( KASHMIRIS AND
LOTUS STEMS OR NADRU )
The lotus flower comes from a
a freshwater plant ( botanical name Nelumbo Nucifera ) that has been
cultivated mainly in South East Asia, Mediterranean and also in some Latin
American countries since ages. In north
and northeast areas of the country, it is essentially grown in lakes and ponds.
Hindus, Buddhist and Egyptians consider the lotus as a sacred flower. The
Mahayana Buddhists believe that every soul emerges from a lotus flower. The Buddhist Mantra ‘Om
mani padme hum’ refers to the ‘jewel in the lotus’ which represents
illumination or enlightenment. Buddhists believe that this mantra has great
spiritual powers.
In ancient Egypt, spiritual
teachings held that the lotus represented the sun, and therefore is directly
linked to the creation and rebirth. This
belief was reinforced from the way a lotus flower closes its petals at night
and hides underwater but rising again at dawn and opening its petals. The ancient
Egyptians believed that the lotus flower
gave birth to the sun. The blue lotus, especially, is highly revered in the Egyptian culture.
Hindus consider the entire plant including its seeds as sacred.
According to the Purāņas, Brahmā ( creator of the universe ) is self-born in
the lotus flower. In India, the lotus is known by various names like Pundarika,
Padma, Kamala, Utpala, etc. There is a popular saying in Kashmir ‘ Lembi Munz
Pamposh ’ about lotus flower which means that if one has to be in the mud, he
must remain above it and shine like a lotus flower. The leaves of a lotus
flower were also put to use in Kashmir as saucers for eating food.
The lotus stems are eaten as a favourite vegetable in Kashmir. Locally
known as Nadru, these stems are sold as
a bundle. One bundle roughly weighs more than one kilogram. A Nadru bundle is
known as ‘ Geiyad’ in Kashmiri. Extracted from lakes, Nadru is extensively used
as a vegetable in almost every Kashmiri
household. Kashmiris cook these stems with turnips, potatoes, fish, lentils, collard greens ( Haak ) and many other vegetables. Nadru
Yakhni or Nadru cooked in curd is a
favourite dish in a Kashmiri Pandit family. It is a much-loved dish in a
marriage feast. Nadru chips are fried crisp and a pinch of common salt and red chilly
powder is sprinkled over it to make ‘Nadru
Churma’. Nadru is also used for making
Pakodas known as Nadru Monjji’ or ‘Monji
Gooel ’ in Kashmiri.
So popular was the lotus in Kashmir
that children were fondly named as Pamposh ( lotus in Kashmiri ). We had many
business houses with names as Pamposh Traders, Pamposh Hotel, Pamposh Travel
Service, etc.
Lotus seeds or lotus nuts locally known as ‘ Pumm-Buchh’ are abundantly grown in lakes of Kashmir. You
come across this stuff being sold by footpath vegetable sellers in and around
Dal lake; quite frequently on Boulevard Srinagar and also near Ashai Bagh bridge , Nigeen
lake in Srinagar city. I saw this stuff being sold near the Wular lake or along the footpaths of main Bazar
of Bandipore town which is situated on the eastern bank of this lake. I also
saw ‘Pumm-Buchh’ being sold near the Manasbal
lake in Kashmir. The fresh variety of seeds held inside a green shell are soft
watery white and sweet to taste. About twenty seeds are generally held in a
spongy green bulb. Once exposed to heat and air, the shell of the seeds turns
hard and black and the soft white seed inside dries up and changes its colour
to yellowish-brown.
Lotus seeds are eaten raw. A good amount of dried lotus seeds are used
by Kashmiri Pandits as Homa Samagri ( material for burning in sacred Homa or
Yajna fire ). These seeds are also put
to extensive use in northeastern states of the country. In many Asian
countries, the seeds are dried and used
in cuisine and medicines. The use of these seeds as medicine is quite popular
in China. These seeds are also put to use in some Latin American countries. I
found them being sold in Amritsar on footpaths just outside Ram Bagh park.
