05/06/2024
Thai ginger has been an inseparable part of our cuisine at Zillionth Bistro. We source the finest Thai ginger the city can offer.
A year ago, a kind neighbour Ashwini Atre gifted me a small tuber of Thai ginger from her friend's garden.
Without any expectations of a yield, I took help from my father-in-law Govind Mirikar to plant it in a regular pot on my balcony.
Fast forward one year, my father-in-law reminded me over the phone that the pot must have been ready for harvest. I will admit, I had forgotten about it, and to my surprise, it was ready to harvest.
As an urban girl with no farming experience but a keen interest in plants, I was clueless about how to harvest the crop.
That's when the legend Dr. Anand Karve and his daughter, the OG Dr. Priyadarshini Karve, came to my rescue. Through a few visits to their house and endless communication over phone and messages, they patiently guided me through the harvesting process, emphasising I do it myself and helping me to learn by reviewing daily photos of the crop for a week or more.
And here they areโwe harvested around 460 grams of Thai ginger from one pot.
Further knowledge from the Karves included tips on replanting and more.
We are now using this home-grown ginger at Zillionth Bistro.
Our chef prepared a soulful bowl of Laksa for me using the ginger for my supper.
I am inspired me to consider planting other ingredients like lemongrass, bamboo shoots, turmeric, kaffir lime, and Thai basil - all of what goes into our cuisine at Zillionth Bistro.
This marks the beginning of a new journeyโone where the vegetables and herbs served at Zillionth Bistro might soon come from our own backyard! Here's to the start of that journey of farm to fork.
