Jungli Lingdi Sabji

Lingdi - pron. Lingri - the edible fern..
.. is in full season at the moment - for the next few weeks the young shoots (picked before they unfurl and get tough) are in high season and many locals are seen up and down the roads with bundles of these prized vegetables / pickle ingredients.
We've gathered these on several occasions already - the stalks must be completely stripped of the brown protective hairs - revealing an asparagus spear of flavoursome loveliness. Yummy treats from the mountainsides - we found heaps on our walk to Kroll (Krow) today - sadly discovering upon arrival (are we there yet?) that four of the 7 or 8 houses of this remote village had all been destroyed by fire several years before. A beautiful traditional village that is slowly being rebuilt - but that will never regain the former majesty (the sheer amount of timber that went into these traditional houses means that they are irreplaceable in today's wood-scarce, tree smuggling climate)
Sad to see the heart of the former village, reduced to piles of ancient timber, some charred, discarded and slowly being reclaimed by swathes of Sativa.
Our transient sadness was however, fully mitigated by the feast of Lingdi Sabji that we enjoyed that night.