Mexican Amarillo chillies from Bangalore, vanilla pods from
Pollachi, and now, argentinian capers from a little village in tuticorin, about
95 km from Madurai. Enterprising produce suppliers across the country are
filling up our larders with locally grown exotica, and the latest addition -
little jars of organic capers in brine and sea salt is already inspiring menus
at restaurants in Mumbai and Kochi.
The
capers ‘ producers are on the right track, for Fiona Arakal of Ishka Farms
hopes to convert people already acquainted with imported capers, before moving
on to the first-timers.
Capers
are versatile and have antioxidant, anti inflammatory and anti ageing property.
Firm
and full of flavor when packed in sea salt, capers might need a through rinse,
before squeezing dry. That said, culinary enthusiasts insist that you use it as
you please.
Rs.340
onwards at ishkafarms.com
Kochi
residents Fiona and her husband Srikant Suryanarayan’s three year journey to
get the capers from farm to jar hasn’t been easy. “When Srikant purchased 365
acres of arid land in Ettayapuram, Tuticorin, there was not a tree in sight, forget birds
or bees. You’d expect the normal reaction to a mid life crisis to be to go out
and get a Ferrari or a girl friend!” jests Fiona. Their family business of
photography supplies was managed by an efficient team, she adds on a more
serious note, giving them the freedom to “rejig (their) lives and focus on
value addition not box selling”. Capers, an odd choice in a region that is
known to harvest sunflowers, black gram and chillies, was courtesy a chance
meeting between srikant and an Argentine farmer in St petersburg. Srikant then
travelled to large caper farms in Argentina and Mexico, before deciding on his
plan of action. “we wanted a crop that would produce right through the year,
would require less water and that was different from what everyone was growing
in India,” explains Fiona. The challenges were many, from amending the caper
plant import rule to finding a place for said plant to be quarantined.
Then
came the lessons in agriculture, finding farm hands, customizing drip
irrigation and a water management system for the capers, and driving 45 minutes
from the farm just to get a cell phone signal. Their decision to cultivate
moringa in the interim had great results. “Srikant is the ideas man, I am the
realist,” says Fiona, who has been marketing moringa powder over the last year,
together with recipes for moringa in bread or in mango curry.
