Rember how Pinocchio refuses to eat the peel or core of an apple despite his father chiding him?
When he is plagued by hunger, later in the story, he realises the truth behind his father’s words. As it turns out, not wasting any part of a vegetable or fruit has been a part of our culinary tradition as well.
Telugu cuisine stands out for the number of unusual chutneys it showcases. Chutneys ( pacchadi as they call it) are so important to Telugu cuisine that the range varies from roti-chutney, rice-chutney and idli-dosa -chutneys. It wouldn’t be far fetched to say that Telugus can make a yummy chutney out of anything — pulses, vegetables and even meat. In fact, there is one particularly delicious chutney made with the peel of ridge gourd. An entire meal can be polished off with just that alone.
Before I moved to Hyderabad, my knowledge of peel consumption was limited to a few dishes. My first tryst with a raw banana peel curry was at a Bengali household. Traditional Bengali widows cook special meals for themselves and this was the first I had tasted. Not only was I surprised at the amazing taste but I was also told that the dish was meant to supplement their nutritional needs since these women give up eating non-vegetarian food, especially fish, after being widowed.
Much later, I saw our house help grinding raw banana peel with lots of garlic and pepper corns on a flat stone grinder to make a chutney. It was garnished with raw mustard oil and served with a dash of lemon. It tasted delicious, but was actually made as a medicine for an uncle who had an upset tummy. I was told it aids digestion and can be eaten by anyone, provided the dark colour of the chutney doesn’t put you off.
Later as we grew up, I saw that at home the peel of the green pea wasn’t discarded. A thin membrane lining on the inside was removed and the soft green peels were mashed in a chutney jar.
The paste was then added to wheat flour and kneaded for parathas . The resultant green parathas were a big hit at school. Did they smell? Not much, it just added a subtle sweetness to the rotis . Anyway, since I am not a roti lover, I was only too happy to trade my green parathas for chowmein or sandwiches.
Of late, one of my favourite peel dishes is the shallow fried crispy juliennes of yellow pumpkin. Every Dussera when I see people smashing pumpkin near their homes and offices, I cringe at the number of peels going to waste.
It was only later that I learnt that these pumpkins are very ripe and not ideal for consumption. Pumpkin peels are best when the fruit is a bit green. Not only does it taste a bit sweet, but making juliennes out of the peel is easier because they are soft, less brittle, and easy to handle.
The other way to eat pumpkin peel is by not peeling the pumpkin before dicing it. In order to consume a pumpkin with the peel, it has to be very tender and definitely from a farm which doesn’t use pesticides.
I was told that the peels of the club gourd go into another delicacy that is used as a side dish, like the pumpkin peel. A sprinkle of salt and chilli powder makes these fries an amazing accompaniment to a simple vegetarian meal.
