Need to promote growth of Lentils in India
Scroll to end of note for lentil flour recipes
India has been a predominantly vegetarian country ever since the days of Buddha. Instead of meat there have been three major sources of proteins
- Milk and milk products
- Lentil beans
- Roasted nuts and beans such as Peanuts and chickpeas (Chana + Mungfali)
While the growth of wheat has been promoted in modern times
and there is little shortage of carbohydrates as a result of it, there has been
a shortage of the other products that provide protein or they have become too
expensive for a large proportion of the population. As a result, while people
may not suffer from hunger they suffer from malnutrition.
The question arises as to how to promote the growth of
lentil beans in a manner that is easy to implement and does not allow leakage
of the scheme into corruption and misuse. The thought has occurred to this
blogger that if as a subsidy packets of dry fertilizer/pesticide mixed with good quality lentil
bean seeds are provided free or near free to lentil growing farmers in the
relevant agricultural areas of the country, they are likely to give a big boost to production. Receiving free seeds mixed with some fertilizer mixed in it is of great assistance to farmers and they are then likely to grow more lentils in the country. Mixing in
fertilizer/pesticide would provide an element of subsidy but most of
all it would prevent the seed being sold or consumed as a dal (A thick soup of lentil beans with some added spice, herbs and cooking oil) without growing. Certainly, a farmer receiving a free packet may sell it
off to another farmer but that is not a problem as long as the seed is planted. It goes without saying that such a distribution should be done in areas that are already well known for growing different lentils for best results. It implies that the area is suitable for growth of the seed distributed and farmers are already familiar with growing that crop. A mapping based on that may be done of the entire country to discover which areas are best for which particular lentils. Further support may be provided to those areas by enhancing their irrigation and marketing infrastructure.
Some brief instructions in an easy to understand pamphlet in
bold type and easy language on the planting method of the mix may be provided
with the packets so distributed.
The only caution required in use of besan is that the one available from the market may not be of the best quality or fresh from several outlets and one can never see what has gone into the ground mix as one can with the whole lentil bean. It is best to clean/wash, re-dry lentils again in the sun thoroughly and prepare one's own for a month at a time stored in a tight container. One could do this if one has a grinder at home or use the services of another in the market.
Healthy replacements for Expensive Lentils and Recipes
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While the proposal given here and other attempts to reduce
Lentil prices will take some time in India, one must always consider
healthy replacements that are less expensive in the meantime. The experience of
this author is that Mother Earth produces a wide variety of foods and those who
shun expensive foods, replacing them with cheaper ones come out as winners and
healthier. Amongst lentils, the bengal gram lentil (chana dal) and the
dried peas lentils are still cheap being around half or one third the price of other more popular lentils in
many areas. By themselves they make a horrible dal (lentil soup) that is not
easily digested leading to flatulence. However both can be ground into flour
called Besan from Bengal gram or peas and both make delicious replacements for
Dal as either Karhi or Besan gattas (besan dumplings)
The only caution required in use of besan is that the one available from the market may not be of the best quality or fresh from several outlets and one can never see what has gone into the ground mix as one can with the whole lentil bean. It is best to clean/wash, re-dry lentils again in the sun thoroughly and prepare one's own for a month at a time stored in a tight container. One could do this if one has a grinder at home or use the services of another in the market.
Kardhi
A Kardhi is far more nutritious than lentils provided yoghurt
is used in its preparation.
Here is a recipe: Mix in four heaping table spoons of Besan
and an equal amount of yoghurt/dhai in a bowl into a smooth paste. Now heat
some oil in cooking pot, when it is very hot add a few mustard or cumin seeds
then the Besan+Yoghurt paste, stir rapidly for a minute and begin adding from a
glass full of water a little at a time stirring all the while. Once all the
water has been added, let it simmer on slow heat for half an hour. Stir from
time to time to prevent sticking and burning on bottom, but if it does transfer
unstuck portion to another pot and continue.
Add other seasonings such as garlic, coriander, ginger and
other spices and turmeric, salt as per taste. Adding chopped vegetables such as
spinach will increase nutritional content of kardhi and bring in variation
Besan Gatta (dumplings):
Kneed some Besan with a little water just as wheat dough for
bread, add a little oil to mix to make it less sticky and easier to handle. Then
shape bits into rectangular pieces. Some roll the dough into a long stick, flatten it
and cut pieces with an oiled knife. Duck these in boiling salted water and boil
for ten minutes. Drain and strain and set aside these Gattas. These may be then
used in a recipe to prepare a curry as prepared with meat for a delicious dish.
The interested reader shall find many recipes for chicken curry or mutton curry
on the net. Use the same recipe replacing meat or chicken with these Besan
Gattas. If fresh green peas are in season, do add some to make the dish nicer,
but towards the end of cooking to keep them nice and bright green.
A variation that makes the gattas far tastier and perhaps even healthier than meat, something like a goat liver curry, is to use spinach for preparing the gattas. For this steam some well washed spinach leaves, cool and grind in a blender. Then while preparing the gatta dough use some of this ground spinach paste instead of water. If some spinach paste is left, freeze for use on another day or prepare a spinach dish for another meal with it. Spinach dishes are used by replacing water with ground spinach in several curry recipes.
The Meal:
Both Karhi and Besan gatta dishes are usually consumed with steamed rice or bread/roti/chapati/nan and a side salad. Chopped onions and green chillies that are not too hot are a great salad with rotis while grated carrots/radishes/ finely chopped mix of fresh cucumbers and tomatoes a great salad when rice is used in the meal
A variation that makes the gattas far tastier and perhaps even healthier than meat, something like a goat liver curry, is to use spinach for preparing the gattas. For this steam some well washed spinach leaves, cool and grind in a blender. Then while preparing the gatta dough use some of this ground spinach paste instead of water. If some spinach paste is left, freeze for use on another day or prepare a spinach dish for another meal with it. Spinach dishes are used by replacing water with ground spinach in several curry recipes.
The Meal:
Both Karhi and Besan gatta dishes are usually consumed with steamed rice or bread/roti/chapati/nan and a side salad. Chopped onions and green chillies that are not too hot are a great salad with rotis while grated carrots/radishes/ finely chopped mix of fresh cucumbers and tomatoes a great salad when rice is used in the meal
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