‘Go hug a tree’

India is a great country of vast diversity in many fields, but here the topic is food.

We have a large variety of dietary habits as well. There are the vegetarians who won’t eat food cooked with garlic and onions while the vast majority of vegetarians include garlic and onions in their diet. There are also those who only eat fruits and nuts. Vegans abstain from dairy products while some won’t eat meat, but fish and birds are acceptable. Then there are the non-vegetarians who will not eat beef and those who will not eat pork.

I respect all these beliefs. Everyone has a right to their beliefs and way of thinking, but I object strongly to people who look down on all other diets except their own.

Some people want to practice vegetarianism because they say they don’t want to take life. They claim that if a vegetable is cut from a plant, the plant doesn’t die. But you are still cutting off a limb! It has been proved by scientists that plants feel pain. They invented a machine to measure sounds beyond the hearing range of the human ear and attached it to a French bean plant. When a bean was cut a high shriek was recorded on the machine.

If you are not taking life when you eat vegetables, then what about root vegetables, peanuts, rice, etc which are uprooted? People also say that a vegetarian diet respects God’s given right of other living creatures to enjoy a peaceful and tension-free existence. All I ask is, aren’t plants also God’s gifts to the world? If mankind and the animal world died out, the world would still carry on. But if plant life died then the earth would also die.

There are people who say that the land used to grow grain for animals reared for meat should be utilized to grow grain to feed the poor. Tell them to use the grain in our country’s granaries instead, where thousands of tons are rotting every year due to neglect. They also say that fewer vegetarians die of cancer and heart diseases than non-vegetarians. I have known many vegetarians to succumb to both diseases.

Then it is said that meat-eaters are more violent and aggressive than vegetarians. Let me quote Mahatma Gandhi who said, "I have known more meat-eaters to prefer non-violence than vegetarians.”

Let me go off the point a bit and please bear with me. I am very fond of gardening. I have a small potted garden which I fondly water every day and get a certain amount of peace while doing it. I usually don’t uproot weeds unless absolutely necessary. A pretty plant with serrated purple leaves arrived one day and rooted itself in one of my pots. As the leaves matured they turned green. It grew into a beautiful bush with tiny red flowers which turned into green berries. I wish I knew its name.

One day, while I was watering my watercress a bee stung me on my hand. I didn’t know what to do so I carried on watering. The pain intensified and my hand started swelling. By chance my face brushed this magic plant and the pain disappeared!

I was told by a very wise artist friend in London, that when you feel depressed go hug a tree. I do just that. I lived in Vasant Vihar in Delhi, some time back, where my street was lined with Laburnum trees. One day a Laburnum seedling arrived in one of my pots. I let it grow and when Basil & Thyme opened, I planted it in front of our restaurant. I hug it whenever I am depressed. And it gives back to me the most wonderful vibrations of healing and peace. I can actually feel it saying, ‘Thank you for not uprooting me.’

Yes I have divulged my deepest thoughts and I am taking the risk of not being believed and even being laughed at. It does not matter. All I can say is that I wish more humans were conscious of what nature can give us.

To each his own — the laws of nature cannot be changed.

Now, as promised, some simple, yet delicious vegetarian recipes:

PAPETA NÉ KANTOLA

Serves 6

A kantola is a small, round, spiky vegetable, which has an excellent flavor. It is one of the most delicious, yet least used vegetable. I don’t think it has an English name as it doesn’t grow in the West. I think the Hindi name is karora.

Kantolas (1/2 kg)

Potatoes (3/4 kg)

Oil (2-3 tbsp)

Cumin seeds (3 tsp)

Turmeric powder (1 tsp)

Salt (to taste)

Green chillies (3-4 — seeded and chopped)

Coriander leaves (3 tbsp — chopped with some of the tender stems)

Scrape off the rough surface of the kantolas, but don’t remove the green part. Cut into quarters and slice finely. Peel potatoes, cut into quarters and slice finely.

Heat oil in a shallow frying pan over moderate heat. Add cumin seeds and sprinkle in turmeric and salt.

Add potatoes and sauté for 3-4 minutes. Add kantolas and mix well.

Stir in chillies and coriander leaves and sauté for 2-3 minutes.

Cover and cook over low heat without any water till vegetables are cooked. Stir occasionally to ensure that vegetables don’t stick to pan.

Serve with a thick toover dal garnished with fried onions and ghau ni rotlis (wheat chapatis).

VAGHARELI KHICHDI

Serves 8-12

This recipe has been taken from my book Parsi Food and Customs. It is a meal in itself. For the non-vegetarians, tarelu kharu gosht with salli on top of the khichdi is superlative! Oops! I forgot, this is supposed to be a purely vegetarian article!

