Once before, I stuck my neck out there and declared there to be a worldview in something as diminutive as the vallarai mittai or brahmi leaf candy. I’m about to do it again and tell you that one of the greatest secrets of Indian cookery is contained in this humble and most perishable pile of wild greens.
Kalavai keerai/ கலவை கீரை [or kalava-keerai if you say it fast enough] is pure native genius. Here’s why. It’s not just an assemblage of greens, it’s a way of making a whole meal out of what’s around. When you have nothing in store to cook with, there will always be wild greens to forage. When there is not enough of any one, there will be little-little of many. When greens are medicinal more than culinary, well this is a way to ingest them in appropriately small, medicinal doses. When there are greens too bitter or too tough on the tongue, gumbal-O govinda! There will be a way to hide them in the crowd [gumbal], a way to hide a flaw in a mass of many, as the common saying goes, or for the gumbal to drown out stray lone voices, or to accept the crowd that gathers around that difficult but good leafy green, or as you prefer to interpret.
The only catch: you have to know your greens. For kalava keerai “mixes” are generally yours to make, though some enterprising market women like this one old withered Sivaganga-paati I met one day at our local Uzhavar Santhai [Farmers’ market] may create a mix and sell it to you, telling you that it’s four greens when really it’s only two, and fudging it when you ask for details because she knows she’s been caught in a scam. [Trust me, I’m laughing, not complaining about these old pati-amma tricks].
And because kalava keerai mixes are wild and foraged, you really, really have to know your greens because otherwise you may end up mistaking Oomathai/ ஊமத்தை/ Datura stramonium for an edible green and that really will be a fatal mistake: it’s not for no reason that oomathai is known as the “suicide plant” that’ll take you to madness before it kills you, so beware.
But this is not to make you fearful, only to temper hubris with knowledge. Greens in the garden are to be approached with humility and good old observational insight about which ones the insects prefer and which they leave well-enough-alone. Usually, that’s a sign of what we can eat, too. Thought botany class was only for those types who couldn’t get medical college seats? Think again. It’s for every one of us who needs to eat in the face of shortage, little, climate change and other forms of modern impoverishment. And really these days, that’s everyone.
So, here is a list of all the greens that can find their way into a good kalavai keerai.
Note 1: I’ve limited myself to 28 for starters, but I know there can be (there are) more. This Guide to Local and (mostly) Wild Greens is inherently therefore a work in progress: I have full posts on some, just photos of others, and the rest I know but have not yet myself documented. What’s in this post is as much as I have just now; I intend to keep filling in gaps as I get to meet and spend time with more of these local greens.
Note 2: The thing to make with a kalava keerai is a masiyal (also called kadaisal)–not much choice there because you’re working with so many variables of taste and texture and properties that the only logical way to bring it all together is in this classic tempered mash, which is a standard dish in many traditional Tamil homes. While there is absolutely no reason why the much more common amaranths [arakeerai, sirukeerai, mulaikeerai and குப்பைக்கீரை], palak, paruppu keerai [common purslane] and even tender tamarind leaves cannot be included in a kalava keerai–much more is known about those greens anyway, so I’m focusing here on the wilder, less known range.
Note 3: Some popular greens like murungai keerai are really not ideal for masiyals and much more suited to poriyals, so I’ve left them out. This is largely a list of “mashable” greens, but pay attention to the notes indicating which even in the list below do better prepared in other ways.
Note 4: Some listed greens are also not typically used in masiyals owing to their strong tastes: karisalanganni, thumbai, mudakaruthaan, for example. So the standard way to prepare karisalanganni is in a sambar with tamarind to mute its tastes, thumbai only in small quantities, and mudakaruthaan works best ground into dosa batter.
Note 5: I’m here emphasizing commonly eaten greens, greens that are sold in the hyper-local markets, but not others like wild passion leaves/ காட்டுக் கொடித்தோடை/ Passiflora foetida or Kaanaam Vazhai/ கானா வாழைக்கீரை/ Commelina benghalensis which are edible [and which I’ve used myself in this chaaru] but which will prompt even the most seasoned and wizened of market pati-ammas to raise eyebrows. Interestingly, some of these greens were once considered primarily animal (chicken, cow, goat, pig) fodder and their names indicate this classification. Some have found their ways into our foods, others yet haven’t (which tells you really about how new food adoption in agrarian societies starts with observing what the animals and birds eat–not with what the United Fruit Company or Nigella Lawson for that matter tells you is good to eat, and they’ve learned it all from the livestock anyway).
