#rarefoods

Yesterday I was badgering poor @arun.tjohn about the local specialities of Kottarakkara, he told me about something which he has had the fortune to have only once . Coincidentally we had also the same thing a few days back for the first time including my parents, a Chena poovu . It is the inflorescence of Amyllophallus species , elephant yam in normal parlance. It looks majestic or bizarre depending on how you see it & blooms at the beginning of the rainy season & hence the rarity. The top most mucus secreting part once it opens , produces a stench so strong mimicking a rotting flesh , you wouldn't want to get anywhere near it . This is the plants way of attracting insects for pollination & the flower closes entrapping them, releasing them on the next day . The trick is to cut the flower just before it blooms & the various parts of the flower have spongy to meaty textures as you can see in the pictures. We chose to just stir fry them with just turmeric , chilli powder & some tamarind extract just to negate the oxalates if any. Some variants of the yam can be so itchy, so it is advised to soak them in tamarind extract . Thanks to that maybe , the sabji had quite a fishy flavor . #rarefoods #chenapoovu #amyllophallus #elephantyam #flower #indigenous #summertreats #exoticfood #vegandiet #veganismus #plantfood #follower #foodloose #premonsoon #bounty https://www.instagram.com/p/B_ZDplaF3-6/?igshid=cntljir0ejw0

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