Episode 5 - Bottle Gourd

Namaskaram! 🙏

Hope you enjoyed my previous video on How to Harvest and Consume Banana flower, Hope you try the recipe soon enough. It's hassle-free and full of nutrients.

 

Today we are learning about bottle gourd or Calabash, Did you know it's one of the oldest vegetables known to human beings? 

                          

In this blog, we will go over- 

1. Benefits 

2. How to grow 

3. I will show you a Recipe with bottle gourd.

Benefits - Bottle gourd is also known as Opo or Doodhi or Lauki. For consumption, we harvest bottle gourd young and soft. We can harvest mature and hard to be used as utensils or for its seeds. It is believed to be originated from Africa and was carried to other parts of the world as humans migrated. It’s loaded with the goodness of Vitamin C, K, and calcium. It's good to bring down cholesterol, sugar levels in the blood. 

Be cautious when juicing this vegetable as it can be toxic if stored for too long (you can tell by its bitter taste) can even result in death. Cooking is easy peasy, and need not worry. 

Mature squashes can be used for utensils like for storing water or storage of some random things. Is used as instruments in Africa, Hawai, India etc. I read that somewhere in Africa they used this as a helmet to bypass the law of requiring to wearing an actual helmet. 

                             

                                              Credits- Pixebay.com

How to grow - We can grow through its seeds or saplings. Seeds are harvested from the mature doodhi. Make sure the soil is week drained and moist. Remember that Bottle squashes are a vine so it needs something to climb up and spread. If you leave it on the ground, the squash would be fat and squat in shape. If you hang it, you can harvest a thin and long bottle gourd. 

We can expect our first harvest in two months if the flowers are pollinated. Just like the squashes, both male and female flowers grow and the female flowers need to be pollinated if not they will simply fall out. In India, we grow it in the monsoon season till summer. You don’t need to cut it down after harvesting. Remember to plant plenty of seeds to have a sufficient harvest. 

The NPK ratio is 4:8:5. I will do a video on how to make NPK fertilizer at home soon. 

Question- What's your favourite Squash/Gourd? Comment below!

Recipe for Doodhi Daal Bhaji-

Ingredients- 

• 1 Bottle gourd. 

• 2 medium onions

• 2 medium tomatoes

• half cup daal (lentils)

• Chili and curry leaves to taste (Optional)

• Turmeric powder, Salt and Chili powder 

Instructions-

• Chop the Doodhi as shown in the video (tiny cubes)

• Add sliced Onions and cubed tomatoes

• Add one-two green chili and curry leaves 

• add washed daal 

• Add Half TSP of turmeric, salt, and chili powder to taste. 

• add two cups of water and boil until the gourd is soft and the daal is cooked.

Hope you enjoyed this blog and the video. I am trying to work more on my vlogs. Please let me know what you like/dislike below. Have a good day or a goodnight.

Best regards,

Sijo 

Suggested: Okra 101, How to Choose, Harvest and Consume 

Episode 4- Banana Flower

Namaskaram!🙏

Welcome to Learning your Roots. Thank you for your continued support. My video on Harvesting and Consuming Okra has nearly touched 200 views and reached 29 subscribers. My article on Rice noodles was also accepted with love. 🙏 

  

  Today we are talking about my favorite Banana flower. Someone from Facebook told me that he simply throws his Banana Flower into a compost bin, so I thought I will make a video on what it is and how to use it right!

Banana leaves and flower are two different things. Banana leaves are not edible but are amazing organic food wrappers. If the food is hot, it will even add amazing fresh green taste to it.

Young Banana flower

Today we are going to talk about -
1. Choosing the right Banana Flower
2. Harvesting
3. Preparing the Banana Flower using a traditional recipe 

Banana Flower, Banana Blossom, Vazhaipoo, or Koombu (Malayalam) are the different names of this flower. High in nutrients and fiber, it contains Calcium, Potassium, Vitamin A, C, E. But not all Banana Flowers are the same. In Kerala, we use Banana flowers of 'Plantain' and 'Gnalipovan' as they're the least bitter. Flowers of other varieties are also safe for consumption. Sorry couldn't explain this well in the video, I'm still getting used talking in front of a camera. You should be able to find one in any Asian store if you like to try. 'Gnalipovan' is a type of small banana that loved throughout Kerala.
  

Gnali-povan

Some banana variants don’t have a flower at all, like the 'Burro banana' or also know as 'Povan-payam' in Malayalam. (Povan stands for rooster and Payam stands for a ripe banana.)

1. Choosing the right banana. 

The freshness of this is indicated by the Redness of the flower. Red is fresh, as it gets older it turns black-er. That's one way to distinguish the good from the bad. Once you peel back the outer petals, the flowers inside should be cream in color which means its fresh, alternatively if darker it is old. Something to keep in mind; the older and black-er the flower, the more bitter it is. 

2. When to Harvest?

Cut the flower when the fruit starts to mature, you would notice the stalk simply elongates producing tiny fruits. Grab the flower by it top and simply snap it off. You would notice a sticky sap starts to appear, clean it off or else it will stain your clothes. Prepare the flower as soon as you can or use it within 1-2 days because remember - the longer it sits the more bitter it gets! 🙅

3. Recipe 

This is a simply delicious recipe that you can adjust to suit your tastes and preferences. Make sure you oil your hands well and lay newspaper or cover of sorts so the surfaces don’t come in contact with the sap. 🙅

Ingredients - 

1. 1 Banana flower

2. 2 Medium Onions

3. Chillis and curry leaves (optional) 

4. A handful of coconut shavings

5. Half cup of Raw brown beans

6. Salt, Tumeric and Chilli powder (to taste)

Instructions - 

1. Chop the Banana flower as shown in the video.

2. Clean the chopped flower.

3. Add thinly sliced onions, chili (optional), and curry leaves (optional).

4. Add coconut shavings (optional), mix together and add the brown beans.

5. Add 3/4 cup of water. 

6. Boil until soft.

Watch the video to know how to chop banana flower right.

