Groundnuts and oilseeds

मूंगफली और तिलहन पदार्थ

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In the mixed cropped fields of western Avadh, a number of oilseeds were cultivated. Sarson and laahi were grown in the winter crop, and were most commonly used for edible oil - even today, mustard oil is the preferred oil in this region, especially in winter. Alsi (flax) was also grown in winter and used for oil. In the kharif crop, til was used for oil as was kharif waali alsi or black alsi (niger) which was cultivated on the borders of fields. Mahua trees grew in the region, and their seeds were also used to make oil. Groundnut was introduced in the 1940s. It was particularly suited to sandy soils, and became popular in this region very quickly. Sitapur town became home to many oil mills, which transported groundnut oil and vanaspati across North India. However, the crop was not well supported by the Agricultural department, and groundnut farmers were devastated by disease in the 1980s. With the advent of irrigation and the opening of sugar mills, groundnut and other oilseeds were replaced by sugarcane, and groundnut production dropped rapidly. The consumption of groundnuts has also declined - this food, which was consumed by agricultural labourers while working or during winter when foodgrains were scarce, has now largely been replaced by biscuits and processed snacks. Now, the prevalent oil in the region, like the rest of India, is the packaged 'refined' oil, which is mostly palm oil. Whie til is still cultivated, it is treated as a commercial crop with very little retained for domestic use. Most families now consume til only during Sakat, a winter festival, where animals made of til are worshipped.



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पश्चिमी अवध के मिश्रित खेतों में रबी के समय सरसों और लाही लहराती नजर आती थी। पारंपरिक तौर पर किसान कई प्रकार के तिलहन उगाते थे, और उनका तेल गाँव के कोल्हू में निकलता था। रबी में अलसी, और खरीफ में तिल और काली अलसी भी किसान लगाते थे। महुआ के पेड़ इस इलाके में पाए जाते थे, और इसके बीज से भी तेल निकलता था। 1940 के दशक से अवध में मूँगफली की खेती शुरू हुई। अवध के भूड़ इलाके की बलूई रेतीली मिट्टी में पानी नहीं ठहरता, और यह मूंगफली के लिए उत्तम थी। मूंगफली का तेल वनस्पति (डालडा) बनाने में काम आने लगा और सीतापुर में कई तेल के कारखाने खुल गए। पूरे उत्तर भारत में यहाँ से तेल सप्लाई होता था। इस क्षेत्र में मूँगफली की सबसे पुरानी प्रजाति का नाम था ‘बेड़का’ जिसके बाद तेल की ज्यादा मात्रा देने वाली ‘ठड़िया’ प्रजाति गुजरात से लाई गई। 30-40 साल तक मूंगफली का बहुत उत्पादन हुआ, लेकिन फिर 1980 के दशक में कीट और बीमारी ने मूंगफली की खेती को बहुत नुकसान पहुँचाया। साथ ही हरित क्रांति के अंतर्गत सरकार ने गेहूं और गन्ने की तरफ किसानों का रुझान कर दिया - पानी के लिए ट्यूबवेल बन गए और सरकार ने गन्ने की मिलें खोल दी। इसके साथ ही वनस्पति बनाने में मूंगफली के तेल के प्रयोग पर प्रतिबंध लगा दिया गया, जिसकी वजह से मूंगफली के कारखाने धीरे-धीरे बंद होने लगे। मूंगफली अवध की मूल प्रजाति नहीं है, लेकिन यह अवध के खान-पान में घुल मिल गयी थी। सर्दियों में लोग इसे भूंजकर (भून कर) लइया (लाई) या गुड़ के साथ मिलाकर खाते थे। इसकी सब्जी भी बनती थी और इसको भिगोने के बाद, पीस कर, इसका दूध निकाला जाता था जिससे खीर भी बनती थी। लेकिन जबसे इसकी खेती खत्म हुई तबसे लोगों के भोजन से भी इसका रिश्ता टूट गया। मजदूर और गरीब परिवारों के लिए यह एक पौष्टिक आहार था, खासतौर पर कड़ाके की सर्दी में। लेकिन अब इसकी जगह पारले जी बिस्कुट और आलू के चिप्स ने ले ली है। 1990 के दशक में ‘साठा’ नामक प्रजाति गुजरात से अवध पहुंची, जो कम समय में पक जाती थी । आज भी यह सीमित क्षेत्र में पाई जाती है। लेकिन सीतापुर शहर के ठेलों पर जो मूंगफली मिलती है, वो दूर गुजरात से आती है। जो तेल लोग खाते हैं, वह विदेश से आयात किया पाम ऑयल है। यह ‘रिफाइंड’ के नाम से बिकता है, और सेहत के लिए बहुत हानिकारक है। अन्य सभी तिलहनों की खेती अवध में 2000 के दशक तक समाप्त हो गयी थी। तिल की खेती अभी भी होती है, लेकिन तिल को बाजार में बेच दिया जाता है। ऐतिहासिक रूप से इस पौष्टिक आहार को सर्दियों में बहुत खाते थे। तिल के तेल का प्रयोग गरमी में खासतौर से किया जाता था। लेकिन अब केवल सकट के त्योहार के समय लोग तिल के लड्डुओं का प्रयोग करते हैं।



