Amaranth
In my home, laal (red) maath is a staple in the post-monsoon and winter seasons. It frequently goes into salads, pastas, and stir-fries. My favourite amaranth leaf dish is a simple stir-fried sabzi, cooked on a wood-fired chulha with plenty of garlic, green chillies, and onions. The smokiness of the wood-fire perfectly complements the rich, nutty, and earthy taste of the amaranth.”
—Archish Kashikar, Culinary Research Associate at The Locavore
Join The Conversation
What is it?
Amaranth is a versatile plant that heavily features in dishes across India. Due to its rampant spreading capability, it is often regarded as a weed by farmers. While all parts of the plant are regularly consumed, amaranth leaves are normally found in two colours—green and red/purple. Sometimes, the colours can be a mix of both, depending on the variant of the amaranth. These colour fluctuations are a result of different sub-species from the same family, but they largely taste quite similar to each other. Upon cooking, their nutty and earthy flavours with a heavy vegetal taste are highlighted. They aren’t too bitter, but have a distinct taste, somewhere between that of spinach and kale.
What other names does it have?
Botanical Name: Amaranthus cruentus, Amaranthus dubius, Amaranthus hypochondriacus, Amaranthus hybridus.
Regional Names:Maath (Marathi), Thandu Keerai (Tamil), Chaulai (Hindi), Chua (Kumaoni), Harive soppu (Kannada)
When is it in season?
Where is it found?
The amaranth species is known to be hearty and quite tolerant of climatic shifts. As a result, the purple and green leafy amaranth are grown across the Indian subcontinent, where it is abundantly found in markets. While they can be cultivated throughout the year, plants that are sown in the summer and harvested in the monsoon and winter tend to be of a better quality.
What is its history/cultural significance?
The Amaranthus family of plants—comprising grains and leaves—have a widespread history across the world. Though it is considered a plant native to the Americas and brought to Asia via European trade, there is some archeological evidence for Amaranth caudatus dating back to 1000–800 BCE found in Narhan in present-day Bihar.
While amaranth is normally agriculturally cultivated, it is also foraged for by certain tribal communities. In a conversation our team had with the late Janagiamma, from the indigenous Kurumba community of the Nilgiris, a long-held memory of the monsoon was the availability of amaranth greens and the preparation of a simple tempered dish, keerai poriyal.
How can you use it?
Traditionally, both young and mature leaves of this plant can be consumed. The smaller, younger leaves tend to be more tender, and taste earthy and mildly sweet. This makes them ideal to be consumed raw or used in preparations such as salads. While the older mature leaves are also consumed, they lack sweetness and are higher in astringency and bitter notes. The mature leaves are traditionally boiled and used to make soups, stews, and gravy-like sabzis.
What states can I find it in?
What parts of the plant are edible?
Grain, shoots, and stems.
Is it nutritious?
According to a report published in 2020, Amaranth is known for being high in protein and fibre, as well as a good source of iron, calcium, magnesium, vitamin B6, phosphorus, and folate.
How do you store it?
Fresh amaranth leaves can be refrigerated. Store them wrapped in a kitchen roll in an upright position; this will allow them to stay fresh for a longer period of time, about 5-6 days.
Stories & recipes from The Locavore
• ‘Keerai pori is something I enjoy during the monsoon’
The late Janagiamma’s memories of amaranth leaves. By Jestin Pauls (interview) & Sharanya Manivannan (translation from Tamil).
A recipe made with amaranth greens, green gram, and coconut milk.
• The Locavore Seasonal Millet Salad Bowl Recipe
A recipe from the Millet revival Project, showcasing how to use young tender amaranth leaf shoots in a salad.
More stories
• Understanding Amaranth Greens: Arakeerai, Mulaikeerai, and Sirukeerai
A foray into understanding the different kinds of Amaranth greens. By Deepa, Pâticheri
• Fast food: Poor man’s amaranth is now expensive health food
How a “poor man’s” Amaranth is now a fancy “superfood.” By Pushpesh Pant, Down to Earth
• Amaranth isn’t just another weed — here’s how to cook this prolific leafy green
Tips and tricks on how to cook amaranth greens. By Tama Matsuoka Wong, Grist
More recipes
• Thotakura Vellulli Karam Recipe, Healthy Indian
A garlic-forward stir fry made with green amaranth
• Red Amaranth Raitha by Kirthana Kumar, The Blurry Lime
A beautifully coloured red amaranth raita
‘Know Your Desi Ingredients’ is an ever-expanding repository of knowledge for ingredients that are native to the Indian subcontinent and adapted into the mainstream culinary narratives of people, places, and cultures across India. If you would like to share more information about the write-ups featured here, send us an email at connect@thelocavore.in with your inputs and any verified sources we should look into.
Login with Google