Kalava Keerai Greens
- Agathi keerai/ அகத்தி கீரை/ Sesbania grandiflora/ Hummingbird tree
- Chakravarthi keerai/சக்கரவர்த்தி கீரை/ bathua/ Chenopodium album
- Chukkan keerai/ சுக்கான் கீரை/ Rumex vesicarius/ Large leafed sorrel
- Kaachini keerai/ காசினிக்கீரை/ Cichorium intybus/ Chicory greens
- Kaattu thutthi or Perumpinnaakku keerai/ காட்டுத்துத்தி or பெரும்பிண்ணாக்குக்கீரை/ Corchorus olitorius/ bristly-leaved Jew’s mallow, nalta jute
- Karisalanganni keerai/ கரிசலாங்கண்ணிக்கீரை / bhringraj/ Eclipta prostrata or Eclipta alba
- Keezhanelli keerai/ கீழாநெல்லிக்கீரை/ bhoomi amala/ Phyllanthus niruri
- Manathakkali/ மணத்தக்காளி கீரை / Solanum nigrum complex
- Mudakkkaruthaan or Mudakathaan/ முடக்கறுத்தான்/ Cardiospermum halicacabum/ balloon vine, love-in-a-puff
- Mookirattai/ மூக்கிரட்டை கீரை/ Punarnava/ Boerhavia diffusa/ spreading hogweed
- Mullu murungai or Kalyana murungai/ முள்முருங்கை/ Erythrina Variegata/ Indian coral tree
- Nacchukottai keerai or Nanju kondan keerai/ நச்சுக்கொட்டை கீரை/ Pisonia alba/ Tree Lettuce
- Nel pasalai or kuthu pasalai/ நெல் பசலை or குத்து பசலை கீரை/ Talinum fruticosum/ Ceylon spinach
- Pannaikeerai/ பண்ணைக்கீரை/ Magili keerai/ Celosia argentea/ Silver cockscomb
- Potuthalai keerai/ பொடுதலைக்கீரை/ Phyla nodiflora Greene/ Turkey Tangle Frogfruit
- Ponnanganni keerai / பொன்னாங்கண்ணி கீரை/ Alternanthera sessilis/ Sessile joyweed
- Puliccha Keerai/ புளிச்சக்கீரை/ Gongura/ Hibiscus sabdariffa or Hibiscus cannabinus
- Puliyaarai keerai /புளியாரைக் கீரை/ Oxalis corniculata
- Saranai keerai/ சாரனைக்கீரை/ Dvijayangi, Laghupatra/ Trianthema decandra/ Horse purslane [var. chevappu saranai or red saranai keerai]
- Sirukanpeelai/ சிறுகண்பீளை/ Aerva Lanata/ mountain knotgrass
- Tharaipasalai or Ellu pasalai/ தரைபசலை or எள்ளு பசலை கீரை/ Portulaca quadrifida/ chicken weed or wild purslane
- Thavasi Keerai /தவசிக்கீரை / Sauropus androgynus/ Chakramuni, Vitamin leaf
- Thoothuvalai/ தூதுவளை/ Solanum Trilobatum /purple fruited pea eggplant
- Thumbai leaves/ தும்பை கீரை/ Dronapushpi/ Leucas aspera
- Thutthi keerai/ துத்திக்கீரை/ Abutilon indicum/ Indian Mallow
- Vadanarayanan keerai/ வாதநாராயணன் கீரை/ Delonix elata
- Vallal keerai/ வள்ளல் கீரை/ Ipomoea aquatica/ swamp spinach or Kang Kong
- Vallarai keerai/ வல்லாரைக்கீரை/ brahmi/ Centella Asiatica/ Indian Pennywort
A Guide to 28 Local (Mostly) Wild Greens
- Agathi keerai/ அகத்தி கீரை
- Sesbania grandiflora
- Vegetable Hummingbird
- Medicinal, consumed to keep GI tract in good health & free of parasites; anti-ulcerative, anti-microbial
- Flowers eaten as seasonally available; greens eaten in small quantities once every other week or so, usually after Dwadashi fasts, and most typically as a poriyal. Include sparingly in masiyals for reasons of taste, texture, and medicinal potency.
