This is a blog I've been enjoying for quite a while - those of you who watched this year's Masterchef will recognise it's author, Alex, as one of the three finalists.

Anyway, in his latest post he uses nettles in an Indian dish, combining them with potatoes.

A great idea instead of the various different green leaves used most commonly in India!

http://justcookit.blogspot.com/2010/04/two-more-ways-with-nettles.html

Enjoy!

I use nettles in my cooking all of the time, they're delicious. I make nettle soup with potatoes and lashings of freshly ground green pepper.

It's funny that you should mention this because only yesterday I was thinking about using some nettles in an Indian dish.

I can't see any reason why it wouldn't work at all!! I'm going to give it a try..

In the part of India where I come from, it is called Bichcho Booti, literally translated it means 'Scorpion Herb'. I have never eaten it in India, but I believe it is used much as spinach.

I have had stinging nettle soup and very tender leaves in salad in Nova Scotia, when we went there years ago. It was very like spinach as I remember it.

My worry will be picking it! But why not! I eat 'lambsquarter', which grows wild all over the world, including UK and even Russia. I have a few recipes on site. I am sure netteles will work just as well.

Many years ago as a child in Yorkshire my Tuesday job was to go into our large garden and pick the nettles needed for the evening meal (part of the garden was used for growing nettles only)

Was always had the same meal that day - cold meat from Sunday cooked with vegetables (stew) along with lots of nettles.

I used my Dads motorbike gloves to pick them and then plunged the nettles into cold water where they would loose their "sting" then stripped them from the stems and into the pan.

Have also chopped them up and used in veggie burgers but must try them as a veg.

I would love to try nettles sometimes. Idea of wild picked food fascinates me.

On that vein, I have a lot of Lambsquarter growing wild this year; http://teacherweb.esu1.org/ethnobotany/picture$494 I am looking forward to my bathua raita/paratha etc. I am carefully saving all new plants.

I haven't had much luck with pigsweed (amaranth) or chaulai/chowlai so far this year. It is grown in India for its leaves that are used as a vegetable, as well as it's highly nutritious seeds. I wonder if anyone sells seeds for it? You can sometimes buy its leaves in Indian stores.

I've just made Sambhar soup and I used lots and lots of fresh nettle leaves and stems, carrots, potatoes, whole chillies, onion, fresh tomatoes and whole pan roasted garlic cloves... It was delicious too!

I used half urid dal and half toor dal. Does it matter what lentils you use to make sambhar, or can you use any? I prefer to mix urid dal with some other lentil because I'm not too struck on it by itself. I'm now using whole urid for sprouting. I currently have some mung, urid and fenugreek bean sprouts. I think I will try this tomorrow: Sprouted Chickpeas or Other Beans Stir-Fried

Whoops!! Here is the link again.

Sprouted Chickpeas or Other Beans Stir-Fried