Hemp is the newest Indian superfood in restaurants and cafés across the country

In November 2021, FSSAI approved the use of hemp seeds in limited quantities in food and beverages

As a keen observer of popular culture — and more pertinently, the myriad superfood trends that emerge from there with alarming ferocity — I’ve always found the whole appropriation bid both amusing and sad. 

Amusing, because we always seem to need such ostensibly “new age Western fads” to take us back to our intrinsic traditional knowledge. Sad, because of our rather desperate desire to have something we’ve known all along validated, repackaged and then, ultimately shoved down our gullible throats!

It first happened with yoga by way of the Western boomer generation of the 70s. Now, millennials and Gen Z seem to have a whole other social media-fuelled agenda of their own — this time, to reintroduce us to our very own  ashwagandha and  haldi doodh. (The latter bearing hip, new names of ‘golden latte’ and even ‘moon brew’, if you may.) But there’s another such superfood that’s slowly inching forward. Never mind the fact that it has existed in our midst for millennia. 9,000 years, to be precise. And that’s hemp. Known to you and me as  bhang.

But this is not the same  bhang you’re probably thinking about with Holi benders at the forefront. Though both marijuana and hemp are varieties of the cannabis plant, hemp, also known as cannabis sativa, is not an intoxicant. Unlike marijuana, hemp contains low levels of the psychoactive tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and higher concentrations of cannabidiol (CBD), which mitigates any psychotropic impact.

And this is why in November 2021, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) approved the use of hemp seeds in limited quantities in food (5 mg THC per kg) and beverages (0.2 mg THC per kg). This move came about not just to promote a sustainable plant-based diet, but also to highlight the other benefits of consuming hemp.

“This is precisely why I have been using both hemp oil and hemp hearts (which is the inside of the seed) to crust fish and lamb for a while now. The hearts have a mild, nutty taste and texture similar to cashewnut. Hemp is also one of the healthiest superfoods we have today,” says chef Vicky Ratnani. Ironically, he was first introduced to hemp in the kitchen in Canada years ago while filming his food show there. The latest addition to his Mumbai-based cloud kitchen Speak Burgers’ menu is a hemp seed and quinoa iteration, that he says will be out soon.

Rich in protein, fibre, and fatty acids, including omega 3, 6 and 9, hemp has several antioxidant effects and may reduce symptoms of numerous ailments, improving the health of the heart, skin joints and even helping mitigate depression and anxiety.