Palmyra (Borassus flabellifer) is one of the most self-sufficient trees in the world – it asks for nothing. No irrigation, no fertiliser, no tending. It grows on its own along field boundaries and roadsides across the farm and southern India, drawing water from deep in the earth and weathering drought. Even within organic farming, there…
Category: Palmyra
Karuppu Kavuni Sakkarai Pongal Recipe
Deepa Reddy of Paticheri fame, a few years back, featured in and shared with us the beautiful short film Thirunel by Bigshortfilms. From that documentary, I gathered that the word Kavuni is adopted from the Burmese word Kao Hynin, which means Sticky Rice. Karuppu, in Tamil, means black. I love how the language of our food…
Lourdusaami, our farm’s Palmyra hero
Lourdusaami, take a bow. He is about 70 years old and he still climbs 5 palmyra trees, every morning and evening, 6 months of the year. Out of the 6 months of the year, he converts the palmyra sap to palmyra jaggery about 4 months of the year. That is when we have more than…
Palmyra Sprouts Flour : A rare and unique Karpagatharu offering
Palmyra Sprouts Flour / பனங்கிழங்கு மாவு / ஒடியல் மாவு is a forgotten produce native to Tamil Nadu. It is grown from the seeds of the fruits of the magnificent Palmyra trees / பனை மரம். Palmyra trees are referred to as Karpagatharu (கற்பகதரு) in Sangam literature for the tremendous number of useful products the tree has…
Palm Jaggery – King of Sweeteners
The author reflects on childhood memories of enjoying Taadgola and Neera in Bombay while expressing concern over the decline of local, sustainable products like palm jaggery in favor of industrial cane sugar. Advocating for localized economies, the text highlights the environmental benefits and health superiority of palm jaggery over its cheaper counterpart.
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