Food trends from time to tome seen to amaze and one such trend that is fast catching up is cooking with hemp seeds, leaves and more. High in fiber and also being rich in antioxidants, hemp is a product from a specific variety of cannabis the sativa plant. The best part being you can consume it either in its seed form or oil form, or even like processed into flour, incorporated it into dishes are a new rage.
Though using them in cooking is not new to India as hemp seeds and more were used to make chutney, namak and so on. Chef Pawan Bisht Corporate Chef and R&D Executive, One8commune By Virat Kohli says “Uttarakhand is house to super food and super ingredients like hemp seeds, madua(finger millet), jhangora (barnyard millet), bedu (wild Himalayan figs), bhatt (black soyabean), Jakhiya (wild mustard) etc and the list is almost endless. A delicious staple of Uttarakhand, bhang ka namak is as nutritious as it is mouth-watering. Prepared by hand-grinding hemp seeds with spices and condiments, it is the perfect companion for salads main dishes”.
The hemp industry in India is seeing a recent boom as the new bunch of entrepreneurs are fighting the odds and using this plant into creating many innovative products that are a great fit in the wellness zeitgeist. Taking it one notch higher is this café in Gurgaon Drinking Safari PitStop Gurugram run by Kama KM, an IHM Pusa Alumni where hemp rules the menu. Due to his love for cannabis lover, he has been exploring ways to consume it and also vouches about the health benefits of it. Now sells his product under the brand name The Big Bhaang Theory. Some of the few products that BBT sees are hemp seeds and hemp oil which can be used as salad dressing, drizzling on dip or even adding to your shakes. The inhouse pizza in the café sees a special condiment that has hemp which is served as a topping over your pizza, pasta, and salads. The café is also known for their fresh hemp seeds chutney and hemp pesto dressings. Chef Kunal also adds “The seeds are very nutritious and high in protein, magnesium, good fats, calcium iron and fights cholesterol build up. hemp seeds can be toasted and added to salads, pancakes, breads and so much more. the hemp oil can be used for cooking as well as for salad dressings. The entire cannabis plant is a rich & cheap source of fibre and this fibre is used to make clothes, bags, shoes and a lot of high end manufacturers use it to make inside good panels of the cars. Hemp fibre is also used to make sound proof material for interiors. Bhang Ki Chutney is easy, very tasty and safe to eat for all including children. In Uttarakhand it is eaten with main meal and some times just rolled with madua(ragi or finger millet) roti”.
Chef Kunal also adds “The seeds are very nutritious and high in protein, magnesium, good fats, calcium iron and fights cholesterol build up. Hemp seeds can be toasted and added to salads, pancakes, breads and so much more. the hemp oil can be used for cooking as well as for salad dressings. The entire cannabis plant is a rich & cheap source of fibre and this fibre is used to make clothes, bags, shoes and a lot of high end manufacturers use it to make inside good panels of the cars. Hemp fibre is also used to make sound proof material for interiors. Bhang Ki Chutney is easy, very tasty and safe to eat for all including children. In Uttarakhand it is eaten with main meal and some times just rolled with madua(ragi or finger millet) roti”.
With people braving the odds and entering the hemp market with new ideas, this trend of using hemp in different ways to cook is surely.
Here’s an exclusive recipe by Ravish Mishra, Executive Chef, The Westin Goa
Hemp Hurigadale Tambittu
INGREDIENTS
• Split chickpeas 1 cup
• Desiccated coconut (Dry) ½ cup
• Jaggery (Grated) ½ cup
• Clarified butter (Ghee) ½ cup
• Poppy seeds 1 tbsp.
• Cardamom 2 large pcs
• Hemp seed 20 Gms
• Dried Hemp leaves (Opt.) 5 Gms
PROCEDURE:
• Roast the chana dal until it exudes a sweet aroma.
• Grind the roasted dal along with the cardamom into a fine powder.
• Roast the poppy seeds until they splutter, giving out a nice aroma. Take care not to burn the seeds with overheating.
• Roast the dry desiccated coconut until crisp. Let it cool down a bit. And then grind it into a coarse powder.
• Heat the ghee in a thick pan.
• Stir in the Jaggery. Keep stirring on medium flame until the Jaggery dissolves, forming bubbles.
• Add the coarsely ground coconut, followed by the poppy seeds. Give it a quick stir.
• Finally, empty the powdered chana dal into the pan and put off the flame. Mix it thoroughly adding the roasted hemp seeds and dried hemp leaves. Add some extra ghee in case you feel the mixture is too dry. Take small portions of the mixture make the Tambittu or ladoos.
• Garnish well in rolled chopped flaky dry fruits and serve well with Thandai!