Exotic Herbs and Plants in Mao Naga Cuisine – Part III

Part III of the series gives an account of some uncommon plants, including those that are harvested from the wild and some exotic plants that many of us find hard to identify with a well known name in the English-speaking world or a botanical name. There are many different species or varieties in most plant genera (plural of genus, for the uninitiated) and an amateur plant enthusiast like me find it challenging to identify the exact species and the detailed taxonomy. However, without going into the taxonomical details of each plant, I am reasonably certain that the plants shown here have been placed in their correct genera. Though I have tried to observe due diligence in identifying the exact species and varieties within those genera, several of the plants may have been identified with their nearest relatives. However, I think that still helps us further in identifying a species or variety that is found in our region and yet not named.

Mothi

(Variant names in Mao language – Mathi, Nathi)

Unlike the chili pepper, another kind of pepper species comes from a completely different genus of plants called the Zanthoxylum. The tree is commonly known as prickly ash, toothache tree or Hercules’ club. Its popularity has spread due to migration of Asians to all parts of the world as Sichuan pepper is pervasively used in Chinese as well as other East and South-east Asian cuisines.

The variety commonly found in India is Zanthoxylum rhetsa, also called the Indian pepper, while in the north eastern part of India is probably Zanthoxylum limonella, with its characteristic clover-like pods. Although similar to other varieties of Sichuan pepper when dried, the fruit of this plant is distinguishable from similar looking fruit of other species by its characteristic three-entwined pods like a trifoliate clover leaf.

More commonly known as Sichuan pepper, several varieties are marketed globally also as Szechwan pepper, Chinese pepper, Japanese pepper, Aniseed pepper, Sprice pepper, Chinese prickly-ash, Fagara, Sanasho, Nepal pepper, Indonesian lemon pepper, etc. These different varieties of pepper come from related but different species of plants within the same genus.

Mothi or Sichuan pepper is extensively used in traditional Mao cuisine. It has an aromatic flavour and produces a tingly numbness in the mouth when chewed raw.

Common names – Indian pepper, Sichuan pepper, Szechwan pepper, Szechuan pepper;

Botanical name – Zanthoxylum rhetsa syn. Zanthoxylum limonella; globally, various species of the genus Zanthoxylum, including Zanthoxylum piperitum, Zanthoxylum simulans, Zanthoxylum bungeanum, Zanthoxylum schinifolium, Zanthoxylum acanthopodium

A sample of mothi or Sichuan pepper from northern Thailand (above)

Even the leaves are considered as exotic spice and are used in flavouring many kinds of dish.

Momoshii

(Variant name in Mao language – Chiivaishii or Chiiveishii)

Momoshii is another variety of Sichuan pepper with a lesser aroma but a much stronger taste of tingly numbing sensation in the mouth than its cousin mothi. Its direct consumption leads to a mouth-watering numbness, and if overused, can lead to a prolonged bout of hiccups and even choking perhaps due to its effect of numbing the organs in the breathing mechanism, making them unresponsive. Therefore, it is used in moderation. There is another variety which produces a bigger pod which is called okhe momoshii or momo mochu in Mao language.

The momoshii plant species have characteristically winged or webbed leaves. The plant of okhe momoshii is more akin to varieties of plants that produce the Sichuan pepper in East Asia. Unlikemothi, the fruits of these species of Zanthoxylum do not occur in clover-like entwined pods.

Traditional Mao cuisine has been known to use momoshii in flavouring dish as well as chutneys. Young buds and leaves are also used for seasoning, especially in non-vegetarian dish.

Common names – Sichuan pepper, Szechwan pepper, Szechuan pepper;

Botanical name – Zanthoxylum armatum, Zanthoxylum planispinum, Zanthoxylum alatum or sometimes all three of them considered as synonymous; globally, various species of the genus Zanthoxylum yield similar fruits

Above: The plant of Momoshii; note the winged or webbed leaves.
The tree of Zanthoxylum armatum with its reddish fruits is called okhe momoshii or momo mochu in Mao language.

Some other herbs that are used traditionally in Mao cuisine are shown below.

Oshuw

(Variant name in Mao language – Oshuvu, Burma dhania)

Oshuw is traditionally not a cultivated plant; it is harvested from the wild. It grows well on the sidelines of paddy fields in the wet summer months. It is widely used as a culinary herb for its strong flavour similar to coriander, and as a traditional medicine in the North-eastern region of India, Latin American and South-east Asian countries. In cultures unfamiliar with its use, it is often mistaken for coriander (cilantro) due to its similar sounding name culantro. It is also calledspiritweed or fitweed for its use in traditional medicine in some cultures in treating epilepsy.

