Translated: harbara (hindi), gegra (rajasthani), hirva ola chana (marathi), pach kadle (kannada)

• This week we make a humble beginning with the green gram. It is abundantly grown and available all over India in the months of january, february, and the first weeks of march. The fresh pods are marketed with the plant itself. When the pods are ready for plucking to eat tender, they are uprooted, tied in bundles and sold in this form. A storehouse of proteins, vitamins and nutrition, they are a great product of nature.

• When matured, ripened and dried, they take the form of chana or chickpeas, and the split form is called chana dal or bengal gram. The tender gram can be eaten raw as is, or roasted. A favourite passtime is to roast them on the stems itself over a coal fire, or the pods over a fire in a pan. The seeds are then skinned and eaten (as in peanuts). A little moistened, tender gram when microwaved, give a wonderful taste to be eaten as is.

• One can freeze this gram too. Shell, clean gram, fill into clean freezer bags, seal and freeze. They will keep well in a deep freezer for 2-3 months. Thaw only how much is required, and not the whole quantity. Refreezing may spoil the colour and texture of the gram. Choose very good quality green tender gram, not yellowed, hard and overripe. These will become hard and tasteless on freezing.

• Even the new tender green leaves of the terminal stems, before the plant has started giving fruit, are used to make curry.

• Presently, in full season, this vegetable is available in abundance, especially regions like Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Northern Central India.