My Food Story: An indigenous way to ward off the cold

My Food Story is a collection of stories and recipes that celebrate India’s traditional plant-based ingredients sourced from local biodiversity. You can see these recipes on our interactive dashboard (https://www.cseindia.org/page/myfoodstory).

Join us as we showcase the recipes shared with us by the participants of a recently concluded recipe contest. 

Mahua (Madhuca longifolia) is collected in the month of March. In our tribal community, we use to collect it and sell it in the market, besides storing it for the whole year. This stored mahua is used as a medicine for common cold. In my childhood, my mother use to prepare the lata when I am sick. Meanwhile, during September, lata used to be part of our breakfast as a protection from the autumn chill.

Mahua ka Lata

Ingredients

Mahua flowers: 500g

White sesame seeds: 150g

Flax seeds: 50g

Chironji (Charoli) seeds: 50g

Method

Wash 500 grams of mahua flowers thoroughly in clean water two to three times to remove any dirt. Spread them out under strong sunlight for about two hours, until they are completely dry. Once dried, remove any seeds or impurities. Lightly roast the mahua flowers in a pan until they turn a gentle golden colour. In the same manner, roast 150 grams of white sesame seeds, 50 grams of flax seeds, and 20 grams of chironji seeds until they release a nice aroma. Finally, crush all the roasted ingredients together using a mortar and pestle, and mix them well.

Rajesh Yadav is a social worker & farmer from Madhya Pradesh