Archana and her father came out of the Chennai airport into what looked like a scene from an action movie. It was raining, but she could sense when the plane touched down. Now, at the airport, the cars stood honking one behind the other. Sridhar uncle was waiting in the car. They all got in and joined the long queue of cars waiting to enter the dark brown stream that formed the road out of the airport.

The beautiful and healthy lotus stems—you can find these stems being sold by roadside vendors, especially along roads that run by a river or a pond. The light brown or white, sausage-like tubular vegetable has holes in it. These are lotus stems and they are used widely in Indian, Chinese and Japanese cuisine. They are relished for their taste and nutritional value. Known in Hindi as bhe or kamal kakri, the lotus stem contains hollow air channels that run the length of the stem. It is crunchy, sweet and tastes like water chestnut. It has a delicate flavour and is suitable for eating raw or cooked...