Mild winter brings down quality of ponk

Mild winter brings down quality of ponk

Ponk loses its characteristic softness under unsuitable weather conditions

Devanshi Joshi. Vadodara/DNA

Monday, December 22, 2008

Ponk lovers in the city are facing a dearth of their winter staple. Experts say extreme cold weather lends ponk (sorghum) its characteristic softness and milky sweetness. This years off-season rainfall and mild winter, they explain, have affected the crop.

Sarfaraz Vora, who cultivates juvar and runs a ponk centre in the city, said: “This year insufficient cold has adversely affected the juvar crop and, subsequently, the quality of ponk. At our farm, we grow juvar step by step to get fresh ponk, but it requires temperatures to go much lower than they have this year. Most ponk eaters have realised this, and have stopped returning to stalls after one visit.”

Anuj Shaha loves ponk and even hosts an annual ponk party. “Since our juvar crop has not been as soft as usual, the ponk would not taste as good. So, we have decided to give up our annual party this year.”

While ponk centres in the city continue to serve the item in various forms such as ponk Manchurian, ponk noodles and ponk soup, food joints that specialise in ponk admit business has fallen this year.

The owner of one such ponk centre, Girish Patel, said, “Usually, December is the height of ponk season, but this year, it is difficult to believe that winter has even started. Ponk prices are usually around Rs300 per kg when the season begins, and fall to Rs250 per kg as the season end. This year, there have been no major variation in prices, but the quality has fallen due to unsuitable climatic conditions.”

Agriculturists blame the weather for the slide in ponk quality. According to agriculturist Ramesh Pandey, “In addition to the usually mild weather, off-season rainfall has affected a number of crops, including juvar. Global warming disturbed the environmental cycle, which has affected crop development. With ponk, it is important that the crop is handled carefully, since it loses its taste if the weather is not very cold.”

Farmer Mathurbhai explains the method of growing juvar. “Juvar is a high-maintenance crop, especially if one is to make ponk. It needs to be grown in stages and it is important to select only the soft juvar get good ponk, which only happens if the weather is very cold.”