Singhara/ Water Chestnut (Boiled/ Cooked.

“Singhara/ Water Chestnut (Boiled/ Cooked)” … Singhara is a native super food usually available round winter … it grows underwater, actually the seed of floating aquatic plant … available in plenty in northern parts and in Mumbai the season has begun … its extensively used during fasting/ Upvas, the fruits are eaten just as such, boiled/ cooked or ground to a flour … it’s high on nutrients, low in calories and above all heart friendly that makes this fruit precious … if its available in your vicinity, try having them, you can just pressure cook them, shell and eat or you can prepare simple upkari/ bhaji too … Yummilicious …

** I have often come across this for over 3 decades, frankly only after my marriage and I settled in Thane, outskirts of Mumbai. It is available in plenty and for over I decade I was simply reluctant to buy them. They are sold in push carts all cooked and ready for consumption and the black outside charred looks of the same put me off. I also did not want to purchase it for hygiene matter as I was not sure in what water they cooked. But yes, fresh ones are available too, that which can be purchased and cooked at home. I guess those days I was scared to actually buy something which I knew nothing about.

** After a few assurances from friends and neighbors, I bought them and followed the method suggested for pressure cooking etc. But, when I ate it, I found nothing appealing in taste that people went ga ga about. I left it at that after which I never bought them for some years. It was only a few years back when I came across it in market that I thought of giving it another try. This time I did not find it that tasteless but fine to be eaten, but what astonished me was its nutrient content and other healthy aspects. Here was a fruit loaded full with health benefits, easily accessible and I was ignoring it for decades.

** Made me realize how wrong one’s judgement can be when it comes to food. Most of the time our tongue rules our heart and knowledge and we are reluctant to accept change. Taste is always as you go about it, if you register it as fine into your mind, you will find it so, if you think it as bland or tasteless, so does the mind and push it aside. So, we need to train our mind too, while all the good tasty food is always a joy to relish, we must include these too, that which are good for our healthy lifestyle, not to mention a necessity with age. So, the next time you shun aside a veggie or fruit, check out its nutrient level before doing so.

** We are so lucky to have Google answer most of our queries promptly. It’s the tech era and almost everybody has access to network now, just a click away to know about everything you do not know or are ignorant about. If they are not available in your place, check out online, many now deliver almost everything anywhere including fruits and veggies, it’s a small price to pay for health. However, if available locally, then make the best use of it. Finally, if you still cannot manage the fruit, then the flour is sure to accessible, include recipes with addition of the same and reap in the benefit, there are plenty of them on Google.

** Somehow, I never thought these were important notes to be blogged as separate post earlier, but when my friends suggested that I should blog about anything I found interesting under my label or hashtag  # GPThoughts_N_Notes which they love reading, I thought why not after all food is always not about recipes only, its about knowledge on good eating habits too. In fact in my food group “Konkani Delicacies”, I always encourage members to share knowledge on food be it about its origin, growing, cooking, benefits etc. that they find interesting to share, knowledge shared is always knowledge gained.

** For Simple Method of Cooking Singhara/ Water Chestnut : Purchase them fresh, they are either light green in colour or reddish ones (I forgot to click pic. of fresh ones, will do so next time). Wash them in plenty of water, till they are clean. Now put them in pressure cooker along with plenty of water, say about 2-3 inches above the level of the fruit added.

** Pressure cook the Singhara on medium heat to 4 whistles and then keep it aside to cool. Let the pressure in the cooker fall on it’s own and when you are able to open the lid do so and drain off the water. Put it in a wide vessel and let cool down completely. The outer skin will have turned hard/ brittle and dark black in color, but don’t worry, its edible.

** Just chip it off, don’t worry if it does not come out in one go, some will, many will not. I find it difficult to remove them with fingers, so I always use the back a spoon to gently loosen the inner cooked fleshy portion, you can use a blunt knife too. Collect the same in a vessel, you can season them with any method you love to do or consume them as it is.

** “Singhara/ Water Chestnut (Boiled/ Cooked)” is done and ready to be served. You can sprinkle some chat masala or any seasoning like hing, red chilly powder, salt etc., toss them well and serve it as a snack to relish or you can serve them as it is too. You can even temper it with oil, curry leaves, mustard seeds too, the choice of serving is always yours.

** Tastes good to relish as it is, or a side dish too along with other dishes. During monsoon these are available in plenty, the weather being cold always makes one feel hungry. This is one of the best snack to be relished as it is very low in calorie and good for weight loss too. So, there are no more excuses enough to not relish them, just go ahead and enjoy.