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जानकारी जल्द आ रही है

Information Cards
Caste:
Geography:
Seasons:
Media Type:

Caste: Savarna

Geography: Sandy soils

"We made sabzi with groundnuts"

Caste: Savarna

Geography: Sandy soils

"Groundnut kheer was made by roasting the groundnuts, peeling and grinding them and then cooking with rice"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: Sandy soils

"Labourers were given groundnuts, salt and matchsticks so that they could roast them"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Groundnuts and Dal were shelled at home"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: Sandy soils

"A lot of groundnut was cultivated in the bhur region. Labourers would come from the matiyaar region to work in the groundnut fields"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: Sandy soils

"Then we passed Haivat with groundnuts"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Mustard, Til and niger were used to make oil. Niger was called Kharif waali alsi and grown in the monsoon."

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Even poor families were able to grow or purchase a few kilos of oilseeds and get them pressed for oil."

Caste: Savarna

Geography: All

"Black sesame was used in poojas"

Caste: Savarna

Geography: Sandy soils

"We had rooms filled with groundnuts. We would sell 500 kg of groundnut to buy kerosene and salt for the whole year"

Caste: Savarna

Geography: Sandy soils

"Rampal Singh became the Pradhan of Jaswantpur in 1982, then he still had desi groundnut in his fields"

Caste: All

Geography: Sandy soils

"The old, desi variety of groundnut was called bedka – those seeds have now disappeared. With this seed, production was low, but more oil was generated - it gave half its weight in oil. It was like an almond. It was a 5 month crop, from Ashaad to Agahan"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Alsi (flax) was planted with Chana for oil and fodder"

Caste: All

Geography: Sandy soils

"White girar attacked groundnut crops from 1982-86"

Caste: Dalit, OBC

Geography: All

"Pidva was made by roasting and grinding pearl millet, dry ginger, groundnut and sesame, mixing it with jaggery and rolling it into balls. The ingredients for pidva were roasted for 2 days at a stretch. Those who were making more got it roasted by a bhurji. Pidva could be stored for months"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Groundnut cultivation dropped due to sugarcane. Irrigation started the decline, but sugarcane finished it"

Caste: Savarna

Geography: Sandy soils

"The Thadiha variety of groundnut came from Gujarat – they were long and sweet"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Til is now grown as a commercial crop. We consume a little during Sakat, that's all."

Caste: Savarna

Geography: Sandy soils

"Some farmers have been buying hybrid groundnut seeds for the last 15 years from Sandila market and Madhavganj. These grow in 3 months and are slightly salty."

Caste: All

Geography: Sandy soils

"Now we get the saatha variety of groundnut seeds. They grow quickly, but barely give one-third of their weight in oil"

Caste: All

Geography: All

Agriculture data for Sitapur district obtained from Uttar Pradesh Department of Agriculture

Caste: All

Geography: All

Agriculture data for Sitapur district obtained from Uttar Pradesh Department of Agriculture

Caste: All

Geography: All

Agriculture data for Sitapur district obtained from Uttar Pradesh Department of Agriculture

Caste: All

Geography: All

Agriculture data for Sitapur district obtained from Uttar Pradesh Department of Agriculture

Time Line
1930

Vanaspati, officially termed Vegetable Oil Product (VOP), is a cooking fat made by the hydrogenation of edible oil. It became popular as a substitute for ghee, which was in short supply. Initially, vanaspati was made exclusively from screw-pressed groundnut oil, leading to a rapid growth in groundnut cultivation

1940s

Groundnut gained popularity in the bhur region as it was found to be suitable for sandy soils. The area under groundnut cultivation began to increase.

1947

Addition of 5% sesame oil to vanaspati as a marker was enforced

1950s

About 4 to 5 lakh maunds (15 to 18 thousand tonnes) of groundnut and mustard were brought to the Sitapur mandi (market) every year in the late 50s, according to the Sitapur Gazetteer. These were processed in about a dozen oil mills. The decortication (splitting) of groundnuts was also done in the town, with most decortication units attached to dal-splitting mills.

1960s

With the supply of groundnut and mustard oils not keeping up with demand for edible oil and vanaspati, other oils like cottonseed oil were approved for use in vanaspati. Groundnut oil remained the major component, however, in vanaspati

1970s

Over 35000 metric tonnes of groundnut were harvested each year in Sitapur district. This harvest, along with that in Hardoi district, was brought to the Sitapur mandi

1976

The shortage of ghee and edible oils in the Indian market led the government to ban the use of groundnut and mustard oils in vanaspati. Instead, imported palm oil was to be used. However, this led to a drop in demand for groundnut oil and negatively impacted Sitapur's groundnut economy

1980s

In the early 1980s, the groundnut crop was devastated due to red girar and white girar, fungal infestations. Other pests and diseases also impacted the crop

1990s

Til (sesame) was promoted by the Agriculture Department as a drought-resistant crop, and its cultivation as a cash crop subsequently increased