Good health powered by food

There is nothing like good food that could draw the attention of a Kozhikode native. The midday meal offered by Green View, an organisation of organic farmers, is a novel experience for the new generation, while it takes the seniors on a journey down memory lane.

At Green View’s stall on the DTPC office premises here one gets traditional healthy food that used to be a part of our diet just a few decades ago. Here you get the double boiled (matta) rice with curries such as kaalan or sambhar, dry items (upperi and thoran) made of leaves of thazhuthama, cheera (spinach), yam, colocasia, bitter gourd or pumpkin. Pickles with no oil or vinegar and payasam using traditional cereals are on the menu. ‘Kanhi vellam’ is served instead of water. In the mornings, steamed tapioca is served with green chilli chutney.

“Every day we have one upperi, one curry, a dry item, and a payasam. The rice is served until the guest says ‘enough’. Rasam and buttermilk curry are also provided,” said M.P. Rejul Kumar, president of Green View. Meals for 100 people are prepared daily. The charge is Rs.40 a head.

All ingredients are obtained from organic farmers. “A person who had food from here came back the next day with two jackfruits. Another person supplies thazhuthama daily,” he added.

Green View also has Oushadha Kanhi (medicinal gruel), that is served during the month of Karkkidakam for better health. It is prepared using 64 varieties of herbs with a mix of cereals and pulses in coconut milk and served from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. and in the evenings for those on Ramzan fast.

The stall started functioning on the first day of Karkidakam and will go on till the first day of Chingam when a get-together of all those who had had food from here is planned. Feedback will be taken and they will be urged to follow the same diet daily. The aim is to promote healthy living through good food.