Black and White Taste

Passport & Plate - Sisnu plant curry

Nepal | Wednesday, March 4, 2015 | 2 photos

Ingredients
water (500ml)
Salt (2 teaspoon)
Sisnu plant (250gm)
Ghee(1 teaspoon)(optional)

 

How to prepare this recipe
1. Wear gloves (as it's thorny)
2. Wash the plant with water
3. Boil the water
4. Put the sisnu in it
5. Stir it gently till it becomes semiliquid
6 .Put salt in it
7. If you want you can add ghee
8. Serve it as a soup or with dry foods

 

The story behind this recipe
This food reminds me black and white world of people living in one of the remote village of Nepal (Mangaltaar: a village next to a big river).I was so much fun loving and a kind of traveller(short distance). I decided to spend 3 days in a very remote village far from my residence, that was the most experiencing adventure I had ever had. Sisnu is a thorny plant very rich in iron but unfortunately it's also a symbol of poverty in Nepal. People lacking food stuffs specially during rainy season depend on this food to SURVIVE.I had gone there for fun but I got concluded with something else. It is still fresh in my mind, people's face with a lot of rays of hope of surviving throughout the rainy season as they would normally go to town to work after this season. I remember children malnourished, weak and unhealthy. They were even not able to go to school as they could not cross the river due to heavy flood. People were so patience in the hope of overcoming the rain so that they could be able to eat grains again,reminded me of denial I made when my mother offered me food. This food still has a separate value for them today as well and even it symbolizes many other remote areas of Nepal. Though it's very easy and seems stupid to prepare this food, it's healthy as well as tasty and most of all it's not available everywhere. Whenever I even think of this food, I go back to my flash back (people, river, food, poverty, feelings, patience, etc)