Chinese and Japanese use the paste of lotus seeds in bakery products
especially in pastries. It has been now established through clinical tests that
lotus seeds act as antioxidants and help in reducing inflammation, fight ageing
and lowering hypertension. The practitioners of the Chinese system of medicine
prescribe the seeds for well being of spleen, kidney and heart.
LOTUS STEMS IN CHINA TOWN, NEW YORK CITY
In 2018, I searched for the lotus stems
( Nadru ) in Chinatown, New York. And then collard greens (Kaachhi Haak) was a
bonus in this search. The search story goes as under:-
As we come out from the underground Canal Street metro station, we
start moving towards Chinatown. This
Street lies close to Little Italy or the Soho locality. Coming closer to the HSBC
building, we try to seek help from shopkeepers.
‘ Which side are the vegetable shops?’ I ask a smiling Chinese shop
keeper selling many varieties of dried fish ( Hogaad), dried shrimps and dried
mushrooms.
‘What? I Don’t follow what you
say.’ comes the reply.
We move ahead and speak to another Chinese boy selling fresh baby
Coconuts on the street.
‘ You understand English’
‘Yeah, little ’
‘How much one coconut?’
‘ Two Dollar fifty cent ’
‘ Where are vegetables sold?’
" Two blocks and make a
left. So many.All good .’
We move towards the suggested destination. It turns out to be a Chinese
restaurant. We feel disappointed. On footpaths,
we see some Afro- Americans selling low-priced goods to tourists. They
sell key rings, sunglasses, purses,
bags, toys, wristwatches, caps and wall
pictures. They keep crying:-
‘Hey, guys. This way. This way. You gonna buy everything solid.
Everything gonna cheap, Yeah sir. Madam, you wanna purse. Here go five
dollars.’
I come closer to a smiling man selling caps. He has every reason to
welcome us as customers.
‘Buy sir. Madam, I gonna give
good caps. Good ones, take
home.’
‘ No, thanks. We are looking for a vegetable shop. Can you guide us? We
want to buy vegetables.”
‘ What? cooked dish! ‘
“ No, raw and fresh from the farm like kohlrabi, collard greens,
tomatoes, cilantro, kale, pumpkin, gourd, eggplants, carrots, potatoes, etc. We wash, cut and then we put on the boil in
the kitchen. We eat finally. That is what we want to buy.”
‘ O! I get it. You wanna go fresh produce store. Here you say
vegetable, they gonna guide you
restaurant. They gonna think cooked dish.
Go one block and make a right.
There that market and many shops sell fresh farm produce. ’
We follow the suggested path and cross the footpath where Chinese women
were selling fruits like double cherries, Mexican mangoes, apricots,
watermelons, muskmelons, pears, apples, plums and bananas. Suddenly we find
some vegetable shops. Fresh vegetables are on display on the footpath outside
these spacious shops. We stop at a vegetable shop that has a variety in collard greens. Yes, our green leafy ‘Haak ’ in various shapes and
sizes.
‘ What is this? ’
‘This is Jai-lan. Good. One
dollar fifty cents for a pound .’
‘ And that ’
‘Bok Choy ’
‘ Do you have lotus stem ?’
‘ What? ’
‘Long stem of a lotus flower. Tubes like inside when cut. Grows in water. Used for making a dish. In
China, also used for making medicine. ’
‘ Come, see inside the Shop. ’
We go inside the shop. He opens a cardboard box. Something in Chinese
is printed on the box. As he removes the grass,
we find Nadru looking like
turnips. The man looks at my face. I smile and he smiles too.
‘ No stem. Say lotus root. Say
‘Lian Ou ’ next time here in this
market.’
I was told by a Chinese family in New York that they make liberal use
of the lotus roots in their cuisine. They also
use other lotus products like lotus seeds, lotus leaf and lotus root powder to
make different kinds of dishes and desserts.
( Avtar Mota )
PS
Eating lotus roots raw can spread parasites or bacterial infections.
Therefore, always cook( boil, stir fry
or deep fry ) lotus roots before eating or adding them to your diet.
CHINAR SHADE by Autarmota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.
Based on a work at http:\\autarmota.blogspot.com\.
