Stems, peels and tops: using the whole vegetable

A weekly box of vegetables comes with a lot of parts that many kitchens throw away. Our grandmothers cooked most of them, and they are worth bringing back. Here are a few that our customers and team cook every week.

Beetroot and radish leaves can be cooked exactly like spinach. Chop them fine and make a poriyal with mustard seeds, urad dal, onion and grated coconut. Radish greens are slightly sharp, so a handful of moong dal softens them. Cauliflower and broccoli stalks, peeled and sliced thin, go straight into a kootu or a sambar.

Raw banana peel is a Kongu favourite. Scrape off the tough outer skin, chop the soft inner peel finely, boil it briefly and make a thogayal with roasted urad dal, red chillies, tamarind and a little coconut. It goes well with curd rice. Ridge gourd peel can be ground into a chutney the same way, and tastes nutty.

Coriander stems hold more flavour than the leaves; grind them into green chutney or a rasam paste. Pumpkin seeds can be washed, dried and roasted with salt for a snack. Whatever is left, such as onion skins and corn husks, goes back to our farms as compost if you return it in the box on Thursday. Last year customers sent back about 11 tonnes, which fed the soil on three of our farms.