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Referred as Moongphali in Hindi, Verkadalai in Tamil, Verusenagapappu in Telugu, cinabadama in Bengali and as Arachis hypogaea botanically, groundnuts are in fact a hybrid between two wild species Arachis duranensis and Arachis ipaensis. Botanists believe that the initial hybrid would have been sterile, and a spontaneous chromosome doubling helped in restoring its fertility.
A native to South America and introduced to other tropical countries many centuries ago, peanuts though classified as a nut, are actually not ‘true nuts’ as it belongs to the family of legumes like soy, beans and lentils.
In India, groundnut plant is grown in many tropical states, including Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan. An erect, shrubby plant sporting high to short branches, it adds nitrogen to the soil aided by nitrogen-fixing bacteria, making it a soil-enriching crop. As it improves the fertility of the soil, groundnut is the first choice of crop for the farming community in our country, for ‘crop-rotation’ a process in which different types of crops are grown and harvested in the same area, in various seasons.
The stems of peanut plant bear compound leaves with two pairs of leaflets and flowers look golden yellow in colour with about 10 mm in length. Groundnuts, that ripen underground are developed through self-pollination into ovaries, take shape in oblong peanut pods, with rounded ends. Each pod would contain two to three seeds covered in a thin, brownish or whitish shell. The maturity of these pods depends upon the amount of calcium and other nutrients available in the soil.
The groundnuts that are available raw, boiled, soaked or roasted boast quite an impressive nutritional profile matching other tree nuts like almonds and walnuts, in taste, vitamins, protein and good fats.
Peanuts contain 13 different vitamins including A, B, C and E groups, 26 essential minerals like iron and calcium, zinc and boron. Low on salt, groundnuts also act as natural hunger suppressants as it is loaded with good fats.
Groundnuts have always been a staple in Indian kitchens in the form of oil, legumes, and nuts. Rich and flavourful groundnut chutney serves as an ideal accompaniment to piping dosas or idlis and for the children peanut butter spread on their bread and roti is that quintessential and favourite delight.
There is absolutely zero amount of cholesterol in peanuts. However, they are loaded with fats – only good fats – Monounsaturated and Polyunsaturated ones. In fact, more than 80% of these fats are heart healthy fats that are often found in avocados and olive oil, which are known to lower the risk of cardiovascular diseases.