A wild food trail

Among the tribals of Bastar, monsoon months are known as Haduk. They are the lean months when the grains in the house are used up in sowing and the new harvest is yet to arrive.
It is a time to go creative with food, a time for trying out nutritious and tasty wild vegetables. The tribals believe in eating local, seasonal food. These are medicinal and provide strength.
In early July, the tribals pluck tender bamboo shoots after they grow up to one foot in height. Some also sell bamboo shoots. For the next few months, bamboo shoots become the staple food.
Slivers of bamboo shoots are dried and can be stored to be cooked later. Other food options become available in September.
Sour and Low on calorie
Aamat, a tangy soup made with bamboo shoots, is the only dish which has a detailed list of ingredients and preparation methods. Aamat also means sour in the local dialects.
The recipe is low in calorie and highly nutritious. Bamboo shoots are low in saturated fats, cholesterol and sodium and high in fibre, vitamin C, thiamine, vitamin B-6, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper, manganese, protein, vitamin e, riboflavin, niacin and iron.
Aamat can be easily altered to suit different palettes. The preparation is long and needs patience; accompaniments of rice and pej are optional.
Aamat when eaten hot, keeps cold cough, chest infection and other common ailments of the season at bay.In case of fever, it is effective in removing the bitter taste in the mouth as well, Netam added.
Traditionally, Aamat is boiled, but the younger generation, thanks to urban influence, prefers to add an oil seasoning or Tadka to make the soil tastier.
Proportions of ingredients can be altered according to the taste or depending in what is available in the region.
Hand me down recipe
AAMAT
Ingredients : bamboo shoots; black gram; drumstick; potato; brinjal; onion; beans; tamarind pulp; rice; ginger-garlic-green chilli paste; turmeric; salt.........NOTE: Avoid sticky vegetables like ladyfinger.  

Preparation : Soak black gram overnight. Peal and finely chop bamboo shoots and boil them till they get cooked in about four times the water. The bamboo should remain crisp, but not bitter. The boiling process also removes the poisonous substances in the shoots. Wash the shoots clean water and drain again. Soak the rice for a while, dry and grind it to a fine powder. Chop vegetables.

Method : Take a big pot of water. Add black gram, bamboo shoots chips, turmeric, salt and boil the water. When the black gram is half cooked, add the vegetables, beginning with slow cooking ones.
Add ginger-garlic-chilli paste and tamarind pulp to the mixture and stir till the vegetables are fully cooked. Let it boil for a minute on high flame. Stir the rice powder slowly till lumps get dissolved and the soup reaches the desired thickness. Serve it hot with rice or pej (rice soup), or by itself.