Question- Have many types of Bananas have you tried? Comment below or below the video. I'm curious to know!

Thank you for reading so far. Please support me by subscribing to the blog (on the right) and subscribing to my channel. More similar content coming to you every Wednesday and Saturday! Have a good day ahead.💪

With love,

Sijo 

Suggested- Sweeter than CUSTARD? Sweetsop review https://youtu.be/G2ztnYswi30

Episode 3 - Everything about Okra

Namaskaram my beautiful people! 🙏 

My previous video on Custard Apple received a heart-warming 100+ views and total subscribers reached 20. Though a small number to many, it is certainly a huge encouragement for me 💜
My love for Okra/Ladyfinger/Vendaka/Bindi started when I was transitioning to a plant-based diet. In a plant-based diet, you need to avoid foods that don't come from plants and are processed. Naturally, I was missing milk, cheese, and butter. That's where Okra came in. This finger-looking long vegetable is very buttery when harvested at the right time and cooked properly. (Shown in my video)
The sticky sap might put some people off a surprising fact that many people don't know is that it is actually nature's very own band-aid. The sticky sap contains antioxidants, anti-bacterial, anti-cancer as well as anti-inflammatory properties. 

In this post, let's talk about- 

1. Harvesting okra at the right time
2. Growing okra
3. A traditional Keralite recipe

1. Harvesting okra at the right time - Okra needs to be harvested when young; their tenderness can be tested by pressing them gently. This test can even be done when you buy from the grocery store. Alternatively you can also try to break the tip of the ladyfinger. If it breaks cleanly- it's young, if it simply flexes then it's too mature. Unfortunately, harvesting the okra at the right time isn't enough! Storing them for too long also causes the okra to mature. If the okra is found to be too mature, better let it grow out and dry on the plant. You can then harvest the ladyfinger for its seeds. 

2. Growing Okra - In the video, I have shown my two varieties of okra plants. Bought both these plants around 4-5 months ago at the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdown and got some saplings from my neighbour. The last harvest was my third harvest. I have two Dwarf varieties and four types of Go-Big variety. You can grow Okra in grow bags, terrace, balcony, pretty much anywhere you like. Okra needs to be grown from seeds or saplings. The method of harvesting has been discussed above. The plant requires a good amount of sunlight and can be harvested all year round. 

3. Okra recipe - This Keralite recipe is called "Vendaka Thoran". For this recipe, you need a good amount of ladyfinger, two handfuls of coconut shavings, two medium tomatoes, two medium onions, a pinch of turmeric powder, half tbsp chili powder, salt according to your taste, and Green chilli (optional). Slice the ladyfinger thin and round for this recipe. Watch the video below.

•  Add two tbsp of cooking oil 

• Caramelise the onions, pinch of salt helps. 

• Add tomatoes and chili.

• Add turmeric powder, chili powder, more salt.

• Add ladyfinger and cook until its almost soft.

• Add Coconut shavings and cook until the ladyfinger is soft.

 

Please leave your version of the recipe and comments below or under the Youtube Video. 

Thank you for reading so far. Please remember to subscribe to my blog and youtube for more posts. Kindest regards, 

Sijo

Episode 2 - Custard Apple

 

Hello again! Finally got another sunny day to shoot my second video. I have videos coming up on Cooking banana flower and Okra.  

My friend was nice enough to drop me these yummy Custard apples because he knew I was on a search for them. Took a couple days for them to fully ripen but was totally worth it. Custard apples were once common in Kerala but now it's rarely found. Though the number of products with "Sitaphal" flavor is increasing, their farming in Kerala hasn't seen much growth. 

Many efforts are put into creating a variety with lesser seeds and more pulp. But someone who loves nature as much as I do would only choose an organic variety that's both good for the earth and human beings.

Native to South America and the West Indies, sitaphal was introduced to India by  the Portuguese during the 16th century AD. Amazingly, its appearance has been noted in ancient Indian sculptures. There is a depiction of custard apple in the Bharhut and Sanchi sculptures in Madhya Pradesh, the Ajanta Caves in Maharashtra, and the carvings at Mathura in Uttar Pradesh from the 2nd century BC. thebetterIndia

In this video, we will see 

• How to check the ripeness?
• How does rank
• My sapling at the end of the video!

Episode 1- Papaya (ദൗമകക)

Namaskaram!🙏 

Welcome to my first blog and the First Episode of LearningyourRoots. ✋✋

In this video, I talk about once disliked but now one of my favorite fruit, Papaya or ദൗമകക. Papayas are widely seen throughout Kerala and now even provides livelihood to many farmers thanks to its international demand in cosmetics and personal products. 

Most of the papayas in our land grow from a seed that dropped by birds. Just like any other local produce, papaya doesn't get the well-deserved recognition it deserves. Since I'm spoiled for fruits in Kerala, I prefer cooking dishes with unripe papaya. It's an excellent replacement for cabbage and can replace pan-fried potato fries. 

I will post a traditional vegan recipe using grated papaya in my second episode. Forgive the lack of quality in these videos, Due to COVID I haven't been able to purchase the "Vlogger Kit" yet.

Here is my 5-year-old Papaya tree after greedy me harvested all the papayas 😛

For the Video explaining how to check the ripeness of papaya click the image below