why should we not eat Soraikkai

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Correction it is
Mundhanai Mudichu

By introducing the simple drumstick as a libido-increaser in a single scene, Bhagyaraj made it famous.

thank u

 

[[email protected]]

To All, Bottle guard(Suraikai) is best for High BP as a user vegitable and it reduces best for all to blood urea. Best veg Item for BP,Sugar and Weight loss. Olden days this was ref with nonveg vegitable. But today this is chiep and good vegitable. srk.

 

[arunshanker]

To All, Bottle guard(Suraikai) is best for High BP as a user vegitable and it reduces best for all to blood urea. Best veg Item for BP,Sugar and Weight loss. Olden days this was ref with nonveg vegitable. But today this is chiep and good vegitable. srk.

I cant understand what is a nonveg vegetable
how can a vegetable be non veg?

 

[kunjuppu]

I cant understand what is a nonveg vegetable
how can a vegetable be non veg?

i can understand that mushroom is a dirty vegetable, based on where it grows.

i think, that any vegetable brought over by the europeans may have been considered non veg.

but again, we are selective here. which is ok.

potatos, chillies, tomatos all have universal acceptance. garlic, cauliflower, capsicums do not. there is nothing wrong in that.

logic is the realm of the wit, proof the domain of the scientist. the ordinary human can be irrationally selective, and that we attribute to individuality

not sure if sorakkai is alien to india, in which case, it makes no sense.

 

[sapr333]

potatos, chillies, tomatos all have universal acceptance. garlic, cauliflower, capsicums do not. there is nothing wrong in that.
.

Shri.Kunjuppu, a small correction.

'Onion' commands the universal acceptance. Its the world's most widely/highly used vegetable(Anthony bourdaine often says in his travelogue)..

PS:-...Chillies came after Columbus(it was Indian-pepper before, and Tomatoes found place in kitchen only after the England queen tried it in her Kitchen..My great-grandfather used to buy home this and folks used to slice it and feast on it, like an australian apple. An indian govt got toppled, just because of the shoot in onion prices.

 

[kunjuppu]

Shri.Kunjuppu, a small correction.

'Onion' commands the universal acceptance. Its the world's most widely/highly used vegetable(Anthony bourdaine often says in his travelogue)..

QUOTE]

sapr,

i stand corrected. i was under the impression that onion was a new world import. my mistake.

so, in the context, that it is an ancient vegetable, known to indian for a long time, i do not understand the reluctance of some folks to cook it.

in my grandparents' house onion was a no no. my mother used it very sparingly, and that too only the small sambhar onions.

i guess it is a matter of taste or taboo. taste, i can understand; taboo i don't.

thank you.

 

[KRS]

Food, per our scriptures is classified in to three kinds. Consumption of which will increase Sattvic, Rajasic or Tamasic gunas in the person.

Onion, garlic etc. are deemed to be rajasic increasing foods. May be suraikkai belongs to this or tamasic increasing category.

Many of the foods shunned by Hindus, especially the Brahmins would fall under this notion.

Regards,
KRS

 

[GGR]

KRS, what you stated is correct as I came across this in a copy of Bhaghavat Geetha I have.

Given that times have changed and so have our lifestyles, we do not have the luxury of shunning vegetables because of certain age old laws.

Garlic eaten raw or cooked lowers BP and helps with Cholestrol. Onion too helps, but is not as much as garlic.

As to the sorakkai question: If it was native to India, then anyone who has access to Ayurvedic books should look it up and see if it was deemed good. From what I have read, it is a good vegetable to eat and are advised to cook it before eating or making juice out of it.

Since it is more like zucchini in texture, I like to make chutney out of it then making kolumbu or anything else.

 

[happyhindu]

I heard that sorakai juice is good as an anti inflammatory, but not to be used in rheumatism. One ayurvedic doctor had suggested drinking a cup of the juice every morning on empty stomach. followed by a cup of buttermilk an hour later. The combination it seems removes the after-effects of gasiness created by sorakai. So maybe soraikai was avoided because it is supposed to cause or increase gas maybe...

Also i think brahmins and jains shunned foods that grow under the ground like potatoes, onions, etc because in the age old past, feaces used to be used as manure to grow tubers i heard..sounds yuk now but that was the farming practices in the past. I suppose, onions supposedly act like an aphrodisiac, so they are avoided by brahmins and jains.

