-by Sheela Rani Chunkath
It is officially summer in Chennai. It is 36°C and the neem trees outside my house are in full bloom. The neem flower pachadi is a compulsory item on the Tamil New Year menu. When growing up I would think "what kind of people would want you to eat neem flowers and enjoy it." And of course we would all be given the spiel on how we need to enjoy all tastes, the bitter and the sweet and how the neem flower pachadi was a microcosmic representation of life itself. All to make us eat the pachadi. Today I appreciate the neem tree and the neem flowers very much more than I did while growing up. The neem flower pachadi is good for cleansing the system and for those with a pitta constitution characterised by a burning sensation in the stomach etc. If you have a vata constitution you should not eat bitter stuff. Stuff like bitter gourd and neem flowers are contraindicated if you have joint pains and vayu symptoms.
I will not dwell on the merits of neem oil and its use as an eco-friendly pesticide and the various other uses of the neem tree. Instead I would like to give you the traditional recipe for the neem flower pachadi.
If you have access to a neem tree, arm yourself with a long stick with a hook, get some adventurous neighbourhood boys to pull down a few of the neem flower bunches.
Once you have got the flower bunches, you have to separate the flowers from the tiny stalks. It is a soothing and calming exercise. Get about half a cup of neem flowers. When separating the flowers from the stems, throw away any small neem seeds you may see. At this time of the year they would still be only in the flower stage. Cut up about three chilies into small pieces. Take a small ball of tamarind and extract the juice.
Take a wok or even better a copper-bottomed kadai (I am averse to nonstick frying pans), add about 2 teaspoons of ghee and saute the neem flowers on a low flame. It will turn a lovely greenish white at first, then suddenly start browning rapidly. Do not let the flowers get burnt. Add a little asafoetida (hing) and the cut chillies. Saute for one or 2 minutes and add the tamarind water. Close the lid and simmer for a while. Once the chillies are cooked, add a little, maybe about half a spoon to a spoon of jaggery that has been pre-cleaned. Otherwise, melt the jaggery in water and use after straining. Wait till it thickens sufficiently and remove from fire. The pachadi is ready and is delicious as a side dish with rice, idlis or dosas.
If you do not have access to fresh flowers, any 'country medicine shop' will stock dried neem flowers. Just buy the dried flowers. They will already be brown and dry, so saute them carefully in the ghee taking care not to burn them.
Ayurveda classifies the six tastes or rasa as being sweet (madhura), sour (amla), bitter (tikta), hot and acrid (katu), astringent (kasaya), saline (lavana). You eat the food with the taste that best suits your constitution, the time of the day and the season. The taste of all foods and drugs are given in the Ayurvedic nighantus or texts. Drugs are prescribed by taking into account the constitution or prakriti of the patient and the dosha that is vitiated. The drugs are intended to bring the doshas into balance.
A friend's son who lives in the United States has been having severe stomach pain. Various tests are being done to determine the cause. Could it be ulcers caused by the Hylobacter bacteria, is it acid reflux syndrome etc. The simple reason is that he eats very very spicy food with a lot of chillies. The pitta dosha has been aggravated. The most sensible thing to do is to cut the intake of chillies and sour foods. For a young person, most illnesses can be tackled by regulating one's diet and hours of sleep. In this case as the dosha that has been vitiated is pitta, avoiding pitta increasing foods such as chillies will help. So if you have a pitta constitution, the neem flower pachadi must be made without the chillis and tamarind. Does not taste half as good but health considerations over taste always.
--- The writer was earlier Health Secretary, Government of Tamil Nadu and is currently Additional Chief Secretary and Chairman & Managing Director, Tamil Nadu Handicrafts Development Corporation. She can be reached at Sheelarani.arogyamantra@gmail. com. Earlier articles can be accessed at http://arogyamantra.blogspot.com/