Longhada(Fiddleheads)

Mountains

Longhada(Fiddleheads):

A shy but highly nutritious wild mountain fern, it’s difficult to find unless you are a local. The cooked vegetable in your plate makes it a meal fit for kings.

On a usual light and shadow misty mountain day, we walked into a small cottage with Amber corn drying on the roof and a rainbow shot garden patch surrounding it. The warmth of the wood Chulha was welcome if smoky. A plateful of curled, tender fiddleheads had been collected from the mountain sides by the children. The lady of the house, throwing some oil in the cooking pan with 1-2 mountain chillies, some salt, turmeric and the chopped fiddleheads, covered it for a short while and served it on our plates.                                                            
It must have been the most delicious meal that I have eaten.

In Haridwar, we are able to buy it in the market since the mountain people bring it by evening to the market. Our ashram people cook it in the same way. It’s a very high Prana food and the day we eat it, feel highly energetic.

Uses:

     a)  Fiddleheads have high content of potassium and low content of sodium. Contributes to maintaining a healthy blood pressure.

  b)  Helps the body create new healthy red blood cells.

   c)  Rich in vitamin A, fiddlehead ferns also protect your eyes from macular degeneration as you age.

Anti-oxidant, anti- inflammatory, helps in weight loss and high energy food.