The punjabi sweet potato with fruity ambitions

Bibi-g (my nan) was a great believer in eating healthy food to fight illness. She wasn’t feeling well and asked me to buy her some sweet potatoes from the local grocer. Off I skipped with my childhood enthusiasm and a pound in my hand to pick out the best vegetable.

I came home and presented the prized potatoes. Much to my disappointment Bibi-g wasn’t at all impressed. She greeted me with some rather sharp words as I had bought the wrong thing. The mystery was finally solved when my mum arrived to translate.

What I had thought was the punjabi word for sweet potato was actually the word for plum. Potato is aloo in punjabi and plum is aloo-bakara which sound far too similar for my liking. I had thought bakara meant sweet. One thing I did learn that day was the punjabi word for sweet potato is sakargandhee.

Sometimes good intentions are lost in translation especially when you buy a vegetable instead of a fruit.

Neither a plum or a potato but a fancy bowl of oranges
Neither a plum or a potato but a fancy bowl of oranges

3 Comments

  1. Sakargandhee. Lovely name for sweet potato. Think I could called my child that?

    I’m having the most entertaining half hour catching up on these gems. Why am I missing them in my inbox?! Re-entering email..!

    Like

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