- Chakravarthi keerai/சக்கரவர்த்தி கீரை
- Chenopodium album
- Bathua
- Lamb’s quarters, white goosefoot
- A rich source of proteins, vitamins, and dietary minerals. Antihelmetic, supposed to be effective in warding off intestinal parasites [source]. Also supposed to have anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving properties. a “viseshamana” keerai — a special one.
- A winter green in the northern parts of India, commonly added to raitas; grinds easily.
- Image Credit: Rasbak – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Chukkan keerai/ சுக்கான் கீரை
- Rumex vesicarius
- Common sorrel, Indian sorrel
- High in vitamin C, calcium, magnesium, and potassium, plus contain beta-carotene and lutein
- A versatile, sour green, used to add tartness to all sorts of gravy-based dishes–it’s a popular dal and chicken curry addition, especially in Andhra cookery. Leaves contain oxalic acid, so best avoided or eaten in controlled amounts by those with kidney stones.
- Image Credit: Michel Langeveld, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
- Kaachini keerai/ காசினிக்கீரை/
- Cichorium intybus
- Chicory greens
- Hepaprotective [good for your liver!], rich in vitamins, laxative, detoxifying, invigorating, blood-cleansing and anti-oxidative; help in the maintenance of proper gut microbiota thanks to high inulin–thus used to treat gastro-intestinal disorders [source]
- Leaves, flowers all edible. Leaves can be used in salads, too.
- Image source: Prof. Dr. Otto Wilhelm Thomé Flora von Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz 1885, Gera, Germany, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- Kaattu thutthi or Perumpinnaakku keerai/ காட்டுத்துத்தி or பெரும்பிண்ணாக்குக்கீரை
- Corchorus olitorius
- bristly-leaved Jew’s mallow, nalta jute, molokhia
- Leaves are rich in minerals [calcium and iron] and vitamins B1, B2, folic acid C and E
- One of those kozha-kozha/slimy greens that takes a bit of getting used to. Use in small quantities.
- Image Credit: Dinesh Valke from Thane, India, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
- Karisalanganni keerai/ கரிசலாங்கண்ணிக்கீரை
- Eclipta prostrata or Eclipta alba
- Bhringraj
- Hepaprotective, the food for liver support or ensuring a healthy liver, blood purifying, used to make hair oils mostly for its hair darkening virtues
- A very strong-tasting green that’s best cooked in a sambar or other tamarind-based dal. Not suitable on its own for a masiyal; use in small quantities in masiyals.
- There is a yellow-flowering variety that is preferred culinarily over the white. The white, however, is what finds its way most readily into weedy patches of our garden. Leaves are oval to oblate, and sand-paper-like to the touch.
- Keezhanelli keerai/ கீழாநெல்லிக்கீரை
- Phyllanthus niruri
- Bhoomi amala
- Both Tamil and Sanskrit names indicate this wild little weed is the “amla of the ground”–with similar leaf morphology and similarly invaluable medicinal value. Used along with karisalanganni to keep a healthy liver.
- Keezha nelli is not typically used in cookery at all, but can be added in small quantities to a masiyal. Like Karisalanganni, it’s a bitter green. As children we used to pick and munch on the leaves–not becuase they were tasty, but because we they resemble tamadind, which we adored, and because we could.
- Manathakkali/ மணத்தக்காளி கீரை
- Solanum nigrum complex, best identified by the plant’s tiny green and purple berries and tiny white eggplant-flower-like blossoms. See here for more details.
- Have mouth sore? Chew on manathakkali leaves. These were our go-to garden remedies for such common irksome growing-up issues. Likewise, eating these greens keep stomach linings ulcer free,
- Used to make dals (especially kootu) and a wicked mor-kuzhambu; a delicious green. They’re also cooked into soups. The green (unripe) berries make vathals; once ripe they can be eaten as they are or made into little jams.
- Mudakkkaruthaan or Mudakathan/ முடக்கறுத்தான்
- Cardiospermum halicacabum
- Balloon vine, love-in-a-puff
- Most popularly used to alleviate joint and rheumatic pains.
- Very bitter; typically ground into dosa batter where the strong tastes are almost completely masked. Use in very small quantities.
- Mookirattai/ மூக்கிரட்டை கீரை
- Boerhavia diffusa
- Punarnava
- spreading hogweed
- Supposed to kindle digestive fires and stimulate digestion.
