can use it as and when required in various recipes. I also substituted these for brinjal in a brinjal rice and they were just as yummy. By the end of January , I want to explore as many recipes as possible with these clove beans !
At first as Rajathi suggested ,we did try out a puzhi kozhambhu with the stalks. It was absolutely delicious and the whole family loved it. The stalks cook down to an almost buttery consistency ,like a tender baby brinjal. It does not have the slight bitterness that sometimes brinjals have. It was absolutely perfect. Since it was seasonal ,locally grown and very tasty ,we decided to experiment with it a little more.That’s how the recipe for clove beans with potato came about and it has become a favourite on our week day lunch menu !We will definitely miss this veggie when it’s not in season ! I do hope you have enjoyed reading this post as much as I have writing it ! Please leave a comment ,even a smiley to show you’ve stopped by and would like to visit again ! Ta !!!
I think this is one of the most unusual vegetables I’ve come across. I haven’t even heard of it. I saw your recipe too. Most fascinating!
Thanks. It is unusually delicious both in appearance and taste 🙂
Madam,
Can you explain about how you made the receipe with this clove been.
Thanks,
Sajith
Hello Mr. Sajith. I will give you the link to my clove bean recipe.
http://pinklemontree.in/recipe-items/potato-poriyal-with-clove-beanskaambhu-kathirikkai/
Please check out this recipe
Hi,
It feels really nice to know about all our forgotten seasonal vegetables through you. I’ am very interested in making all our original traditional type home cooking. I have heard about this Kaambhu Kathirikai thru a old lady from pollachi, but haven’t had the chance to actually see it or rather taste it. Thanks for showing this vegetable. Will try your recipe soon.
Thanks for adding your comment. Do try ,it really is delicious 🙂
It’s really interesting to see this vegetable, I have not heard about this before. Let me try to get the seeds and grow in my terrace… Thanks Shanthini
It’s delicious in both gravy and poriyal. My friend who grew it at home says it attracts the “blanket bugs” !!! Thanks for posting !
Please.tell me where exactly Rajathi sells her veggies. Name of the closest bus stand would help. I live near Thudiyalur.Thanks. Enjoy your articles in the metro plus
Hi Padma.Thanks very much. Rajathi sells her wares near Axis Bank on Vysyal street at Town hall.She is very easy to find.
I foung it growing in Australia. May be somebody brought in from Kerala. Thanks for giving the local name.
I think it is grown in your area too Marian . Thanks for letting me know. Do try out the recipe 🙂
Where in Australia ? Would love to try it:)) n what’s it called here
Thanks
It’s called clove beans or purple moonflower in english. Not sure about where to source it in Australia though 🙂
Please post the link or date details of the article written in Hindu – would like to know other local names, as well.
Yes I will post the link by tomorrow. Other names are mookuthi avarai , purple moonflower. Clove beans is the most common 🙂
https://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/Food/stalk-talking/article6570825.ece Here’s the link Shama. A few years late but better late than never !!!
Please post a link to the article in The Hindu – or repost that article. Would like to know other local names.
BUY THIS SEED AT
kerala.agricultre.inform@gmail.com
Thank you for the information
i am require clove bean sheds 9711800215
I have mentioned Rajathi’s number. You can contact her 🙂
I am 80 now, and I live in Norman, Oklahoma since 1976. When I was about 5 during 1942, I ate sauteed cove beans ( Moohhuthikai) in my grandma’s house in Anagarai village ( Trichy district). d I tried to get this vegetable, but couldn’t. Every time I visited India, I tried to get the seeds for Mookkuthikai (clove beans) but was not successful. In spite of being ridiculed by my friends and relatives, I never gave up my efforts to get the seeds for this unusual vegetable. About 6 months ago, I was able to get a few seeds from a Ebay seller from Kerala. I planted them pronto, and I will have a good harvest of this fine vegetable in October 2017, and of course I will save a few seeds fro future use.
I am looking forward to experience the joy of tasting the clove bean curry after nearly 75 years!
Thanks so much for sharing your heartwarming memory! Enjoy your harvest 🙂
I have great success growing this unusual vegetable. I picked up about 2 pounds last week, and they taste great when used as brinjal (eggplant).
This vegetable has a peculiarity. When cut from the vine, the stem oozes out a milky white sap. Is this normal? Generally milky white sap from plants is toxic. I was worried about this and contacted a few a few keralites living in Oklahoma. All of them assured me that this is normal and the white sap is not poisonous.
Unfortunately, I have some bad news to tell about this unusual vegetable, Clove beans. I had a good harvest, but what I fared about the white milky sap from the stem has come true. This vegetable can be toxic to some people. My wife felt nauseated and vomited after eating sauteed clove beans. I had an upset stomach, and I had to take some antacid and anti-gas tablets. So please be careful in using this vegetable.
Sorry to hear that.Are you sure it was the same vegetable.Because, we did not experience any milky sap from the stalk ,the many times that we have cooked it. Only the stalk part is edible as you may know,the vegetable part must be removed completely before cooking.
I have been curious about growing this too in Texas. After several unsuccessful attempts to get seeds finally was able to get some from an online contact and growing it. Just curious because someone had mentioned that what is grown as lavender/purple moonflower in US is very close but however when eaten they had a slight stomach upset. Am wondering if what you got were moonflower seeds or the clove bean from India. I will try to be careful too. Thanks for the warning…
The purple moonflower to my knowledge is quite different from the clove bean 🙂 As long as only the stalks are used completely devoid of the bud in the centre, the clove beans do not cause any stomach ailment and are rather high in health benefits.Thank you for your thoughts .
seeds now available 8526366796 paramu
I am residing in Abu Dhabi, UAE. My neighbor have Clove Bean and we often make Thoran or Mezhukkuperatty ffrom it.
Normally I eat a small quantity of it but yesterday to finish the Thoran I had to eat triple quantity than I normally eat. I ate around 8 pm last night and this morning onwards I had stomach upset. I din’t know what cause this bit later I learned that one of our another neighbor also had the same problem after eating a big quantity so started searching in net about this and found here that someone else also had same problem.
So we can conclude it as, having small quantity of Clove Bean might be good for health but “Athikam Aaayal Amruthom Visham”.
Thank you for your feedback. however we have been eating it here for the last few years and we eat it in gravy as well as poriyal (stir fry).
The important thing is to ensure that the bud is completely removed and only the stalk is cooked. The bud portion is inedible and even a little bit should not be left behind.
Hope this helps 🙂