Today I am going to begin by asking you all a question ‘let’s say you are on grain-free diet or let’s say you’re on a gluten-free diet are you simply intolerant to gluten’, ”what is the staple that you would choose for your major meals?” “ Do I hear quinoa? Well, my answer is yes and no”, you see quinoa is a pseudo cereal, in that sense it has properties of grains. Moreover, quinoa grows in the western side of the Globe, to import it from there to here in the East we expend carbon mines, because of which it is very highly priced hence would dig a big hole in our pocket. It is great for those who are on the western side of the globe but for us here in the East let’s look around and see what grows around us.
So what if I told you that right here in the east, we have an equally good, energy packed, easy satiety, filler! A great seed, the humble, simple Vurugu Arasi as they call it in Tamil, Variche Tandul as it is called in Marathi, or Moriyo chawal as they call it in Gujarati, Sama ka chawal as they call it in Hindi or simply upavas ka Chaval as they call it in all the shops in India.
Yes dear friend this is Echinochloa colona the botanical name or jungle rice as it is commonly called and it grows best in the east. This rice or this jungle rice has been a part of our culinary journey from ancient times , there has been a reference made to this particular food by a wise old poet Avvaiyar . They say when she was called by one of the kings for a state dinner .The king lovingly asked this wise old lady what is it that she would love to eat when she comes to his kingdom and the wise old lady smiled and replied Varagu arisi !! She sure was wise and knew what were the health benefits of this jungle rice ,but before I go to the health benefits let me tell you another story.
This seed has absolutely humble beginnings it grows as a weed in the paddy or rice fields, for a long time the farmers thought it was useless and threw it away, then they thought why not make it into fodder for the cattle, when they started giving the cattle this fodder they realised that the cattle were growing better, their milk quality was improving, their babies were growing better and stronger. That’s when they thought why not we too eat it. That’s when they started harvesting the seed of this grass and that dear friend is Varagu Arisi or Varicha Tandul or Jungle rice.
This particular staple is very high in protein, high in fiber ,but low in fat and moreover with just a small helping it satiates you, hence it is great as a diet food. It also has a very low glycemic index so it is great for diabetics ,so either if you are on a weight reduction journey or if you are a diabetic trying to bring down your sugar levels Variche Tandal or Varugu arisi should be the staple of your choice.
This Jungle rice is also very easy on the stomach and helps to reduce the acid reflux, which many of us experience when we are fasting .That is why I think it became the Upavas ka Chawal or the fasting food, so those of you who have reflux or who are now on an intermittent fasting diet which is the current trend please do consider the jungle rice.Also it is quite cheap and we will not be expending carbon miles.
How did I get bonded to this beautiful seed.Well there is a story to that as well .You see I am from Maharashtra and our central deity is Vithoba, Vithoba rakhumai ! Every year during June and July there is a particular spiritual festival called as a ashadhi ekadashi which is celebrated with great enthusiasm. On this day a beautiful event takes place, all the simple village folks from their villages participate in a great musical dancing pilgrimage to Pandharpur, which is the abode of Lord Vithala. In case you are visiting India around this time do take part in this musical pilgrimage called Vari, it will instill your faith in humanity once again.
In this vari there is no caste, there is no Creed, there is no religion ,there is no color differentiation, no gender differentiation, each one is simply immersed in music dance and singing the glories of the lord, so do join Vari to vithal!
Then there is another tradition that we follow on a ashadi ekadashi ,on this auspicious day everybody in the family fast especially the mothers and we have a special fasting meal ,I would call it a feast that is prepared. This meal has “bhagar” or “Varicha Bhat” that is jungle rice and then “Shengdanyachi amti” which is peanut curry and then we also have the “paandhry batataychi bhaji” which is white potato veggie. This is a very sattvic meal that we eat because is light on the stomach and also helps beat the acid reflux because of the fasting .Thus it helps the mind focus on the divine ,but as a child all I knew was that if I fasted I would get this yummy meal, so I started fasting.
In India this super seed is eaten only during religious fasting but after having grown up and after having got some more knowledge bites I have reinvented my “Variche Tandul”. Today I cooked pulao with lots of veggies and lots of other herbs in it that adds to the essential goodness of my “Varicha bhat”. Believe me it is good, not just because I made it, I have also got some credits from my family for this , which I am sure is a bit difficult to get especially if you have teenage kids. You too can experiment with it or you can simply boil it and eat it as a replacement to rice ,the proportion of water and rice is the same ,one is to two , that is one cup of jungle rice and two cups of water, the steaming process is exactly the same like rice moreover it has a very nice texture a nutty flavor and believe me you’ll want to have more of it .
Thus this Ashadi Ekadashi, I have made a resolution that once in a week I will make a Wari (pilgrimage) with VARI (jungle rice) to the divinity in Me and towards a healthy Me!
