Kachnar aur Aloo ki Tarkari

                   Kachnar Aur Aloo Ki Tarkari

In north India, buds of kachnar are used to make a delicious curried vegetable dish. Also, found in Sri Lanka, kachnar has three varieties — red, white and mauve — depending upon the colour of its flowers.

The plant is called phalgu in Sanskrit. In Gujarat and Maharashtra, it is known as asundro and pivala, respectively; Bengalis have lovingly named it kanchan. In Andhra Pradesh, it is known as adavimandaramu and in other parts of south India, it is called esamaduga, kanchini or tiruvatti.

Kachnar flowers look like orchids, giving the plant the sobriquet of an ornamental tree. Kachnar or Bauhinia variegata belongs to the Leguminosae family which has pulses, beans and pea. The tree is native to souheastern Asia.

Ayurvedic practitioners use the plant’s powdered bark as tonic and against skin diseases. The roots are used as (an) antidote to snake poison. Research has shown that some compounds in the roots have anti-inflammatory activity. The bark protects the liver and the stem seems to protect the kidneys.

Excerpts and images courtesy: First Food: A Taste of India’s Biodiversity

Kachnar aur Aloo ki Tarkari

Ingredients
For cooking the kachnar buds
>> 1 tbsp ghee
>> 1 tsp cumin
>> Pinch of asafoetida
>> Pinch of ginger powder
>> 4 chopped tomatoes
>> 1/2 kg boiled potatoes
>> 1 bowl Kachnar buds
>> 1/2 tsp turmeric
>> 1/2 tsp sugar
>> Salt to taste
>> Boil water and soak the buds for few minutes. Heat the ghee and add the condiments. After frying it for five minutes, put the buds in the pan and sauté it to get the cooked buds.
>> In a different pan, sauté tomatoes with turmeric powder for two minutes. Add potatoes. Sauté for 10 minutes. Then add the cooked buds, sugar and salt.
>> Add three cup,s of water to the mixture. Cook for five minutes and serve.

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