Raw mahua

One of the most sacred and charismatic trees of India, the mahua (Madhuca longifolia) is best-known for the intoxicating drink that its flowers yield. Its reputation precedes it, as the liquor (moha chi daaru, in Marathi), so much so that some state regulations prescribe a permitted limit for the amount of mahua flowers you can store at your home. "But daaru is just one of the things that you can make using mahua flowers," says Aparna Pallavi. In our ignorance, we ask the Nagpur-based wild foods researcher, what else can be prepared from these flowers. She says, "In my workshops, I have heard many people say, 'yeh poochho, mahua se kya nahin banta hai'."