Manathakkali Keerai Poriyal:

The Botanical name of this plant is ‘Solanum nigrum’. Its a perennial plant grows in wild all over India. It is said that it originated from west Africa. Manathakkali is called ‘Black NightShade’/ ‘Night Shade Plant’ in English. In Hindi it is called ‘Makoy’. In Telugu its called ‘Kamanchi Chettu’.

Well…in Tamil colloquial way ‘Manithakkali’…which explains that the plant has minute sized berries! It is also known as ‘Sun Berry’ and ‘Wonder Cherry’.

An analysis of 100 grams of manathakkali leaves shows following results:

Moisture 82.1 %
Protein 5.9 %
Fat 1.0 %
Minerals 2.1 %
Carbohydrates 8.9 %

The minerals and vitamins include:

calcium
phosphorus
iron
riboflavin
niacin
vitamin C
Its calorific value is 68.

The plant and the fruit has toxic alkaloid solanine and saponin in them….upon feeding experiments on sheep for toxicity, however, showed negative results! So don’t worry about using wild greens in cooking….and also be specific in identifying right specimen!

Healing Power and Curative Properties:

Generally known for mouth and stomach ulcer in folks remedy. But it also dignifies a wide range of curative abilities towards, fever, stomach disorders, improve appetite, digestive disorders…as even laxative…body coolant. It is appreciated as cardiac tonic. It helps to remove catarrhal matter and phlegm from the bronchial tubes in asthma patients. The fruits of the plant can also be used beneficially in treating asthma.

So….I had a small plant back home…collected just fine and slender twigs for this recipe. To bring up the volume…used more grated coconut, after all coconut also alleviates from mouth ulcer!

Ingredients:

Greens of Manathakkali 1 bowl full
Grated coconut 1 cup
Salt
Chana dal 4 spoons
Urad dal 4 spoons
Dry red chilies 3-5
Mustard seeds 1/2 spoon
Sesame oil few spoons.

Method:

Wash and clean the greens along with its fine twigs. Chop them coarsely and set aside.

Heat oil in a wok. Add mustard, chana+urad dal, dry red chilies….wait till they pop.

Now add greens and salt. Cover and cook for 2 minutes. When the leaves wilt and reduces…turn them to high heat.

Stir-in grated coconut…fry for couple of minutes and remove from heat!

Enjoy with plain steamed rice.