Come Sankranti and most Indian homes are engaged in an unspoken competition to lay their hands on the best rice, jaggery and sesame for traditional treats. I remember our homes in Assam engaging in a friendly barter to offer what they have in abundance in return for the best from the other. ‘I can give you some of the fresh produce of red sticky rice, can I get some of your finest jaggery?’
In the cities, the haggling is done with the farmers who come to sell their produce in the markets or through home visits. They bring small amounts of everything, including fresh stocks of black sesame and jaggery.
Every State or region where Sankranti/Magh Bihu/Lohri/Pongal is celebrated has one thing in common: it being the harvest festival, this festival is dedicated to the bounty of the barns. However, while doing so, there are certain combinations and ingredients on which emphasis is laid.
This, I am told, is also to nourish and replenish the body after the winter and prepare it for the dry months ahead. Health advocates have laid enough and more stress on including our ancient grains in our daily diet and to let the modern health fads out of the window like a kite trying to fly and escape from the spindle.
Black sticky rice
I was certain that the black rice was imported when I saw the fancy, heavily priced packet. I wondered how it would be to taste black rice, but since the packet seal was intact I chose not to enquire about it.
Surprisingly the same evening, over a usual nonsensical chat with a school friend in Shillong, she mentioned she had black rice with fried egg for lunch. When I enquired about the taste, she replied with an annoyed expression, “Don’t you know how bora saul tastes?”
Of course, I knew. I grew up eating that for breakfast in winters. But I had never eaten kola bora saul (black sticky rice). Incidentally, kola bora saul or glutinous black rice, also known as black sticky rice, is the unpolished, whole grain of traditional sticky white rice.
Black sticky rice isn’t actually black when it is uncooked. It has a deep black or purple colour, which is an indication of its high antioxidant properties, similar to how deeply-coloured antioxidant berries like blueberries, raspberries and cranberries appear. When polished, it becomes the commonly available white sticky rice.
The bran hull of black rice, which is the outermost layer of the rice grain, contains high levels of the antioxidant anthocyanin. Sources show that the anthocyanin content of black rice is higher than any other grain, including brown rice, red rice, red quinoa, or other coloured whole grain varieties.
Jaggery
Over a discussion with a coffee roaster, the young roaster told me he has stayed away from sugar for over five years. “Did you know white sugar was introduced to kill rodents?” he asked.
The same week, a column in The Hindu stressed the need to make the shift from white to brown, to opt for jaggery or brown sugar and other alternatives if needed. Jaggery is the best way to begin.
Almost all the traditional Sankranti goodies can be made with jaggery. And when needed, brown sugar or unpolished sugar can be used.
Some months ago, when farmers from Tamil Nadu reached Hyderabad to sell palm jaggery, it led to a traffic jam in an otherwise smooth road.
Jaggery has more benefits than just adding sweetness to our lives. It activates the digestive enzymes in our body, thus helping in proper digestion of food. That’s why many people like eating it after a meal.
