Cassis tora (Takla): The less known leafy vegetable – Also from Western Ghats – Sahyadri

(This is little botanical, just for reference: Botanical name: Senna tora, Synonyms: Cassia tora)

Welcome back again!! Thank you very much for response given to my three blog posts! I am encouraged to post more and will continue to do so.

Cassis tora (Takla)

So far what we read is about relatively famous, known to market fruits. Now, I am planning to introduce you to a leafy vegetable, which is for all practical reasons is less known. Whose availability in tender leaves stage is just for a week during the beginning of monsoon, its rainfed, grows on any soil, including even on non-humus soils. Tolerant to any soil type, any location, literally anywhere in our tropical, semi tropical and semi-arid zones and grows in wild. Sometimes it is described as weed also!

Yes. I am talking about a smaller, less known herb Cassia tora(Synonyms). A small erect annual plant grows up to 2 to 3 feet height, depending upon the soil nutrient levels. This plant grows in an abundance and looks like green mat covering the entire area... and when waves with rains and wind, it gives a mesmerizing effect.

This plant has very specific and distinct smell to stem.

Scientific Classification:

Kingdom: Plantae

Clade: Angiosperms

Clade: Eudicots

Clade: Rosids

Order: Fabales

Family: Fabaceae

Subfamily: Caesalpinioideae

Tribe: Cassieae

And this Annual Plant, belongs to same family of plants which has ornamental plants like Delonix regia (Gulmohar- flame tree), Cassia fistula(Golden Shower) and many more.. and this is interesting to know because, this describes botanically how these plants belong to the same family of plants due to various properties. 

The famous common names in various languages are as: Common (Indian) names:

English: Sickle pod, Hindi: Panwar, Chakunda, Sanskrit: Taga, Bengali and Oriya: Chakunda, Gujrati: Kawaria, Canarese: Gandutogache, Malyalam: Chakramandrakam, Marathi: Takala, Tamil: Chiru takarai, Telugu: Tagirise.

Cassis tora (Takla) - Leaves

The tender leaves of this are used as food. The common dishes prepared are dry and semi fried vegetables, patice. The one of famous fry vegetable is mixing these leaves with sprouted Field Beans (Marathi: Val) which tastes the Best! And this is famous dish from Konkan region (coastal belt) of Maharashtra, India. The leaves of this are also dried and preserved for use as vegetable in future. It is also reported that the tender leaves are also processed to develop ready to cook kind of leafy vegetable by few processors

It is also reported that this plant helps in improvising the bad or damaged soil by improving the levels of various nutrients in the soil.

We can easily find out the nutritional values of this fruit by visiting appropriate authentic sites so they are not produced below here again.

Apart from above usage, this plant and plant parts are used for many traditional and Ayurvedic medicines. The leaves and seeds are useful in (kushtha), ringworm, flatulence, colic, dyspepsia, constipation, cough, bronchitis, cardiac disorders. This makes things interesting as traditionally locals say, eat the vegetable of leaves at least twice, when available to help to clear your digestive system of worms. And see the beauty of our biodiversity, this plant grows within first spell of monsoon, where as many stomach diseases can spread due to water and this plant helps during this period!! This traditional knowledge needs to be explored in more details.

To the surprise, the volumes written titled as “Indian Medicinal Plants” by Kirtikar and Basu in the year 1918, about 102 years back, mentions about this plant and its usage as “Tender leaves are used as laxative in the form of decoction, both leaves and dry seeds Institute a valuable remedy in skin diseases.” It’s interesting to read out.  Even the ancient book on Ayurvedic medicines, Bhavprakash Nighantu in Sanskrit, describes this plant and its usefulness. 

This is described below. 

चक्रमर्दः प्रपुन्नाटो दद्रुघ्नो मेषलोचनः | पद्माटः स्यादेडगजश्चक्री पुन्नाट इत्यपि ||१८३||

चक्रमर्दो लघुः स्वादू रूक्षः पित्तानिलापहः | हृद्यो हिमः कफश्वासकुष्ठदद्रुकृमीन्हरेत् ||१८४||

हन्त्युष्णं तत्फलं कुष्ठकण्डूदद्रुविषानिलान् | गुल्मकासक्रिमिश्वासनाशनं कटुकं स्मृतम् ||१८५||

Cakramardaḥ prapunnō dadrughnō mēṣalōcanaḥ | padmāṭaḥ syādēḍagajaścakrī punnaṭa itithi || 183 ||

cakrardō laghuḥ svādu rukṣaḥ pittānilāpaḥḥ | hr̥dyō himaḥ kaphaśvāsakuṣṭhadadrukr̥minnarēt || 184 ||

hantyuṣṇaṁ tatvaphalaṁ kuṣṭhakannaduddrudrānilāṁ | gulmakāsakrimiśvāsanāśanaṁ kaṭukaṁ smr̥ti || 185 ||

The meaning of above is also very interesting.

This plant is known by various names like Chakramard(Cakramardaḥ), Prapunnat(prapunnō) and many others. This is small growing plant. The plant properties are helpful to reduce Tridosha (Tridōṣā- as described, brings health balance in human body when themselves are balanced, the Tridoshas as Vat, Cough, Pitta). The plant parts are useful for treating ring worms, worms in our digestive system, and many other traditional benefits, as per Ayurveda.

So, I am going to eat the fresh fry vegetable now, and going to enjoy the seasonal leafy veg from our backyard, growing wild … what about you? If its available, do check, this the time of the year to get tender leaves… and to enjoy the very different but palatable taste of the semi, half dry vegetable together with sprouted field beans, added if you like it.

(Source: various books and compilations, Images and video courtesy: Avinash Harad)