Dear Dr Narayanan Sankaran
Many thanks for your kind words of genuine appreciation.
Yes, leafy vegetables have featured, not only in our well-developed native cuisine, derived from our expertise in time-honoured and tested ayur-vedic culture, which is only recently seeping the territories of our former colonial masters, but sacred leaves on their own have entered our fields of medicine and even religious rituals.
Among the latter are thulasi (basil-several varities), darbha (kusa-grass), bilva (wood-apple), durvaa-pathram (small dark-green grass), chootha-pathram (mango-leaf), karaveera-pathram (asafoetida plant), daadimee-pathra (pomegranate), amalakee-pathram (gooseberry), maachee-pathram, bruhathee-pathram, durdhoo-pathram, badaree-pathram, apaamaargga-pathram, vishnu-krantha-pathram, maruvaka-pathram, sindhoora-pathram, jathee-pathram, vandhalee-pathram, shamee-pathram, bhrunga-raaja-pathram, arjjuna-pathram, and arkka-pathram.
Sure, it would be an exciting journey of discovery, but colour pictures and word portraits of the various leafy items I have mentioned would not have the same impact or intimate value as seeing them whole, fresh and healthy in the markets and stalls, in the farms and homes, in the kitchens and the dining halls of loving families who will be able to explain best their differences, the nutritional and medicinal values of each, and their methods of preparation for serving and for consumption, their proportionate use in the varied dishes that go into presenting an elaborate sadya.
Glossy brochures and gaudy illustrations have a habit of over-playing the claimed virtues of kale, spinach, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, artichokes, asparagus, beet, arugula, brussels sprouts, carrot, squash bell-peppers, mushrooms (morels, truffles, portabello, chanterelle, shittake, oyster, enoki), kohlrabi, parsnips, couscous, cilantro, quinoa, edamame, zucchini, watercress, and such "exotic" greens.
So, rather than viewing them in two dimensions on the Internet, or reading about them, why not go to the places where they are found and have a hands-on life-lasting experience in handling, cooking, serving, consuming them, in a congenial atmosphere with fellow-connoiseurs?
S Narayanaswamy
On Wednesday, March 16, 2016 10:20 AM, "Sankaran S sankaran.s.s@gmail.com [worldmalayaliclub]" <worldmalayaliclub@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
We in South India do not know much about kale. We have been consuming all kinds of greens- keerai - in our lives. If a member talks of kale and its benefits, I really do not know why anyone should feel unhappy. The advantages of kale do not negate the benefits of local greens. Where you cannot get greens of local variety, you can consume kale.
There is no need to get personal or impute motives.
Regards
On Mon, Mar 14, 2016 at 8:03 AM, Pankaj Nagpal nagpal.star@gmail.com [worldmalayaliclub] <worldmalayaliclub@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
Sir ,Everybody appreciates the knowledge sharing , it may be just forwarding info/ posters/ jokes/views.Its good to forward , sharing own views is equally enjoyed for enrichment. Why we r countering some1 else ? Unless it is dangerous or unethical ?We should avoid personal attacks and share I'm decent language. I fail to imagine the lack of respect withing the group.Its always welcome to post ur suggestions or supplement some1 else on any information, but blaming some1 or calling names / disrespect should not ne allowed. It's not your personal garden, its public place sir !On 14 Mar 2016 2:13 am, "Narayanaswamy Subramanian s_narayanaswamy@yahoo.com [worldmalayaliclub]" <worldmalayaliclub@yahoogroups.com> wrote:Dear fellow-MalayalisIrrepressible Occidentalist and Euro-addict Jayasree R Jaysree1 is back with us again, this time spouting the excellency of kale.What is kale? A wild "hardy" European cabbage. (It does not appear to have a Malayalam name. Or a Thamizh, Samskrutham, Telegu, Kannada, or other Indian-language name.)Until the end of the Middle Ages, kale was one of the most common green vegetables in Europe. Curly-leaved varieties of cabbage already existed along with flat-leaved varieties in Greece in the fourth century BC. These forms, which were referred to by the Romans as Sabellian kale, are considered to be the ancestors of modern kales. Russian kale was introduced into Canada (and then into the U.S.) by Russian traders in the 19th century. Alaska was Russian territory then.What our mErkathiya guruni overlooks (or suppresses? or never knew from her own grandma?) is that we have in our God's Own Country a wide variety of keera which have health benefits and unique qualities superior to European kale.Thandu-keera, mola-keera, paccha-keera, arai-keera, avuththu-keera, thavasi-murunga-keera, murunga-ela, chakkaravalli-kizhangu-ela, kang-kong, edible seaweed, water-hyacinth, and several other types of edible leafy vegetables have been grown by Indians long, long before English became a language or Gaul was invaded by Julius Caesar. Britons wore blueberry-paint instead of clothes, and lived in holes in the ground, then.Sure, Europeans, in their own native countries, and in the countries they have massacred the natives and taken over such as Australia, Canada, the United States, Mexico, the Caribbean islands and the whole South American continent, swear by kale, spinach, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and such "exotic" greens.Euro-addicts in our midst exalt their virtues over our time-tested native vegetables.But let us not be deceived so easily.Nothing in the civilised world triumphs over an Onam sadya, spread across freshly-cut full-size fresh green banana leaves spread on the ground and enjoyed by connoisseurs of genuine home-grown home-matured Malayalee cuisine, seated in lotus-posture (padmaasanam) on low elegantly-carved teak-plank seats, with intelligent light conversation among appreciative fellow-Malayalis.S NarayanaswamyOn Thursday, March 3, 2016 9:50 AM, "Jayasree R jaysree1@yahoo.com [worldmalayaliclub]" <worldmalayaliclub@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
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Posted by: Narayanaswamy Subramanian <s_narayanaswamy@yahoo.com>
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