- Strong tasting, use in small quantities in masiyals or larger quantities in tamarind-based dals and sambars.
- Mullu murungai or Kalyana murungai/ முள்முருங்கை
- Erythrina Variegata
- Indian coral tree
- Possessed of “kalyana gunangal,” used to keep good uterine health, ward off PCOD, sort out menstrual irregularities and hormonal imbalances, improve fertility and lactation.
- The veins need removing before griding or cooking. A key ingredient in the Madurai Sourashtra street food special, Pankarapaan Beiri
- Nacchukottai keerai or Nanju kondan keerai/ நச்சுக்கொட்டை கீரை
- Pisonia alba
- Lettuce tree or cabbage tree, for its light green foliage.
- Grows easily from cutting; attracts nesting birds in its branches. Gently heated leaves used as poultice to apply to inflamed tissue/swellings. Provides relief from joint and arthritic pains. “Nanju kondan” refers to the capacity of this plant to destroy toxins, so it is thought of as a detoxing agent or purifier.
- Tender leaves need no treatment; mature leaves need “deveining.”
- Nel pasalai or kuthu pasalai/ நெல் பசலை or குத்து பசலை கீரை
- Talinum fruticosum
- Ceylon spinach
- A common vitamin-rich garden weed!
- Semi-succulent and a pasalai means these are a touch mucilagenous–but this dissipates on cooking. Dipped in batter, these make a quick and happy fritter. Use in moderate proportion with other greens.
- Image source: Meneerke bloem, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; the second image in this post is of nel pasalai growing wild with purple globe amaranth in our Aurovilel backyard.
- Pannaikeerai/ பண்ணைக்கீரை
- Celosia argentea
- Silver cockscomb
- Image Source: Collection des vélins du Muséum national d’histoire naturelle Coll. Vélins Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat. Paris . vol 16, t. 29, via Plant Illustrations
- Potuthalai keerai/ பொடுதலைக்கீரை
- Phyla nodiflora Greene, Lippia Nodiflora
- Turkey Tangle Frogfruit (!!)
- The Tamil name [பொடுகு] indicates its utility in treating dandruff. Useful for treating wounds topically, owing to its anti-bacterial properties. Decoctions used to treat GI issues or keep a healthy GI system.
- Used as a herb in small quantities rather than as a full-fledged cooking green.
- Image Source: Dinesh Valke from Thane, India, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
- Ponnanganni keerai / பொன்னாங்கண்ணி கீரை
- Alternanthera sessilis
- Sessile joyweed
- ponn-aahum-kann-nee: “Your body will acquire golden luster”; ponnanganni refers to a diverse and large family of greens both cultivated and wild. Keeps skin moist, bright, and youthful; blood purifying; fed to nursing mothers to help enhance breast milk production; valued locally for their contribution to eye health. Eat ponnangani regularly, say the Siddhars, and your eyes will become clear enough to see the stars in broad daylight!
- Can be made into a poriyal, added to dals and masiyals. Good to use in larger amounts and consume regularly.
- Puliccha Keerai/ புளிச்சக்கீரை
- Hibiscus sabdariffa
- Wild hibiscus, the white-stemmed variety is “gongura” in Telugu; Jamaican sorrel
- Boosts immunity, body cooling. Considered a good source of folate, and dietary vitamins and minerals generally.
- Flower calyces are roselles, used to make syrups, jams, and tart-hot chutneys. Leaves are likewise sour (hence the Tamil name “sour greens”), and give the famous Andhra gongura pickles their characteristic taste. The only limit on how much of these to use is the sourness itself!
- Puliyaarai keerai /புளியாரைக் கீரை
- Oxalis corniculata
- Creeping woodsorrel
- A good source of vitamin C, enhances digestion and metabolism [source]. High in oxalic acid, so best avoided by those with kidney issues, stones etc.
- A tart green, one we used to nibble in the garden as it grows like a weed.
- Saranai keerai/ சாரனைக்கீரை; [var. chevappu saranai or red saranai keerai]
- Trianthema decandra
- Sans. Dvijayangi, Laghupatra
- Horse purslane
- Sirukanpeelai/ சிறுகண்பீளை
- Aerva Lanata
- mountain knotgrass, konda pindi in Telugu
- Known mostly for its capacity to prevent and even break up kidney stones–hence the name konda-pindi: it has the capacity to break a rocky mountain [konda] into powder [pindi]!
