Every family loves to grow the Indian Borage

Kitchen gardens have always been the fancy of every Indian family. In urban landscapes, concrete jungles might have swallowed the courtyards and the backyards. Green spaces are now a history in towns and cities. However, kitchen gardens continue to thrive in the rural areas. Almost every household grows a few plants that are useful in the kitchen and also for medicinal purpose. A variety of plants are grown in the backyards, near the window panes, near the kitchen sinks or on open terraces.

Coriander (Dhania), Indian Borage (Doddapatre), Mint (Pudina), Aloe Vera (Lolesara), Green Chillies (Menasinakayi), Basil (Tulsi), etc, are most popularly grown plants in the kitchen gardens. Broken jars, plastic mugs, old tumblers, leaking buckets, cracked utensils and plastic boxes, these containers of various shapes and sizes are put to use to cultivate these extremely useful plants.

The Indian Borage is found in every household. The leaves of this plant are useful for stomach ailments, like indigestion, constipation, gastric trouble and even skin irritations and allergies. The leaves of the plant are washed in clean water and crushed with salt and consumed raw. They are a quick recipe for any kind of stomach ailment.

As a first aid treatment, these leaves provide instant relief. The leaves of Indian Borage are also used in salads, chutneys and sambars. Whenever neighbours come seeking for leaves, seeds or barks of these medicinal plants, they get in generous quantities, especially in the villages.

In fact, an entire neighbourhood depends on the plants grown only in a few houses. The families that grow such plants always ensure that no help is turned away. In cities too, several families continue to grow plants in mud and plastic pots. They place them in the balconies or on terrace or near the windowpanes in kitchens.

These plants come in handy and can be cultivated easily without much hassles. They grow quickly and require very little water and maintenance. They can survive any weather conditions and are cheap to grow.