Also heard onions act an anti coagulant since they are high in sulphur, and keep the heart and circulatory system healthy. The ayurvedic doc had advised someone to take a bit of raw onion jucie with honey to help in circulatory probs, BP, hypertension...

 

[KRS]

Dear GGR Ji,

I was answering Sri arunshanker Ji's question as to why this vegetable is shunned by our community.

I do not believe in any social edicts on food - I think it is a personal decision as to what to eat and what not to eat based on one's preference as long as circumstances prohibit such a choice (family situation, work situation etc.) where one's personal preference will impinge on others'.

Regards,
KRS

KRS, what you stated is correct as I came across this in a copy of Bhaghavat Geetha I have.

Given that times have changed and so have our lifestyles, we do not have the luxury of shunning vegetables because of certain age old laws.

Garlic eaten raw or cooked lowers BP and helps with Cholestrol. Onion too helps, but is not as much as garlic.

As to the sorakkai question: If it was native to India, then anyone who has access to Ayurvedic books should look it up and see if it was deemed good. From what I have read, it is a good vegetable to eat and are advised to cook it before eating or making juice out of it.

Since it is more like zucchini in texture, I like to make chutney out of it then making kolumbu or anything else.

 

[arunshanker]

In India as early as the sixth century B.C., the famous medical treatise Charaka - Sanhita celebrates the onion as medicine - a diuretic, good for digestion, the heart, the eyes and the joints.

 

[kunjuppu]

Also i think brahmins and jains shunned foods that grow under the ground like potatoes, onions, etc because in the age old past, feaces used to be used as manure to grow tubers i heard..sounds yuk now but that was the farming practices in the past. I suppose, onions supposedly act like an aphrodisiac, so they are avoided by brahmins and jains.
...

good points happy. i have just a some queries arising out of it, if you don't mind

- even today human feces is a significant source of fertilizer for the crops. one only has to view the fields in the morning or dusk, to verify the number of squatters. with rural women, i think, it is almost elevated to a social function and time to catch up on the day's events. if one is so sensitive, one should avoid all crops and vegetables. right?

- to the best of my knowledge, brahmins always went for chenai, koorkai, maravaLLi and kaavathu kizhangus. any reason, why the selective avoidance of potatos. i grew up with a steady diet of potatoes, though my mother was not all that orthodox.

- re the aphrodisiac properties of onion - since when brahmins shunned sex? i thought they enjoyed them as good as any other folk. in fact, the madisaar, is a perfect garment for having quick sex, as one has to just adjust one fold between the legs.. i do not mean to be flippant here, but i do believe madisaar improves the grace and elegance of the woman, like no other female garment. perhaps, easy to wear, pre made, slip on madisaar may cause a come-back to the madisaar some time in the future?

thank you.

ps.. i read in the readers digest some years ago, that in one particular region of china, there were a blindness epidemic. the scientist finally found the root cause was the feces of the people of that region, where the prevalent of certain bacteria, which when recycled between the body and the earth, caused certain occular nervous disorder, resulting in blindness. thank God, our indian feces are harmless.

 

[tbs]

In India as early as the sixth century B.C., the famous medical treatise Charaka - Sanhita celebrates the onion as medicine - a diuretic, good for digestion, the heart, the eyes and the joints.

hi arun..
our foods divided into three groups...satva ..rajas...tamas..
in charaka sanhita...our diseases are divided into three
groups...vata..pitta..kapha based...so foods/ thoughts
should be satvic...

regards

 

[happyhindu]

omg kunjuppu-ji, you have me stumped. clean bowled.

- arun can answer this i guess, he wud know about crops, avoidence, farming methods..

- potatoes avoided because its starchy, supposedly makes ppl lazy, sleepy ??

- never heard of the quick benefits of the madisaar before :embarassed:

- am still :rofl: abt the harmlessness of indian feces...

you've made my day sir, i think i will read this each time i want to cut off from monotony for some smiles, laughter and fun..

 

[sapr333]

- potatoes avoided because its starchy, supposedly makes ppl lazy, sleepy ??

.

I believe Kappa (Tapioca) & Rice are equally high, in starch content!!

 

[tbs]

good points happy. i have just a some queries arising out of it, if you don't mind

- even today human feces is a significant source of fertilizer for the crops. one only has to view the fields in the morning or dusk, to verify the number of squatters. with rural women, i think, it is almost elevated to a social function and time to catch up on the day's events. if one is so sensitive, one should avoid all crops and vegetables. right?