Common names – culantro, Mexican coriander, long coriander;

Botanical name – Eryngium foetidum

Above: A sample of oshuw or culantro

Okruw

(Variant names in Mao language – Okruvu, Ekruw)

While okruw or Chinese celery and the celery proper belong to the same family (Apiaceae), they are from two different genera (Oenanthe and Apium). Excepting the edible okruw, several species of theOenanthe genus of plants are known to be poisonous which commonly go by the name of water dropwort. This may be the reason why a species called zherakruw in Mao language is reported to cause temporarily mad or drunken behaviour when consumed; sufficient amount may cause fatalities.

Okruw or Chinese celery is an edible species which grows in damp ground, marshes or in water. It is in fact relished as a vegetable in Mao culture. Green plants in summer months grow abundantly although winter plants along with roots are also eaten. Spring plants, with long shoots as long as 3-4 feet growing as a creeper, are the favoured ones. Okruw is often used as a complement to a meat dish. My best choice is to cook it lightly in gravy drained from cooked meat (pork or beef) or sautéed in fat.

Common names – Chinese celery, Japanese parsley, Java water dropwort;

Botanical name – Oenanthe javanica

Above: A sample of okruw or Chinese celery

Above: Okruw or Chinese celery (Java water dropwort) growing in Manipur

Tongu

(Variant name in Mao language – Tunigo, Tunugu)

Tongu or heartleaf is a herbaceous plant. The underground part of its stem (proximal) gives out adventitious roots, structurally not dissimilar to the rhizomes of knotweed. The leaves and whitish roots are used in salads in Mao cuisine. It is extensively used as a medicinal herb and in traditional medicine in many countries.

Traditionally it is not a cultivated crop but harvested from the wild. It grows well in damp and shady places and is found abundantly in the Mao areas.

Common names – heartleaf, lizard tail, chameleon plant, fishwort, bishop’s weed;

Botanical name – Houttuynia cordata

Tongu or heartleaf growing as potted plants (above)

Above: Tongu or heartleaf plant growing wild in spring season in Manipur

Heartleaf root used in salad in Chinese cuisine, much like the same way as in Mao cuisine (above)

Koreiu

(Variant name in Mao language – Koreiovu)

Koreiu or centella is a perennial herb which grows in wet areas, and is found all over the paddy fields in Mao areas throughout the year. However, the best taste is obtained in spring, before the onset of monsoon after which it develops a somewhat bitter taste. It is eaten either cooked in dal or with other vegetables like potato, or in salad.

Several sources have listed its medicinal properties as “a mild adaptogen, mildly anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, anti-ulcerogenic, anxiolytic, nervine and vulnerary, a cerebral tonic, a circulatory stimulant and a diuretic.” No wonder, it is a common culinary herb in many cultures.

Common names – centella, Indian pennywort;

Botanical name – Centella asiatica

Green herbs of koreiu or centella (left)

Kodziiapah

(Variant name in Mao language – Khochilopra)

Native to the Indian subcontinent, kodziiapah or East Indian arrowroot is a perennial flowering plant. It begins to flower in spring (April) even before the leaves come out. In Mao areas, it is not cultivated but harvested from the wild. For culinary uses, only the young flowers before they fully bloom are harvested; the sepals are usually plucked off to get the edible flower. In other cultures, the rhizome of East India arrowroot, like that of its cousins – ginger and turmeric, is used for its nutritive value and medicinal properties.

Common names – Wild or East Indian arrowroot, narrow-leaved turmeric;

Botanical name – Curcuma angustifolia

Above: Kodziiapah or East Indian arrowroot in its full bloom

Dziihpau

Dziihpau or broadleaf plantain is a herbaceous perennial plant which grows in fields, lawns, roadsides and everywhere humans have left a trace, especially on compacted soil! It is known for its ability to thrive even where human activities would have destroyed other plants, and has medicinal properties. In Mao culture, the young plants before they begin to flower are plucked or the whole plant uprooted and eaten as a vegetable.   