Basmati sela rice (2 cups)

Toover dal (½ cup)

Chana dal (½ cup)

Moong dal (½ cup)

Oil or ghee (4 tbsp)

Onions (3 large — sliced)

Garam masala (1 tbsp — whole black cardamom, cloves, cinnamon)

Salt (to taste)

Carrots (2 medium — peeled and cut into 1” cubes)

French beans (10-12 — trimmed and cut into 1” pieces)

Green peas (1 cup – shelled)

Red bell pepper (1 large — seeded, pith removed and cut into 1” cubes)

Green bell pepper (1 large — seeded, cored and cut into 1” cubes)

Turnips (2 — peeled and cut into 1” cubes, if in season)

Cauliflower (150 g — cut into florets)

Aubergines (2 medium — cut into 1” cubes)

Salli (200 g)

Grind together

Green chillies (6 — seeded)

Coriander (3 tbsp — fresh with stems)

Mint leaves (1 tbsp)

Ginger (3” piece)

Garlic (1½ pod)

Turmeric powder (1 tsp)

Cumin seeds (3 tsp)

Wash rice and all dals separately and soak for 30 minutes.

Boil toover dal and chana dal till half cooked. Drain and set aside. Reserve dal water.

Heat oil or ghee in a large pan over moderate heat. Add onions and whole garam masala and fry till onions are brown.

Pour in 1/2 cup reserved dal water and simmer till onions turn mushy and water has evaporated.

Stir in ground spices and sauté for 2-3 minutes, stirring continuously. Add a little dal water if needed.

Mix in rice, all dals and salt and sauté for 2-3 minutes.

Pour remaining dal water. Add additional hot water if required, to cover dals and rice by 1”. Bring to boil over high heat.

Lower heat and add all vegetables. Mix gently and simmer half covered over low heat till holes appear in the khichdi.

Check if cooked. The khichdi should be soft and not too wet or too dry. Toss with a fork and add a little more hot water if required. Cover and cook till done.

Spoon khichdi onto a serving platter and sprinkle salli on top.

Note: You don’t need anything else with this dish. You could serve it with a hot pickle if you like. A light egg dish could precede it if you like (that is, if you eat eggs — they all come unfertilized these days) and complete the meal with a fruity dessert.

MIXED MELON SALAD

Serves 6-8

Dressing

Extra Virgin olive oil (3 tbsp)

Balsamic vinegar (1 tbsp)

Worcestershire sauce (1 tbsp)

Salt (1 tsp)

Black pepper (½ tsp — coarsely ground)

Castor sugar (a pinch)

Salad

Green marsh melon (2 cups – cubed)

Pink marsh melon (2 cups – cubed)

Watermelon (2 cups — cubed)

Spring onions (2 — sliced with a little of the tender green and segments separated)

Mint (1 tsp – chopped)

Combine ingredients for dressing and mix till well blended.

Combine ingredients for salad in a bowl and pour in dressing. Toss till salad is well coated with dressing.

Chill and serve in glass coupe cups.

GREEK SALAD

Serves 6

Tomatoes (6 — firm, ripe cut into 8 pieces each)

Onion (1 medium — sliced in thin rings, with segments separated)

Green bell pepper (1 — medium, seeded, cored and cut into 8 pieces)

Cucumber (1 — 6” long, peeled, seeded and cut into ½” pieces)

Feta cheese (2 cups – cubed)

Black olives (1 cup – pitted)

Oregano (1 tsp — dried or 1 tbsp — fresh)

Olive oil (¼ cup)

White vinegar (2 tbsp)

Salt (1 tsp)

Combine all vegetables in a shallow salad dish.

Sprinkle with feta cheese and olives.

Mix together oregano, oil, vinegar and salt and sprinkle over salad.

Serve immediately within two hours.

Note: You may arrange the salad in individual half plates and serve it as an appetizer.

BAKED RATATOUILLE WITH FETTUCCINE

Serves 6-8

Oven temperature: 190°C (370°F)

Olive oil (2 tbsp + 1 tbsp)

Onion (1 large — cut into quarters and then into large cubes with segments separated)

Garlic (4 cloves — chopped)

Green bell pepper (1 — seeded, cored and cubed)

Red bell pepper (1 — seeded, cored and cubed)

Aubergine (1 long — cut into ½ lengthwise and cubed)

Courgette (1 long — use toori, scraped and cut into ½ lengthwise and cubed)

Tomatoes (6 — blanched, peeled, seeded and cubed)

Tomato paste (commercial — 4 tbsp)

Salt (½ tsp)

Black pepper (1 tsp — freshly ground)

Fettuccine (200 g)

Parmesan cheese (75 g – grated)

Paprika (1 tsp)

Preheat oven.

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large frying pan over moderate heat. Add onions and garlic and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes.

Add bell peppers and aubergine and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes.

Add courgette, tomatoes, tomato paste, salt and pepper and simmer slowly for about 8-10 minutes till vegetables are just cooked but still firm.

Remove from heat and set aside.

Cook fettuccine in boiling salted water with 1 tbsp oil and a pinch of salt till al dente. Drain well.

Mix vegetables into fettuccine and spoon into a baking dish.

Sprinkle with Parmesan and bake in preheated oven for about 12-15 minutes, till cheese has melted and is golden.

Serve hot.

Bon Appétit!

Bhicoo J. Manekshaw, a graduate of the prestigious Cordon Bleu School of Cookery, London and author of Traditional Recipes of India and Parsi Food and Customs, has been associated with many haute cuisine organizations in the country.