- A simple and very versatile green, tied symbolically at Pongal time along with other medicinal plants to ward off ailments that come with the changing seasons. Can be added to khichdis, dals, and other curries.
- Tharaipasalai or Ellu pasalai/ தரைபசலை or எள்ளு பசலை கீரை
- Portulaca quadrifida
- chicken weed or wild purslane
- Comes and goes in the garden, loves the cool, moist and well-drained.
- Pasalai means kozha-kozha, but the sliminess dissipates on cooking. The plant is cooked whole, stems and all. Slightly sour. A classic addition to kalava keerai mixes and masiyals in general.
- Thavasi Keerai /தவசிக்கீரை
- Sauropus androgynus
- Chakramuni, Vitamin leaf
- Very rich in vitamins and proteins, but has an effect on blood vessel dilation so must be consumed as part of a varied diet and not exclusively. A few leaf strands every other week or so is an often-cited dietary guideline (like agathi keerai)
- Needs very light cooking, makes a lovely thambuli or curd chutney. Use in small quantities to give a masiyal a vitamin boost!
- Thoothuvalai/ தூதுவளை
- Solanum Trilobatum
- purple fruited pea eggplant
- The messenger green! Used widely for treating seaonal coughs and colds, for building immunity to these and for.
- All thoothuvalai leaves have thorns, but these soften on cooking. Snip off any harder thorns on more mature leaves. This is a nightshade green that definitely needs cooking prior to eating, but otherwise is a really easy one to like. The nature of these leaves is such, you’ll only ever use a small quantity. They’re very perishable though, so they don’t last long even unwashed and refrigerated.
- Thumbai leaves/ தும்பை கீரை
- Leucas aspera
- Sans. Dronapushpi
- Flowers seem to be milder versions of leaves–a farmer once told me of the uses of the flower (turned into a decoction) even to infants with colds, to help release and mitigate mucous formation. Used also to treat insect and snake bites (as a poultice). Oils made from the leaves are used as a thailam to treat sinus headaches.
- Some make curries out of the leaves, but they are tough to stomach just like that–strongly bitter. A few leaves added to a masiyal that’s heavy on other milder-tasting and sour greens should do it!
- Thutthi keerai/ துத்திக்கீரை
- Abutilon indicum
- Indian Mallow, a relative of the kaattu-thutthi or jute–at least if you go by folk classifications: this is just thutthi, jute is wild thutthi. Identify these by large rounded, serrated leaves which are soft and almost furry to the touch, and these pretty yellow flowers.
- Known mostly for its virtues in treating constipation, fistula and piles.
- A tougher green, texturally. Need chopping and some boiling to soften. Can be made into kootus or other dal preparations. Use in moderate amounts.
- Vadanarayanan keerai/ வாதநாராயணன் கீரை
- Delonix elata
- White gulmohar
- Leaves resembling tamarind or keezhanelli. The name “Vada-narayanan” means that this keerai rules over all vada-related ailments, including joint pains attributed to vata disorders, and constipation. Can also be used as a poultice (heated with mustard oil) applied to affected joints or to treat psoriasis.
- The classic preparation is either ragi or rice flour adais [Tamil]/ beeapparottes [Telugu]–leaves stir fried with onions and other spices and lentils, mixed with ragi or rice flour and patted into adais and pan-fried. These are delicious on their own; don’t need even an accompanying chutney. A traditional poriyal combination is with these greens, murungai, and nachukottai keerai. Use in moderate amounts for a masiyal [especially since it’s used as an antidote for constipation!]
- Vallal keerai/ வள்ளல் கீரை
- Ipomoea aquatica
- swamp spinach or Kang Kong, grows easily in swampy water or even in ponds. Identifiable by the very elongated heart-like leaves and the light mauve morning glory flowers
- Body cooling. Purifies the blood, increases red blood cells, protects the eyes. For women, regular consumption is said to reduce white discharge/yeast infections.
- Tender stems (which are hollow) and leaves are easily stir-fried with garlic, chilli and shrimp paste, but for dal preparations, use only the leaves. Vallal is a relatively mild-tasting green.
- Vallarai keerai/ வல்லாரைக்கீரை
- Centella Asiatica
- Indian Pennywort
- brahmi
- Best known as brain food and for improving memory power.
- Can easily be juiced with vana tulasi, lime, and a little honey to taste. Or, added to salads (raw) and dals (cooked).