Potato is one of the most consumed crops, not only in India but worldwide. But, the success story of the potato is full of struggles. This inspirational journey of potato talks about how it became a successful personality in India after facing neglect worldwide. This journey will also be discussing the life-changing phase of potato after facing rejection in love from ladyfinger. Last but not the least, this inspiring tale will be telling about the unbreakable bond of friendship between Potato and Pisum Food Services Pvt. Ltd., which is one of the leading food exporters and potato exporters from India.
It is rightly said that the value of a true diamond can only be recognised by a jeweller. The same story goes with potato which got its recognition in India after facing rejection in the European Market. During the 17th century, Potato faced a lot of resistance for its distribution inside the European market due to which soldiers, explorers, traders and sailors from Europe introduced this crop to various countries of Asia Pacific region. Potato laid its foundation in India between the period of late 16th centuries and early 17 centuries with the widespread belief that it travelled inside India with the help of ships from Portugal.
The hills of Northern India were introduced to potatoes by Britishers. Evidence from history tells us that Karnataka and Surat were the states where potatoes enjoyed being a well-settled cultivation crop in early 1675. The Hills in Shimla was introduced to the cultivation of potato in 1828 closely followed by the introduction of the same in Nilgiri hills in 1830.
In India, Potato became an essential crop cultivated on the Indian plains and hills during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The cultivation and agriculture of potato in India got raised by approximately 850% during the period between 1960 to 2000. The reason behind the same was the growth of demand from urban populations in India having higher income at that time. The consumption per capita increased from 12 kilograms to 17 kilograms since 1990 per year.
At present, India serves as the 2nd largest producer of potatoes per year producing 48,605,000 metric tonnes of potatoes annually. The Indian climate suits numerous varieties of potato. During the hot season of summer followed by a short duration of winter, farming of potatoes is done on the Indo-Gangetic plain from October till March having a short winter during this period. Moreover, some areas of the south having relatively high altitude the production of potatoes is done throughout the year.
Speaking about the cultivation of potato in the Indian market right now, the leader-board is being topped by Uttar Pradesh producing 15323.55 thousand tonnes closely followed by West Bengal and Bihar having production of 13783.00 and 8101.41 thousand tonnes of potatoes respectively. The rest seven states producing the highest amount of potatoes order wise in the list of top 10 cultivators in India are Bihar, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Assam, Haryana, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh as per the data from late May 2020.
A long time ago, there was an incident. The potato was deeply in love with ladyfinger. So, one day potato finally decided to propose to ladyfinger. When the potato told the ladyfinger about the feelings, the ladyfinger was angry and replied, look at yourself before proposing to me, you are fat and ugly, look at me, I am slim and beautiful. After listening to this, the potato became very sad but decided to move on in life, rest is history. At present, the potato has a friendship with almost every vegetable and is consumed in combination mostly but look at ladyfinger, she is still consumed alone. So, the moral of the story is that never have an attitude about your beauty and never get disappointed because of rejections.
We can see that at present potatoes are being consumed with many vegetables in India including cauliflower, brinjal, cabbage, capsicum, tomato, peas, onion, and so on. Potato is being consumed like fast food and is used in various street foods in India including samosa, potato patties, chilli potato, honey potato, used as stuffing in Vada Pav and burgers, and so on. Not only in India, but the potato is also consumed worldwide and is used in one or the other tasty food dishes.
When it comes to consumption of potatoes in various ways in foreign countries, there are a variety of famous dishes made with the help of potato. For example, Ajiaco from Colombia, Aligot from France, Potato Pie from Trinidad and Tobago, Bangers and Mash from England, Boxty from Ireland, Clapshot from Scotland, Kapsalon from the Netherlands, Knish from Eastern Europe, Kugelis from Lithuania, Kyselo from the Czech Republic, Lefse from Norway, Massaman Curry from Thailand, Papa Rellena from Russia, Tortilla Espanola from Spain, Rosti from Switzerland, Salchipapas from Latin America, Gnocchi from Italy, Poutine from Canada, Gamja Jeon from South Korea, and many more. Wow! so many wonderful dishes ready to water the mouth with craving!
When it comes to the existence of potato globally, we cannot deny a ready to eat form of potato i.e. chips. Potato is highly consumed in the form of chips, every age group loves eating potatoes irrespective of being elder or younger and the best part is that it is available in various flavours. We don’t need to cook anything, just tear the packet and enjoy the delicious taste of potato chips.
Potato can be considered as a multitasker because in whatsoever dish it is added, it gives its essence and delicious taste to that dish. Potato can be used in different forms for various sorts of meals throughout the day because of its versatility. The amazing fact about the potato is that it is universal. If a country is doing well in the agriculture of potatoes then it contains the power to provide meals to the entire nation. In whatever class irrespective of poor or rich, potato is being consumed by everyone even if they can afford little quantity of it.
Seeing this amazing journey and potato’s ability to be agile and comfortable with so many dishes and vegetables, Pisum Food Services Pvt. Ltd. has joined hands with potato and now is one of the leading potato exporters from India. Pisum Food Services Pvt. Ltd. and potato are together on a mission for meeting the needs and demands of needy countries globally having less or no potato production, by providing them various varieties of potato from India such as Russet, Yukon Gold and Red Bliss, so on and so forth. Potato is one of the three major products exported by the company in many parts of the globe from India, making it one of the leading potato exporters from India. Pisum is catering to the needs of demanding countries by supplying them with the best quality potatoes. Besides, it is a legally certified food export company in India.
From the above journey, we can surely say that potato is a very essential crop in the sector of vegetables in India, providing income to many farmers. Due to this strong production of potatoes in India, this vegetable is not only consumed in India but also is being exported to various countries. Seeing the growth of potato agriculture in the Indian market and the way India became the second-largest producer of Potato providing income to many farmers, we can say that potato became a star in Bollywood of vegetables in India. By the above journey of potato inside India, we can conclude that the potato is getting the right recognition of its value inside India and the star is performing great and is now renowned all over the country.
So, this was the inspirational journey of the potato that became an all-rounder worldwide after facing rejections and neglections. I am sure the names of delicious dishes watered your mouth with cravings.