Common names – broadleaf plantain, greater plantain;

Botanical name – Plantago major

Above: A sample of broadleaf plantain or dziihpau

Evau

(Variant name in Mao language – Evahvu)

Like most of the knotweed species, evau or Chinese knotweed is an invasive weed. However, its young reddish shoots as well as mature leaves are eaten as vegetable, and form part of traditional Mao cuisine.

Collectively known as knotweed, the Polygonum genus has a large number of species or varieties having closely related but different characteristics. A few of these species are found in Mao areas as well, including evau, obeiu, etc., which make it difficult to pinpoint the exact botanical names. Botanists may have a den to explore here. The Naga variety may be called ‘Naga knotweed’! How about Polygonum nagalensis?

Common name – Chinese knotweed;

Botanical name – Polygonum chinense

Above: A sample of Chinese knotweed

See picture for one of the species (Evau) found in Manipur above.

Nibiatto

Like its Polygonum relatives, the smartweed family or the Persicaria genus has a large number of species. In my search for a true sample of nibiatto with a common name, I could only find the closest relative that is the Nepalese smartweed (Persicaria nepalensis) which is also found in the Mao area.

The Mao variety which is edible is called nibiatto for the characteristic clefts on two sides of its leaf near the base, making it look like ‘split ears’. So, shall we call it the ‘Cleft smartweed’? Persicaria nagalensis doesn’t sound bad either!

Common name – a species of smartweed;

Botanical name – a species of thePersicaria genus of the Polygonaceaefamily

Above is a sample of the edible smartweed found in Mao.

Above: A sample of Nepalese smartweed (which is also found in Mao areas although not used as an edible plant)

Mareiu

(Variant name in Mao language – Mareivu)

Mareiu is a wild species of the Fagopyrum genus of plants of which closest relatives include the Japanese buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum). Japanese buckwheat is cultivated for its seeds, calledkutti in Hindi.

Mareiu may be a variety of the perennial buckwheat (Fagopyrum cymosum) and may be specific to the Northeastern region of India. It grows in the wild and is considered an invasive weed. However, it is sometimes used as a food plant. 

Common name – perennial buckwheat;

Botanical name – Fagopyrum cymosum

Above: Sample of perennial buckwheat (Fagopyrum cymosum)

Cultivated for its seeds, Japanese buckwheat is not a cereal and has no relation to wheat despite the name. It is considered a pseudo cereal due to the use of its seeds.

Above: A flowering plant of Japanese buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum)

Oriiu

(Variant name in Mao language – Oriivu)

Regarded as a weed in many parts of the world, oriiu or white goosefoot is a common herbaceous plant as it grows well in fields and gardens without tending. Its leaves and stems are waxy-coated and have a dry starchy feel to the touch. In Asia, it is cultivated as a vegetable. Although it is not cultivated in Mao areas, it is harvested from the wild and eaten as a vegetable.

Common names – white goosefoot, lamb’s quarters, fat hen, wild spinach, bathua or bathuwa (Hindi);

Botanical name – Chenopodium album

Above: A sample of oriiu or white goosefoot

Tubophau

(Variant name in Mao language – Tubovu)
There are different varieties, especially slender amaranth (tubophau kati) and other taller and larger varieties of amaranth (tubophau kajii). Considered a garden weed in many cultures or source of nutritious food in others, amaranth propagates easily. We see it in our gardens, lawns, fields, everywhere. In some cultures, the large variety of amaranth is cultivated for its grains, or pseudo-grain as some consider it a seed, much like the Mao otsiih in appearance.   

Common names – slender amaranth, green amaranth;

Botanical name - Amaranthus viridis;

Above: Tubophau kati or slender amaranth (Amaranthus viridis)

Several larger and taller varieties of amaranth of different colours, from red to purple to green, are also edible.

Common name – various species commonly known as pigweeed;

Botanical name – various species of the Amaranthus genus, including A. cruentus, A. palmeri, A. hybridus, A. hypochondriacus, A. retroflexus

Above: Tubophau kajii or blood amaranth (Amaranthus cruentus)

Otsiih

Otsiih or wild sesame is cultivated in Mao areas mainly for its seed. Commonly confused as a variety of sesame or amaranth, it belongs to a different family of plants (Lamiaceae) than sesame and has basil as its close cousin. Although the use of leaves as an aromatic herb is common in other cultures, especially Japan and Korea, their use is not known in Mao cuisine, probably because the variety that is grown by Mao people is different from the Japanese shiso (Perilla frutescens var.crispa) which is known for its aromatic leaves.