- to the best of my knowledge, brahmins always went for chenai, koorkai, maravaLLi and kaavathu kizhangus. any reason, why the selective avoidance of potatos. i grew up with a steady diet of potatoes, though my mother was not all that orthodox.

- re the aphrodisiac properties of onion - since when brahmins shunned sex? i thought they enjoyed them as good as any other folk. in fact, the madisaar, is a perfect garment for having quick sex, as one has to just adjust one fold between the legs.. i do not mean to be flippant here, but i do believe madisaar improves the grace and elegance of the woman, like no other female garment. perhaps, easy to wear, pre made, slip on madisaar may cause a come-back to the madisaar some time in the future?

thank you.

ps.. i read in the readers digest some years ago, that in one particular region of china, there were a blindness epidemic. the scientist finally found the root cause was the feces of the people of that region, where the prevalent of certain bacteria, which when recycled between the body and the earth, caused certain occular nervous disorder, resulting in blindness. thank God, our indian feces are harmless.

hi kunjappu sir,
im with ur opinion about madisaar...its really sexy/ catchy...
i like madisaar... a famous kamal movie with sridevi...
vadama kattu(Madisaar)..vaathimaa settu...i still feel
madisaar is a beautiful dress in the world...really a sxy look..

regards

 

[arunshanker]

good points happy. i have just a some queries arising out of it, if you don't mind

- even today human feces is a significant source of fertilizer for the crops. one only has to view the fields in the morning or dusk, to verify the number of squatters. with rural women, i think, it is almost elevated to a social function and time to catch up on the day's events. if one is so sensitive, one should avoid all crops and vegetables. right?

- to the best of my knowledge, brahmins always went for chenai, koorkai, maravaLLi and kaavathu kizhangus. any reason, why the selective avoidance of potatos. i grew up with a steady diet of potatoes, though my mother was not all that orthodox.

- re the aphrodisiac properties of onion - since when brahmins shunned sex? i thought they enjoyed them as good as any other folk. in fact, the madisaar, is a perfect garment for having quick sex, as one has to just adjust one fold between the legs.. i do not mean to be flippant here, but i do believe madisaar improves the grace and elegance of the woman, like no other female garment. perhaps, easy to wear, pre made, slip on madisaar may cause a come-back to the madisaar some time in the future?

thank you.

Thanks HH
here are my views on Kunjus' post
1. Organic fert is the order of the day and in fact organically grown food fetches premium in many markets. Human Feces is dangerous indeed but when used as fertilizer ( in fact very rarely used on a commercial scale) the path of the constituents of the feces is complicated and ends up in the plant as only Nitrogen and some other essential nutrients
bacteriafrom it cannot enter the plants directly
but of course there is concern in peri urban " Palak and Keerai " that we buy in big cities in India since we eat the leaves and there is every chance of direct contamination
take to to wash and cook properly green leafy veg bought in cities
2. Potato was and is shunned by not only the TBs but also in general by most Tamils and the cited reason is Gas, which is untrue
in fact the dietary pattern has evolved in the right way here
1. Tamils already eat a lot of starch in Rice
2. Potato is not cultivated in TN except for Hills of Ooty and Kodai and the likes so obviously there is a shortage unlike the Northern Lats of India where it is cultivated in plains in winter
Potatoesoriginated in South American Andes and made its way to India much much later say only about 4-5 Centuries ago
unlike the other Kizhangus you have mentioned which was very much here since even before civilization (Hunters and Gatherers)
In fact I love "Urulai Kazhangu kari"
3. Garlic and Onions were Viewed as Aphrodisiacs and in fact there is no biochemcially proved treatise that supports that
where as there are several that support that fact that both are cancer fighting et.,
4. Reagarding Madisar I would say on a personal point of view I would rather not have quick sex, it better be slow and steady and long and that is all the more reason one would need an aphrodisiac ( for Arguments sake )

 

[kunjuppu]

omg kunjuppu-ji, you have me stumped. clean bowled.

- arun can answer this i guess, he wud know about crops, avoidence, farming methods..

- potatoes avoided because its starchy, supposedly makes ppl lazy, sleepy ??

