Tubers are having their moment in the sun. With a two-day Roots and Tubers festival, Chennai will familiarise itself with these underground treasures that are said to be low in calories and high in antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. Purple yam ( rasavalli kizhangu), air potato, arrow root, white yam and tapioca will headline at the festival.
“Over a period of time, we have stopped including these native roots and tubers in our diet due to certain misconceptions and myths,” says Ananthoo, of Organic Farmers Market (OFM), who is organising the event along with Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture (ASHA), Sahaja Seeds and Safe Food Alliance. “Our mission is to bring awareness on dietary value and benefits of tubers. The visitors also get to taste a wide range of food prepared using roots and tubers,” adds N Seethalakshmi of OFM.
For example, how about sampling panangkizhangu (palm root) jam, panangkizangu khakra, maravalli kizhangu (tapioca) vadai and halwa made of different types of tubers?
“Tribals have the knowledge of various tubers and they go around foraging in the forests and find them.” Farmers can grow them easily in their farms and get a bountiful harvest, says Seethalakshmi.
The event will see celebrity speakers like Tamil film directors Vetrimaran, Vishnu Vardhan and Gnanavel, actor Nasser, retired IAS officer Shanta Sheela Nair and Chennai City Police Commissioner Shankar Jiwal. “Interestingly, all of these speakers are farmers who are actively involved in organic farming and grow a range of tubers in their farms,” says Ananthoo.
Farmers will also come together for a seed exchange event where Krishna Prasad, founder of Sahaja Seeds will talk about native seeds.
The lineup also includes a contest titled Cooking with Tubers, to encourage the making of innovative dishes. Participants can prepare dishes using organic vegetables, groceries, cold-pressed oil while using only natural sweeteners.
Many local communities preserve various edible tuber and root varieties even to this day. Women from Hubli, northern Karnataka, will be setting up a stall that offers jowar and bajra rotis and subzi using various tubers, along with farmers from Uttar Pradesh.
Roots and Tubers Festival is on April 9 and 10, at Thakkar Baba Vidyalaya Campus, T Nagar. Timings: 10 am to 7 pm. Entry is free. This is a plastic-free event and hence visitors have to bring their own bags. For details, call: 9790900887
