Polpala is a leafy herb that grows across the tropical regions of Asia and Africa, and in Sri Lanka it has long been part of everyday cooking and Ayurvedic practice. Known botanically as Aerva lanata and in English as Mountain Knotgrass, the whole plant — stems, leaves, and flowers — is edible, with a mild, green character that suits a range of preparations. Lakpura sources superior-quality Sri Lankan Polpala and dehydrates it at low temperature under vacuum, a process designed to preserve the plant's colour, taste, and aroma as faithfully as possible.
To use, the dried plant is rehydrated by soaking in lukewarm water — between 30°C and 40°C — for around twenty to forty minutes before cooking or preparation. Once rehydrated, the leaves and tender stems can be stirred into soups, cooked as a leafy green in the way one might use spinach, or folded through a kola kanda-style porridge. The plant also works well in fresh salads after rehydration. In Ayurvedic tradition the herb is also prepared as a decoction or a simple herbal tea, drunk on its own or alongside other botanicals.
Polpala belongs to the Amaranthaceae family. It is an erect, perennial herb with white woolly shoots and small greenish-white flower spikes arranged along the stem. In Sri Lanka it is known in Sinhala as Polpala or Polkudu pala; in Sanskrit as Bhadra; in Tamil as Cerupulai or Tengappu keerei; and in Hindi as Chaya. Its roots in Ayurvedic practice are long-standing, though as with any herb used medicinally over time, Ayurvedic guidance cautions against very prolonged continuous use.
Each box contains 100g of dehydrated Polpala. The packaging is a woven natural-fibre basket box with a fitted lid — the body carries a zig-zag weave pattern, the lid a diamond-and-herringbone weave — and the whole is secured with a cream-coloured band. A front label with a QR code completes the presentation. The box is as much an object to keep as it is packaging for the herb, and it reflects the Lakpura approach of presenting Sri Lankan produce in a form that would travel well as a gift.
