Blogs
Palak, methi, dhaniya, radish, peas, lettuce and tomato are the easiest winter vegetables for pots in North India, sown from the first week of October to mid-November. Greens manage in a 6 inch deep trough; carrot, peas and tomato want 12 inches or more. Feed mustard cake at sowing, 25 to 100 g by pot size, and add a pinch of wood ash at first flower only on a mix below pH 7.
USDA lists raw mung bean sprouts at 3.04 g of protein and 30 kcal per 100 g, against 23.86 g and 347 kcal for the dry bean. Sprouting does not destroy protein; it adds water. The USDA figure describes long commercial sprouts that are 90.4% water, so short-tailed Indian home sprouts carry more per 100 g. Weigh your dry moong and your sprouts once and the arithmetic gives your own number.
Mustard oil and coconut oil sit at opposite ends of the fat spectrum. Coconut oil is about 82 g saturated fat per 100 g on USDA's table, while a yellow mustard oil can carry 4.9 g saturated fat and 72.6 g of MUFA. For North Indian cooking and tadka mustard oil fits better; coconut oil belongs to coastal cooking. For hair and massage both are traditional choices, and scalp or skin tolerance decides more than the oil.
A potted rose in North India needs 6 to 8 hours of direct sun, a 12 to 16 inch pot and a hard prune between mid-September and the end of October. Feed 100 g of mustard cake per pot every 30 to 45 days from October to March, add under 10 g of wood ash at the flowering flush only on a mix below pH 7, and stop feeding through the April to June heat.
Soak 1 cup of whole green moong for 6 to 8 hours, pressure cook it with 3 cups of water for 4 to 5 whistles on medium heat, then pour over a tadka of cumin, hing, ginger, garlic and tomato cooked in mustard oil heated to a shimmer. The soak, the water ratio and the whistle count are set for whole moong with its skin on, which cooks slower than split dal.
A curry leaf plant in a pot needs full sun, a mix that drains, and feeding only while it grows, from March to October: about 100 g of mustard cake per 12 to 14 inch pot every 30 to 45 days. Pinch the tip at about 1 m to make it branch. In a North Indian winter it slows, yellows and drops leaves because growth suffers below 16 degrees; that is cold, not hunger, so let it rest.
