In a land far, far away, a woman set about ploughing her backyard. As did her neighbours. While the latter used watering cans and trowels to grow beautiful flowers, the woman used a shovel and hose to grow vegetables. Her daughter, mesmerised by the sweet fragrance of buds, believed that vegetables were ugly. When harvest time came, their garden yielded lots of ugly produce. The mother picked up a few crooked veggies and churned them into a flavourful broth, the aroma of which got the neighbours out on their porches, wanting to literally eat off that smell.

This is a scene from children’s author Grace Lin’s book titled The Ugly Vegetables. In reality, most of us are like the little girl mentioned in the story. “We get so fascinated by the waxy, smooth appearance of vegetables such as brinjals, shiny bell peppers and sweet-smelling corn, that we neglect underdogs such as jackfruits, white asparagus, turnip and other vegetables that don’t look so presentable,” says Chef Sameer Dighe from Sahara Star, Mumbai. Dhige believes that the phrase ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’, applies aptly to ugly vegetables that need to be given a second chance to make an impression on us.

According to Chef Anuj Agarwal from Canvas, “One will never learn how to appreciate ugly veggies, unless one cooks with them.” He points out that ingredients such as lotus root, that may not look so pretty on the outside, reveal a flamboyant inside when cut. It is rich in proteins as well. “When lotus root is extracted from the pond, it is covered in muck, but when it is cleaned and cut, a beautifully punctured pattern is revealed underneath. The ingredient works well with most cuisines, especially Kashmiri and Asian,” says Agarwal. To help you get started, here are some pretty things you can make with these five not-so-pretty veggies.

Lotus Root as Nadru palak
Ingredients
100g fried lotus root, fried
100g spinach puree
½ cup oil
10g ginger-garlic, chopped
3 chillies
5g butter
10 ml cream
Salt to taste