Shuwanchal is a vegetable that is grown in Hunza and around Gilgit Baltistan from spring to late summers. It is a beautiful leafy vegetable with vibrant green color. Unlike vegetables like Hoi we do not dry this vegetable for winter season. It tastes best when it is stir fried with onion.

Shuwanchal looks similar to the wild edible vegetable Malva parviflora  which is a wild edible perennial herb but we grow this variety of vegetable from seeds. We harvest tender green stems with the leaves because they tastes best when harvest tender else they stems becomes stringy. The whole vegetable is edible except for its roots. The best shuwanchal cooking recipe is to stir fry them with sliced onions and seasoning it with salt.  We wash the vegetable thoroughly shake off any access water, let it sit for some time so that the water dries out and then it is roughly chopped.

Note: When we chop the vegetable right away after washing they become slimy like okra vegetable

Cooking Shuwanchal /Malva parviflora :

Roughly chopp the fresh harvested shuwamchal vegetable.

Add  oil to a pan, when the oil heats up add  the vegetable and stir fry it. The green color of vegetable becomes darker and stems softens.

Add the sliced onions and stir till the onions become translucent and the slimy liquid like that of Okra vegetable disappears.

Season the vegetable with salt. If you like you can also add chilis

Serving:

We serve it while it is still hot with Khamali . A glass of cold lassi goes best with this dish. In some areas of Gilgit Baltistan it is served with fresh butter.