STRANGE DEVIL PODS; WHAT ARE THESE IN YOUR LANGUAGE

Melody Zekey

Well, in blog I bring you not the deadly bat shaped ninja weapons or little buffalos, but these are Water Caltrops or scientifically known as Trapa 菱角. The first time I saw them when I was doing online shopping for fruits, I was like are these creatures or what. They are probably some of the strangest nuts that I have ever seen. They look nothing close to edible to me. Looks way too dangerous to eat!

The water caltrop is any of three extant species of the genus Trapa: Trapa natans, Trapa bicornis and the endangered Trapa rossica. It is also known as buffalo nut which I quickly thought they were, bat nut, devil pod, yes, they look like devil horns, ling nut, mustache nut which my partner quickly picked, singhara nut or water chestnut.

However, these mysterious nuts from an aquatic plant similar to the water lily have been cultivated and eaten in different countries for centuries. The water caltrop even shows up as a motif in some Chinese folk stories. These luminous looking water caltrops come to season around the time of the Chinese Mid- Autumn Festival and are an important part of traditional festivities. These have been cultivated in China and the Indian subcontinent for the edible seeds for at least 3,000 years.

I didn’t know how to make them, so I had to look for a simple recipe.

Boiled Water Caltrop Recipe
(Prep time: Cook time: 30 mins)
Ingredients:
20 water caltrops
1 star anise
1 teaspoon salt
Directions:
Wash water caltrop. Fill small pot with enough water to generously cover nuts. When water is boiled, add star anise, salt and water caltrops. Let cook, half covered, over medium heat for 30 minutes. Add boiled water as needed if the water level gets low. Strain out of pot and let cool.
When water caltrop is cooled, you can crack them with your teeth (carefully!) or use a nutcracker and eat the white seed inside. Enjoy!
See you in my next blog. Thank you.