![]() ![]() ![]() I mostly source them from friends who have farmland or the female farmers who sit on the periphery of the local vegetable markets, selling their foraged greens.įoraging means gathering edible wild plants. I cook ajwain (caraway) leaves, chichardi (solanum anguivi or forest bitterberry), gongura (the south Indian name for sorrel leaves), and kulfa (purslane). Influenced by Grandma’s food wisdom, I explore wild greens wherever I go. They help the poor make ends meet, alleviate malnutrition, increase food availability, diversify agriculture, and can become a source of income. Many of these wild edible plants (WEPs) are neither cultivated nor domesticated but grow on their own and have been foraged for ages. The resilience of nature thriving in unexpected places, abandoned plots, concrete crevices, or pavements is amazing. “Yes, we can,” she says, and describes how she would accompany her mother to collect edible greens from the grasslands near her village in central India. ![]() She looks and exclaims: “This is khatti booti !” and pats my head. One day, I pester my grandmother to come and see my plant. Yes! A baby leaf happily nodding in the breeze. As I hide behind a dry, ash-coloured bush, my eyes catch something. A few days ago, it was a riot of wildflowers dancing in the breeze. It is completely brown, black, and barren. As a nine-year-old, this is my secret hiding place. I run towards the patch of land – recently burned to ashes – while playing hide-and-seek. ![]()
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