Recipes from the Roots

Rediscovering Tradition: How Local Ingredients and Sustainable Recipes Can Nurture Health, Heritage, and the Planet 

In today’s fast-paced world, food habits are increasingly shaped by mass-produced ingredients and ready-to-eat items. Quick snacks often mean packaged foods or fast food like burgers, overshadowing traditional homemade snacks. As lifestyles evolve, people lean towards mass-produced food, moving away from regional, home-cooked meals. However, each region boasts unique local ingredients and traditional recipes with greater nutritional value and environmental benefits. Embracing these foods is essential in a climate-risked world.

The Green Schools Programme hosted a webinar for teachers, principals, and food enthusiasts to explore traditional recipes made from local ingredients. The session emphasized how such culinary practices, tied to local history and sustainability, can reduce environmental strain. As part of this initiative, the Sustainable Recipe Contest encouraged participants to share traditional recipes that honour locally-grown ingredients. These winning recipes included Bombax Ceiba bud pickle, Gandha prasaruni pattta roll, and Khat malori ka Chilla, showcasing India’s diverse, sustainable culinary traditions. 

Bombax ceiba bud pickle

All parts of the Bombax ceiba plant are used in traditional medicines that treat pimples, wounds, diarrhoea, and other diseases. In India, it is majorly found in Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and Maharashtra. 

Photo caption: Bombax ceiba buds and flowers 

Ingredients

• Bombax ceiba buds: 250 grams
• Mustard seeds: 2 tablespoons
• Fenugreek seeds: 1 tablespoon
• Turmeric powder: 1 teaspoon
• Red chili powder: 1 teaspoon
• Vinegar: 1 tablespoon
• Mustard or refined oil: 1 cup
• Salt: As per taste 

Instructions:

1. Rinse tender Bombax Ceiba buds with cold water.
2. Dry roast mustard and fenugreek seeds for 2-3 minutes. Then grind them into a coarse powder.
3. Mix the buds with the dry roasted powder. Add turmeric, red chili powder, and salt to it.
4. In a pan, heat mustard oil. Once it starts to smoke, let it cool slightly.
5. Carefully pour the oil over the spiced buds. For tanginess, add vinegar and combine all the ingredients.
6. Transfer the mixture to a clean, dry glass jar. Seal the jar tightly and allow the pickle to marinate for at least 2-3 days at room temperature. The pickle will then be ready.

This recipe was sent by Durgesh, TGT from The Samarth School, New Delhi. 

Gandha Prasaruni patta rolls

Gandha Prasaruni leaves are a tropical vine that is native to Asia. In India, they are found in some states such as Bihar, Odisha Bengal, Assam, and in some parts of the Himalayas. These medicinal leaves aid digestion, and help with arthritis, body aches, and diabetes. 

Photo caption: Gandha Prasaruni leaves

Ingredients

• Gandha Prasaruni leaves: 10 gm
• Maida or gram flour: 1 cup
• Tomato: 1
• Onion: 1
• Cumin: ½ teaspoon
• Turmeric powder: ¼ teaspoon
• Refined oil: 1 teaspoon
• Water: ½ cup
• Green chilies: 1-2
• Salt: As per taste 

Instructions

1. Chop the leaves, onion tomato, and green chilies.
2. Mix them with maida/gram flour, water, turmeric, cumin, and salt to form a batter. Let it rest for 10 minutes.
3. Heat oil in a pan and spread a thin layer of batter.
4. Cover and cook for 3 minutes, then flip and roll it.
5. Cook for another 3 minutes and serve it hot with chutney or sauce. 

This recipe was sent by Padmaja Pati, Headmaster of B.N.Nodal High School, Sarasara, Boudh District, Odisha. 

Khat malori ka chilla 

Khat malori is a perinneal herb that grows in the western Himalayas. The leaves contain oxalic acid so they should not be eaten in large quantities as they can reduce the body's ability to absorb minerals. Fresh or dried leaves are used to stop bleeding. As a diuretic and laxative the leaves have a cooling property and thus it is used in the treatment of fevers and scurvy. (Diuretics help reduce fluid and salt build up in the body and laxatives help relieve constipation.)

Photo caption: Khat malori leaves

 Ingredients

• Khat malori leaves: ½ kg fresh
• Gram or black gram flour: 500 gm
• Coriander leaves: 1 cup
• Onions: 2-3
• Green chilies: 1-2
• Turmeric powder: ½ teaspoon
• Carom seeds: 1 teaspoon
• Refined oil: 1 tablespoon
• Salt: As per taste

 Instructions

1. Chop the Khat malori leaves, onion, and green chilies into small pieces.
2. Make a gram flour batter and add the chopped vegetables and all the spices and coriander leaves to it.
3. Heat oil in a pan and evenly spread the batter on it.
4. Cover the pan with a lid and cook both sides of the chilla for 6 to 7 minutes each.
5. Cook the other side for 6 to 7 minutes by covering the pan and serve it hot.

This recipe was sent by Tarsem Kumari, TGT teacher, Government High School, Anji, Solan, Himachal Pradesh.

These three winning recipes are a minuscule representation of the vast traditional culinary heritage of our country. They carry the nutritional value of local ingredients and the knowledge our ancestors had about the resources growing around them. To create a sustainable environment, we must move away from mass-produced food and switch to traditional foods that are better-suited to our climate and health.