Adhalakkai

Simplicity Coimbatore , Adhalakkai season is here

The winter weather is the right time to cook with ingredients which aren’t suited for any other time of year.Few people realise that even green peas are best consumed only during the winter months. We have become so used to seeing it in dishes throughout the year that the seasonal quotient is almost erased from our memory.

Another ingredient which few people here recognize nowadays is the adhalakkai . Whenever I mention it I often hear people asking me again not once but even twice. That only goes to show how far removed we have become from the native ingredients which are so vital for our well being.

The adhalakkai plant is a creeper. Naturalists and traditional farmers say that the bulb lies dormant in the soil and springs up during the months between October and February when the weather is cooler. The botanical name is Momordica cymbalaria and is also known as the bitter melon plant. The vegetable looks like a miniature version of the ridge gourd (peerkangai) with thin tails on either side. Imagine a small oval pod bulging on the sides with the seeds encase inside. The taste however is similar but a lot more intense than the bitter gourd (pavakkai) The unique properties lie in the round seeds which turn crunchy when cooked.

Surprisingly I have found that most Indian children when exposed to this taste from young, do like the bitterness in native vegetables. To activate the bitter taste buds on the tongue is vital for digestion and offers a nutritional balance.

For most people who are used to the pavakkai,it tastes best when eaten with a helping of cool curd rice.The creamy thayir saadham with the bitter/spicy taste of cooked pavakkai is a wonderful combination.Same with the adhalakkai.

The adhalakkai is easy to clean and is quick to cook. It is usually paired with onion and garlic to make a poriyal like stir fry or along with tamarind water to make the quintessential puli kozhambhu. The thick outer skin turns soft when cooked ,some of the pods burst while cooking and the seeds fall out.

When talking to vendors they will tell you that it’s important to cook this vegetable soon after buying it because it does tend to split and turn mushy if the seeds come out before it is cooked. The best way to clean and prep is by cutting both ends of the corners thereby discarding the tails.

The skin is a very dark green and once tasted it’s a vegetable which is hard to forget. There are so many videos on you tube, in several vernacular languages listing the benefits of the adhalakkai. It is especially high in potassium and vitamin C apparently. Besides that the medicinal benefits are said to be innumerable. Do check out the adhalakkai videos on you tube.

It’s available in the different weekly markets around Coimbatore.We found it at the puliakulam market on several consecutive  Tuesdays this past month, at the stall of vegetable vendor Bhupathi. During the rest of the week he can be found selling his wares at the uzhavar sandhai early in the day.

The adhalakkai is found in abundance down South in areas like Theni , Tirunelveli etc. But in the more urban towns and cities it’s availability is dwindling.This again is because of a lack of awareness and new food trends.

Truth be told, our native foods, especially those which are foraged ,like the adhalakkai are the real gems of our indigenous food chain. It’s just a matter of getting used to including it in our diet and adapting the flavour to our taste buds. It’s one of those foods which people tend to either love or hate. The  reactions to those familiar with this special vegetable are most often of restrained excitement. It’s not a vegetable which can be found in the grocers or supermarkets . An instagram story I posted a few weeks ago did receive a great deal of positive comments to the adhalakkai picture.

We served it at home,cooked to a dry consistency. The flavours from the red chilli powder and the colours from the turmeric powder add to the vibrancy of the finished dish.The garlic and onions are cooked down and give a hint of sweetness but what cuts through all of that is indeed that unavoidable bitterness. My children were most appreciative of this dish as they usually are of our native foods.It was our help at home who had to be persuaded to eat a helping. It was quite a task to help them understand the importance of eating these wild foods. A few mouthfuls down and it gets more familiar,it’s definitely worth a try or two this time of year !

Vendor Bhupathi : 9486617469