If there was one vegetable I hated the most in my childhood, it was undoubtedly the leafy vegetable – The Greens! I still remember my tween-age morning hours when I used to lie down completely curled up in my bed, the screeching voice of 80 year old Greens-seller used to disturb my sweet dreams. The old lady usually shouted at the top her voice calling out the names of different varieties of Greens. My dad always praised the energetic old lady to skies who sold Greens at the morning hours. He attributed her strength at this ripe old age to her daily intake of Greens! Oh, not just that, he took complete pride in buying some fresh bunches of Greens from her. That’s exactly when I used to start thinking of making lame excuses to skip lunch.
After a rigorous washing session by my dad, the Greens made
its way to the Kitchen. Yes the baton was next handed over to my mom. My mom who
was (is) an excellent cook in traditional south Indian dishes was not versatile
in cooking these Greens. She always cooked Greens with dhal. For a change,
sometimes she might simply steam, mash the Greens and spice it up with some
cumin, pepper and salt. My dad found these plain cooking extraordinarily tasty
(and healthy too), while I used to feel sick to my stomach by just looking at
that Green stuff. I wish it had some Masaala in it. But ‘Garam Masaala’ was (is)
a ‘taboo food’ in our house!
Every time I was served these mashed Greens I made faces and
of course both my parents pretended not to notice or approve my silent protest.
I was left with no choice but to transfer the 'Green stuff' to my sister’s plate
whenever she was looking away or when everyone was busy talking (which rarely
happened). So, after eating one serving of cooked Greens I used to complain of
full-stomach and run away from the scene.
Even after several years I had no stomach for Greens. In
spite of my parents, well-wishers, relatives extolling the virtues of eating
cooked Greens, I always had a look of hate when I saw Greens. I was not
in the least worried state or bothered about my low Haemoglobin level in my
blood or about my ‘skin and bone’ looks.
Years later, I had a mind-lift when I became a working woman
in Bangalore. I was staying in a Hostel there. My hostel had an un-written rule
that they could ‘never’ have an interesting menu to eat. Yes, weekly once, Chapatti
was served with Steamed Greens (and no dhal) as the only side dish. Finally, I
had to go with the menu and eat the Great Greens + Chapatti Combo! Because, I
thought it was better to eat it than starving after a hard day. And there was
‘Only’ one person who was extremely delighted at me eating Greens in the
hostel. It was my dad dearest!
After my marriage, one day my husband bought some Paalak
Greens and asked me to cook ‘Paalak Paneer’. Though the fresh bunch of paalak impressed
me, I didn’t know how to cook the dish. As usual, I Googled a bit and wrote
down the Paalak Paneer Recipe. Yeah, I must say that I would have long become
extinct if Google website was not invented. For me the website is nothing less
than the Bhagavath Gita – Too sacred and influential.
My first hands-on experience in cooking Paalak Paneer was
not that bad. I slowly acquired taste for Greens – but restricted to Paalak
greens and that too Paalak Paneer! :) In Trichy where I was brought up, I doubt
if anyone heard of the word Paalak. I guess it’s not Tamil Nadu stuff. The aroma of ghee-fried Paneer pieces soaked
in the Greenish gravy that is flavoured with spices gave me a good appetite. Finally, I
used to dig in to the bowl of Paalak Panner along with Chapatti, every time the
dish was made at home.
My perception of Greens changed for the better
after reading a Tamil book about Greens and its importance in our daily lives.
I will write about it my next post. I shall also include some simple yet
interesting recipes you can make with Greens in that post.
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