The use of otsiih seed (otsiihtho), which is slightly bigger than a mustard seed, is an exception to the traditional lack of the use of oil seeds in Mao cuisine. It has a rich taste and nutty flavour. Used extensively as a roasted and ground paste in curries and other ready-to-eat food, it is most notably used in flavouring the Mao traditional bread (lire or lori, a flatbread made from unleavened glutinous rice dough). In making bread, the seed is roasted and ground which is then mixed with hot water to form a dark liquid paste in which the bread is dipped.

Common names – wild sesame, shiso (Japanese), deulkkae (Korean, from which the English translation ‘wild sesame’ comes), beefsteak plant, silam (Nepali);

Botanical name – Perilla frutescens

Above: Sample of shiso (Perilla frutescens var. japonica)

A variety of Perilla frutescens known as silam grown in Nepal, very close to the variety found in Mao area (above)

Napi

(Variant name in Mao language – Napio, Nipi)

Napi or basil, grown in Mao areas, are of two main types – the green Lemon basil with white flowers and the Asian or Thai basil with dark purplish stems and flowers, which is a variety of sweet basil. A wild variety akin to lemon basil with hardy stalk grows widely which is the traditional Mao basil.

Used as an aromatic herb, basil forms an important part of Mao cuisine.

Common names – lemon basil;

Botanical name – Ocimum citriodorum;

Above: Lemon basil

Common name – Thai basil, Asian basil, cinnamon basil;

Botanical name – Ocimum basilicum var. thyrsiflora

Picture above: Common Sweet basil (left) with Asian or Thai basil (right)

Hraikama

Used traditionally as a food, hraikama or dancing girl is endemic to North-east India and Myanmar.  In the last few decades, the plant has almost disappeared in the North-east region of India and is listed in the Red Data Sheet of Indian plants as being rare and an endangered species by the Botanical Survey of India. I think that one of the reasons for its near extinction was inherent in the practice of using its starchy roots or rhizome as a vegetable which destroys the plant known for its limited ability to propagate naturally.

Lying dormant for long period of the year which makes it difficult to locate in winter, it shoots out colourful flower buds and then leaves in summer. I remember one winter day, more than two decades back, digging the garden at several places trying to locate a hraikama for harvesting. It has deep cultural significance as a food plant and is traditionally associated with the Mao festival of Chiithunih.

For details about its near extinction, see: Pramod Tandon, Sudipta Shekhar D. Bhowmik, Ashiho A. Mao and Suman Kumaria (2007), “Rapid In Vitro Clonal Propagation of Mantisia spathulata Schult, A Rare and Endemic Plant of Northeastern India for Recovery”, Biotechnology, 6: 68-71.

(Web link: http://scialert.net/fulltext/?doi=biotech.2007.68.71)

Common name – dancing girl;

Botanical name – Mantisia spathulata syn. Globba spathulata

Above: A sample of hraikama or dancing girl (Mantisia spathulata)

Above: A conservation specimen of hraikama at The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

Liboshii

(Variant name in Mao language – Stabol)

Occurring in different varieties across the world, liboshii or passion fruit grown in Mao areas is of the purple variety and is a common site in gardens. In the last two decades, its cultivation as a commercial crop for extracting the fruit pulp to make or flavour fruit drinks has made it a widespread crop in the area.

The edulis species, especially the purple variety, of passion fruit is less acidic than other species and varieties. It has a rich flavour and aroma that makes it suitable for making fruit drinks and flavouring other fruit drinks as well. Its leaves though slightly bitter also carry an aromatic flavour and are widely used for culinary purpose by Mao people. Green shoots of the plant are especially relished as a prized vegetable.

Common names – passion fruit, purple granadilla;

Botanical name – Passiflora edulis

On the left: A vine of passion fruit in Mao

Harvested fruits of liboshii or passion fruit (above)

That’s the end of the series. I hope readers have enjoyed being informed of the herbs and plants used in Mao cuisine, including a variety of plants not familiar to them before. At my end, I have enjoyed the experience, looking for reliable information and browsing through web pages to collect correct representative picture of the plants that I personally know. There is much more to come; follow this BlogSpot.

Disclaimer: The pictures used in this Blog post are mostly obtained from the internet and are assumed to be in the public domain. They are used here strictly for non-commercial purposes. However, if there is any issue of copyright, it may be addressed to the author at eiferpiku@gmail.com