- never heard of the quick benefits of the madisaar before :embarassed:

- am still :rofl: abt the harmlessness of indian feces...

you've made my day sir, i think i will read this each time i want to cut off from monotony for some smiles, laughter and fun..

not to be phunny here happy, but how can one be stumped and clean bowled at the same time? hee hee..

i have a neice in chennai, who is a phd in hindu philosophy. even though she comes from a liberal household, she has married out of love, into a priest family, and reverted to customs more in tune with the turn of 19th century.

teaching in chennai, she attends various college functions. after her marriage, her presence in public functions is marked by wearing the madisaar, even though, on a day to day basis, she wears the modern sari.

i think it must be quite a sight, to see a pretty young lady, wearing madisaar and giving lectures to a bunch of hormone rich guys and gals of the colleges of chennai.

of late, i have seen, little kids wearing panchakaccham which are put together with buttons. maybe there are some for adults too.

i was being fairly serious, about ready-to-wear already assembled buttoned madisaar.

by the way, in many of the local canadian hindu weddings, even the tamil brahmin boys were the north indian, jubba and tights. is this also the trend in chennai? anyone?

ofcourse, to display propriety per the occassion, the vaadhiyaar hangs the pooNal over the clothing .. all for the jolly good tamil brahmin tradition eh!

 

[pannvalan]

Forbidden vegetables

[FONT=&quot]SOCIALLY UNTOUCHABLE/FORBIDDEN VEGETABLES?

[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]When as school boys we ate kovai pazham and sorakkai chutni prepared elsewhere, we were chided by our grandmother saying such vegetables were not fit to be eaten by brahmins. We could not question the elders those days and hence accepted her words of advice.

But, after going to A.P., I found that these two (Dhondakaya and Sorakaya) are used in day to day cooking there. After marriage, I consulted my wife and she also consented to use these vegetables in her cooking for making poriyal (curry) and thuvaiyal. Good stuff of them tasted well, no doubt. (Of course, the way the Telugus cook them differs much from our way of cooking them). From then on, there is no looking back.

But the question why brahmins - only Tamils - shunned these vegetables continued to nag me for quite a long period. Finally, I reached my own conclusion, using a little common sense and extended logic.[/FONT]

Ø[FONT=&quot]Any vegetable that is not systematically cultivated in farm lands or gardens, and grown only in the wilderness or the places where Brahmins do not live in, is not eatable. [/FONT]

Ø[FONT=&quot] The dried suraikkai shell is used as a begging bowl and used by beggars as well as sanyasis.[/FONT]

Ø[FONT=&quot]These vegetables are grown at the backyards of the untouchables on fences or near their garbage dump.

[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Going a little further, I started analysing these points.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
Then how and why brahmins accepted potatos and tomatos, which are alien to our culture? Is it because that these were brought to our country by white-skinned persons? Come to think of it, even jack fruits, vilampazham etc. grew in forests or on no man's land. But they are eaten by brahmins. What could be the explanation? (Karaikudi chettiars grow jack fruit trees in their house’s front or backyard)

As far as I am concerned, I am clear on three points.

1. Since I am a vegetarian, any vegetable or fruit, if harmless, can be eaten, because it is [/FONT][FONT=&quot]also Nature's gift to mankind.
2. Even amongst vegetables, bringing caste divide is too much for me.
3. Why should we limit our choices?[/FONT]

 

[kunjuppu]

good post pann.

i would like to share this with the forum, this oncoming phenomenon.

they are creating vegetarian equivalents of meat dishes.

whether it be chicken, fish or meat - the ingredients are pure vegetable derived and extracted. the non-veg flavour, ofcourse, is from chemical derivatives.

now, will this pass for kosher among tamil brahmins?

the origin of this concept came (from where else) japan. apparently, many types of fish were getting extinct or difficult to catch, due to overfishing and water pollution.

so, what the japanese scientist did, is to process the cheaper fish, and mix them with the flavour of the expensive or hard-to-get ones and press them into the familiar expense cuts.

ofcourse, this was all above board, as the final product clearly stated that this was not the original asal stuff.

this concept is not so far fetched. i have an elderly relative visiting me. she had some veggie burgers at another place, and soon got into veggie burger cravings.

that she is 78 years old, and a lifelong vegetarian, does not seem to have bothered her, with the fact, that the veggie burger is made to taste somewhat like its meat look alike.

if this craze takes off, who knows, what would happen to the brahmin cousine. will vetha kozhambu be replaced by (synthetic) meen kozhambu? or kathrikkai kari replaced by kadal kathirikkai kari?