Ravi Prakash Maurya, a farmer in Uttar Pradesh is cultivating ‘black plants’ — rice, wheat, tomato, niger seeds, turmeric and potato — all with something in commonplace, their color and presence of antioxidants. This is why he is selling black potatoes throughout India.
Ravi Prakash Maurya, 40, has change into a ‘black potato champion’ of varieties. A journalist through occupation, Maurya has been rising the vegetable for 5 years now and selling it amongst different farmers unfold throughout 15 states in India.
Following the dying of his father, Maurya returned to Mansoorpur, his village in Prayagraj and took to farming in 2016. He has been rising what he calls the ‘black plants’ — rice, wheat, tomato, niger seeds, turmeric and ginger and potato — all with something in commonplace, their black color.
Having sourced the spuds from a farmer in Rae Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, Maurya says he began rising black potatoes because of their top focus of antioxidants really useful for excellent well being.
In the community referred to as ‘Kaala Aaloo’ (black potato) through the growers, it’s some distance from that and is darkish red which is published as soon as the spud is sliced into two. To know extra about this vegetable, let’s dive additional into its background.
The place does the black potato come from?
Grown through some 50-odd farmers within the potato-growing belt of Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, black potatoes haven’t begun to make their presence identified within the APMCs (Agricultural Produce Marketplace Committees). These kind of greens are grown to be offered simply as seed subject material.
“A kilo of tubers yields round 15 kg of potato,” explains Maurya. Grown with farm backyard manure, he spends round Rs 6,000 on inputs and harvests just about 90 quintals consistent with bigha, which is rather not up to common potatoes.
Like different individuals of the potato circle of relatives (Solanum tuberosum), they arrive from a tuber plant local to the Andes Mountains area in South The united states and are characterized through their unique blue-purple-black outer pores and skin. The interior flesh of this vegetable is a smart red, which stays intact even after cooking.
Grown internationally, it may be known with other names just like the Shetland Black, Pink Peruvian, Pink Majesty, All Blue, Congo, Adirondack Blue, Pink Fiesta, and Vitelotte.
How does the black potato style?
“They have got a denser texture and are rather nuttier than the standard white potatoes,” explains Maurya. Anand Mani Bhat (44) of Bhimtal village in Nainital, who took to rising black potatoes in 2021, concurs with Maurya, including, “They have got an apparently earthier flavour than the standard.”
Ever since Atul Singh of Jhansi used to be given a handful of black potatoes through Maurya about two years in the past to check out them out, he has been in quest of them on every occasion they come out there.
The 35-year-old dealer of agricultural merchandise on-line says, “It’s reasonably small in comparison to the common potatoes which now we have been the use of. When sliced open, it finds a red ring close to the brink. I in finding it appropriate for roasting, baking or steaming and feature regularly made chips from it which is highest for its candy and buttery flavour and light-weight, floury texture.”
Dietary price of the black potatoes
Main scientist on the Modipuram-based ICAR-Central Potato Analysis Institute, Regional Station, Dr Satish Kumar Luthra provides, “Darkish red or red-skinned potatoes with red or pink flesh possess upper dietary values than white-skinned potatoes.”
Dr Luthra may be credited with creating the Kufri Neelkanth potato selection.
In vegatables and fruits, red incessantly signifies the presence of vitamins known as anthocyanins. Like different phytonutrients, your frame doesn’t want them to serve as, however they do lend a hand offer protection to your cells from harm that may end up in sickness and illness.
“Those potatoes are more than likely wealthy in anthocyanins, imparting a deep red color. A category of flavonoids, anthocyanins are identified to have a number of well being advantages,” says Dr Pradeep Singh Negi, Leader Scientist, Fruit and Vegetable Era Division at Mysore-based CSIR-Central Meals Technological Analysis Institute.
“Having hues from blue to pink, anthocyanins are water-soluble and are used as meals colourant as smartly,” he provides.
Whilst all potato sorts have an effect on blood sugar ranges as a result of their carbohydrate content material, black potatoes might exert much less of an impact than different varieties because of their top focus of polyphenol plant compounds.
But even so anthocyanins, they’ve 2-Thrice the overall antioxidants of a standard white potato, which is loaded with potassium, magnesium, nutrition C, and fibre. Culmination comparable to jamun, blueberries, and blackberries are wealthy in anthocyanins.
The glycemic index (GI) measures the level to which meals raises your blood sugar. It levels from 0 to 100, and a GI more than 70 is regarded as top. A comparability find out about in people discovered that black potatoes have a GI of 77, yellow potatoes have a GI of 81, and white potatoes have a GI of 93.
How well-liked is it?
Being a brand new selection, maximum farmers are nonetheless experimenting with it.
“The farmers order between 3-5 kg of seeds. They preserve portions of the harvest for themselves and the remainder to promote as tubers or seeds,” says Maurya. “That’s the principle explanation why one doesn’t see it within the markets or retail outlets.”
Ever since Abhishek Shrivastava, president of the Agri Junction — an initiative of the Uttar Pradesh executive with 4,000 shops around the state — publish a video on Youtube in March 2020 concerning the black potatoes, he has been flooded with requests for those tubers.
Up to now, they’ve equipped a complete of three,000 kg of those to farmers in Bihar, Punjab, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.
“By means of early 2025, we can confidently see black potatoes arriving out there,” says Shrivastava.
Maurya, too, has been flooded with orders for the tubers and has, thus far, equipped it to greater than 500 plus farmers around the nation. He even experimented and made potato chips and papad at house from the vegetable. “They could also be darkish in color however are very tasty,” he provides.
Ramgopal Chandel of Barsawan village has been rising black potatoes on one bigha land for greater than a decade now. Having spent Rs 5,000 to Rs 6,000 on inputs, he says, “I am getting round 80 quintals consistent with bigha, which is rather not up to the common ones. However this potato ratings smartly as its shelf lifestyles is longer.”
If you need to check out out this vegetable to your lawn or kitchen, you’ll touch Ravi Prakash Maurya at 9026253336.
Edited through Padmashree Pande.