Food & Dining: Farm-to-Table For Indian Produce
Get farm-fresh desi produce like karela, tulsi, kantola, bhindi, and much more.
We’ve rounded up some amazing farms from around the country that offer just that—the farm-totable experience with Indian vegetables that remind one of home.
Kattula Family Farms, Gainesville, Georgia
This family-run farm offers whole plants for you to take home. Fruit plants and trees include java plum, Indian gooseberry (amla), jackfruit, guava as well as a variety of tulsi, neem and curry leaves. Also on offer are flowering plants like jasmine, marigold and chitti chamanthi.
Produce like bottle gourd, bitter gourd (karela), okra and dosakai are also available. If you have a green thumb, you can also buy seeds for any of these vegetables.
The farm ships across the country.
Gita Nagari Eco Farm and Sanctuary, Port Royal, Pennsylvania
Gita Nagari was founded on the ancient principle of ahimsa (nonviolence). This nonprofit is a USDA-certified slaughter-free dairy farm and has been around for more than 40 years.
It is run by a team of dedicated volunteers. The core belief here is to reduce carbon footprint with sustainable farming, and to let their cows live out a natural life, even after retirement. The farm houses dozens of Indian cow breeds that are coddled and pampered with care and nutrition.
[Right] If you have a green thumb, you can also buy seeds of bottle gourd, bitter gourd (karela), okra and dosakai at Kuttula Family Farms in Gainesville, Georgia
Currently, you can buy a variety of cheeses from what I imagine are the happiest cows in the country. You can also buy local raw honey. The farm is open for a host of other activities. It offers many educational programs, and even a yoga and meditation retreat.
They currently have a waiting list for their milk subscription.
Gopal Farm, New Paltz, New York
Want a subscription box of desi produce at your door every week? This farm will help you do it! The 90-acre farm focuses on growing heirloom Indian specialty vegetables, tropical fruits, spices and Ayurvedic herbs from seeds harvested in India. They take a holistic approach to their farming. Organic fruits and vegetables include banana flower, kakdi, Himalayan black radish, raw turmeric, coconuts and mangos.
They also produce ethical milk products sourced from a small herd of grass-fed dairy cows. Their raw milk is sold directly from the farm while products like yogurt and ghee are sold from their booth at Union Square Farmer’s Market.
Gopal Farm also runs a kids’ summer camp with activities like making ghee lamps, rakhis, rangolis, blockprinting, and more. Who says a farm can’t be fun?
[Left] Some of the produce from Gopal Farm (Photo: Courtesy Union Square Green Market)
Daisy Creek Farms, Galt, California
Jagmeet Singh is a self-proclaimed gardenerturned- Youtuber with a 20-acre farm. He goes by Jag on his YouTube channel that has nearly 640,000 subscribers. Every season, his farm opens for U-Pick (where you get to go in and pick your own produce from hundreds of different varieties of fruits and veggies!) Pickings include tomatoes, eggplants, chillies, okra, squash, and more. It’s worth a visit if you’re in the area. The farm also makes boxes with organic produce for pickup.
The best part about this farm is that Jag doesn’t keep all his knowledge to himself. On his YouTube channel, you’ll find hundreds of video tutorials like how to grow a ton of onions, how to build a cheap and easy tomato trellis, and how to get ten times the harvest by following three simple farming tips. I’ve been binge-watching his videos and I have to say, the man has a trick for everything.
RECIPE:
Farm Fresh Sweet Potatoes with Shishito Peppers
When you get your hands on farm-fresh veggies, the goal should be to let the ingredients shine and to keep them as whole as possible. Good, seasonal ingredients don’t need a lot of work. And that’s what I’ve found with this quick vegetable sauté—perfect as a brunch subzi or a side dish.
INGREDIENTS
• 2 to 3 medium-sized sweet potatoes, boiled and diced
Smaller sweet potatoes pack more flavor.
• 10 to 12 shishito peppers, whole
Shishito peppers are widely available at farmers markets. They are thin-skinned, wrinkly peppers that are not hot. They blister beautifully and are great on their own with a dip as an appetizer.
• A handful of white pearl onions, peeled and cut in halves
Pearl onions have a more delicate flavor and can be tossed in whole, or simply cut in half.
• Salt, red chili powder and chaat masala
• Dried fenugreek (methi)
• Wedge of lemon, to finish
METHOD
- Begin with a hot cast iron pan with a tbsp of olive oil. Add whole shishito peppers. You should hear them sizzle. Flip when one side looks blistered.
- Add pearl onions. They should cook fast.
- Once onions look translucent, add diced sweet potatoes. Let the veggies get good color in the cast iron pan.
- Season with salt, red chili powder and chaat masala to taste.
- Finish with dried fenugreek (methi) and a squeeze of lemon.
Keeping the dish this rustic and simple will let the ingredients shine on. It’s fall in a pan. Enjoy!
Henna Bakshi, formerly the host of “Around the World in $40,” a cooking show on CNN’s Headline News, is a seasoned food journalist and a certified wine expert. Currently, she is a Producer at HLN-CNN and can be reached at hennabakshi19@gmail.com.
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