'Bathua' - A Favorite Winter Food
"For bathua to get watered along with the wheat" is an old saying. This saying probably exists because bathua is a weed that grows along with other crops, especially with wheat and potato crops. When the wheat fields are watered, the bathua growing there also flourishes. Bathua, with its small green leaves, is found in several varieties and is commonly enjoyed by people in their diet as a green vegetable or 'saag'.
In Indian cuisine, bathua is a favorite winter food. Bathua raita, bathua parathas, bathua bhaji, and bathua saag are some of the beloved dishes on the Indian plate during winter, which everyone loves to eat with great relish.
According to Ayurveda, bathua is such a healthy green vegetable that it helps in keeping the body warm during the cold season. Being a green vegetable, it is rich in iron, vitamin A, calcium, phosphorus, and potassium. It is a powerhouse of vitamins A, C, and B, which not only increases the blood volume in the body but also keeps the body away from many diseases. People who have a deficiency of blood in their body should use bathua regularly because it is abundant in iron, which very quickly rectifies the blood deficiency. Besides, for maintaining black hair color, bathua is no less beneficial than amla (Indian gooseberry). In fact, the vitamins and mineral elements found in it are in much greater quantity than in amla, hence in terms of properties, bathua is considered as beneficial as amla. Therefore, as long as bathua saag is available in winter, it must be included in the diet in some form or another. It would be no exaggeration to say that bathua is not just an important but an essential food for winter.
Bathua strengthens the stomach and the digestive process. In addition, it has laxative properties, so those with constipation should use it plentifully. The consumption of bathua also provides relief from problems related to the urinary tract. Bathua should be used after boiling or by sautéing it with asafoetida and cumin with minimal spices. If possible, rock salt should be used instead of common salt. Eating raita made by adding boiled and mashed bathua to yogurt or buttermilk, tempered with asafoetida and cumin, keeps the digestion in good order during winters, the stomach feels light, and diseases like stomach worms, stones, indigestion, and gas are cured. Moreover, if the skin affected by ringworm, itching, boils, and pimples is cleaned with the boiled water of bathua, it provides great relief in all these skin diseases.
The taste of bathua is quite sweet and delicious on its own, but if you wish, you can also cook and eat it with spinach, green fenugreek, green mustard, amaranth, green chickpea greens, urad dal, chana dal, and potatoes. In addition, you can knead flour with boiled and ground bathua to make puris and parathas. Delicious fritters can also be made by finely chopping the green leaves of bathua and coating them in gram flour. This not only doubles its taste but also increases its nutritional value manifold, which provides warmth as well as energy to the body in winter.