Seek And Ye Shall Find...Purslane

Common Purslane with Yellow Flowers | Kulfa | Portulaca oleracea

For the longest time, this plant's name evaded me. It was one of the 27 varieties of flower seeds I had germinated back in March last year. But it didn't match the look of any of the floral plants I had on the list. I tried Google Image Search and got nowhere. Thought of asking Reddit but never got around to it. 

It was one of the fastest to grow amongst the few thriving. It spread its seeds to all the nearby pots, making me have to pull out so many of its saplings for months on end. So much wastage! Had I only realized that this is a plant I've actually eaten before, not once, but many times. I've even plucked the leaves and cooked them. Goes to show how little we observe with a keen eye. I couldn't help but wonder... how much about our surroundings escapes us? 

Turns out, this plant is called Purslane, also known as Kulfa in the local lingo down south. Kulfa Gosht is a regular dish at our table when it's available. It must have been mixed up in the seeds starter pack I'd ordered online. It wasn't on the list, and since it's a fast-growing weed, it's kind of irresponsible of the retail outlet to ship it to unsuspecting customers without so much as a warning about mislabeled seeds and nasty weedy surprises. 

Common Purslane Seedlings | Kulfa | Portulaca oleracea Saplings

This plant is known by various names like Pigweed, Little Hogweed, Fat Weed, Pusley, Luni Bhaji, or Kulfa. Its scientific name is Portulaca oleracea. Portulaca Grandiflora was on the list of the floral plants I grew and was the first to bloom. It's possible that two mislabeled packs of Portulaca were included in the pack, and that's how I ended up with so much Kulfi! Bilingual pun alert! Kulfi is an ice-cream like frozen dessert that's messy to eat as it melts quickly. 

Besides letting the seeds touch the soil, there's not much to growing Purslane. They self-propagate, grow well in extreme heat, and withstand frequent drought-like situations. Mine had yellow flowers - Common Purslane, with tiny black seeds that kept dropping everywhere and sprouting into new saplings by the week. I was tired of keeping the other pots free of their invasive presence, so I scooted out the main plant, along with the roots, and threw it away. But the plant wasn't done with me yet. No Sir! It wasn't! I let that particular pot dry for a few months to reuse it for other plants. But, once the monsoons season set in, the pot started getting watered frequently, and the next thing you know, it's full of Purslane seedlings. 

Something made me not throw the pot away. So, here it is today when I came across this Reddit post in the gardening forum asking to identify the plant in the picture. It's Jade Plant, according to the answers. Curiously, when I googled Jade Plant and switched to images, there it was, a picture of another plant that looked suspiciously like the one I'd been struggling to identify...Purslane! 

Not only does Purslane or Kulfa make for a delicious Bhaji, but it's also rich in vitamin A, vitamin C, and omega-3 fatty acids. You can read more about the health benefits of Purslane on Webmd. Supposedly, it's one of the most nutritious wild edible plants. And you can eat it raw once you wash it thoroughly and add it to salads for its sour flavor. And just like that, I now have an inexhaustible source of Kulfa I can tap into every other week for a delicious meal of Kulfa Gosht! You can replace the mutton with chicken, and it still tastes terrific. 

What's more, it's grown organically, free of harmful fertilizers, and fresh off the soil! Google tells me that the stem and flowers are also edible, in addition to the leaves. Talk about blessings in disguise! Hurray!