Yongchak is a Manipuri legume used in salads, pickles and delicacies
GROWING YONGCHAK is excellent business today. A tree can provide an income of about R1.5 lakh in a season. A family that has a few trees need not do anything else for a living,” says Jeena Sorokhaibam, founder of Lookacteast Kitchen, a Delhi-based eatery that specialises in Manipuri cuisine. Four to five pods sell for R100 in Manipur and a tree produces more than 15,000 pods in a season.
Also called bitter beans, twisted cluster beans and stink beans because of its peculiar smell, yongchak is a semi-wild species that grows in the backyard and concerted attempts to cultivate it have not happened. Yongchak flowers and beans are part of many delicacies, but it is the pods that are most commonly eaten.
“Yongchak pods are available from October to March. This is when the beans inside are just developing and the pods are tender enough to be eaten raw as crunchy salad, or shingju. By March, the pods are mature and have prominent black-coloured beans inside. These are removed and dried to be eaten during the rest of the year. Whole yongchak is also dried and stored,” she says.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة March 16, 2019 من Down To Earth.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة March 16, 2019 من Down To Earth.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
A SPRIG TO CARE FOR
Punarnava, a perennial herb, is easy to grow and has huge health benefits
DIGGING A DISASTER
Soapstone mining near Dabti Vijaypur village has caused many residents to migrate.
REVIEW THE TREATMENT
Several faecal sludge treatment plants in Uttar Pradesh suffer from design flaws that make the treatment process both expensive and inefficient
MAKE STEEL SUSTAINABLE
As India works to double its GDP by 2030, its steel industry must balance growth with sustainability. By embracing policies like the Steel Scrap Recycling Policy 2019 and adopting green technologies, India is paving the way for a more sustainable future in steel production
Can ANRF pull off the impossible for India?
Anusandhan National Research Foundation is expected to reorient India's innovation goals but funding issues, old mindsets remain a drag
TROUBLED WOODS
Forests are a great bulwark against climate change. But this is fast changing. AKSHIT SANGOMLA travels through some of the pristine patches of the Western Ghats to explore how natural disturbances triggered by global warming now threaten the forest health
BLINDING GLOW
The science is clear: increased illumination has damaging consequences for the health of humans, animals and plants. It’s time governments introduced policies to protect the natural darkness and improved the quality of outdoor lighting.
GROUND REALITY
What happens when the soil loses the ability to grow healthy, high-yield crops on its own?
GM POLICY MUST BE FARMER CENTRIC
On July 23, the Supreme Court of India directed the Union government to develop a national policy on genetically modified (GM) crops for research, cultivation, trade and commerce through public consultation.
Vinchurni's Gandhi
A 96-year-old farmer transforms barren land into a thriving forest in drought-prone region of Satara
