MOUSSAKA RECIPE

This is a traditional dish claimed by both the Greeks and the Turks. Whatever its origins, it’s well worth the effort you have to put in to making it. Like our Pastitsio recipe it takes a while to prepare and then ¾ of an hour in a preheated medium oven.
If you’re not a fan of aubergines (eggplants) you can substitute them with courgettes (zucchini), and if you are a vegetarian you can use both and leave out the meat. You just need to fry the courgettes lightly so that they start to become translucent.
Because the sauce is rather like a soufflé, you need to put the whole thing in a greased oven proof dish which has a lot of room at the top (leave 3 inches to be on the safe side) as the sauce will rise like a soufflé. You can omit the eggs if you’d prefer, and just settle for a cheese sauce.

Ingredients
300 gr minced beef
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 or 4 cloves garlic
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 tsp oregano (dried)
2 tsps Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp flour
oil
1 large aubergine, sliced, salted, washed thoroughly and dried
4-5 tomatoes, sliced
3-4 medium sized potatoes
50 gr butter
50 gr plain flour
250 gr grated cheese (cheddar for flavour)
750 ml milk
2 eggs separated and whites whisked to stiff peaks
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.



Method
Heat some oil in a frying pan and fry the onions and garlic until the onions start to turn translucent, then add the minced beef, and fry until it is cooked. Add a tbsp flour and the tomato puree to soak up the fatty juices, stirring well. Then add the oregano and Worcestershire sauce.
Remove from the heat and put in the oven proof dish you have greased.
Now add more oil to the frying pan and fry the aubergines, for about 5-10 mins. While you are doing this, place a layer of tomato slices over the meat mixture.
When the slices of aubergine are cooked, remove from the pan and get rid of the excess oil by drying them on absorbent paper. Then layer them over the tomatoes.
Fry the potato slices for about 10 mins, 5 mins for each side, dry as you did the aubergines and put them over the aubergine layer.
You can now make the cheese sauce.
Melt the butter over a low heat, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the flour so that it becomes a smooth paste. Slowly pour in a little milk and stir. Now put the pan back on the low heat, and add the milk gradually, stirring all the while so that it doesn’t become lumpy. Bring to the boil, add half the grated cheese, and simmer for a few minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the egg yolks with a wooden spoon. When they are well integrated into the sauce, add the stiff egg whites and fold into the sauce using a metal spoon. Add the salt and pepper. When the whites are well mixed into the sauce, pour it over the potatoes. Top with the rest of the grated cheese, and place it in the oven which has been preheated to a medium heat. Leave for 45 mins.
Remove from the oven and serve hot with a salad.
This has Taste and is a Treat.

ANISE OR ANISEED HISTORY AND USES, TISANE OF ANISE

ANISE OR ANISEED
Everyone has probably tasted an aniseed flavoured sweet, so you know that anise tastes like liquorice Julius Caesar took anise balls on his campaigns for his soldiers, so they were probably the first sweets as we know them.
Anise’s Latin name is Pimpinella anisum and this should not be confused with star anise, which is used so frequently in Chinese cuisine, notably as an ingredient of hoisin sauce.
Anise is native to Egypt and the southern Mediterranean area, although it is now cultivated in many other countries. In Roman times it was cultivated in Tuscany. By the Middle Ages it was being cultivated in Central Europe.
It was mentioned in the ancient Egyptian Eber papyrus, written around 1500 BC and has been grown there for 4,000 years.
Dioscorides wrote that it "warms, dries and dissolves” so used it for stomach ailments. Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine, used it to clear congestion of the respiratory system and to treat coughs. Pliny wrote that it was useful to rid people of ‘morning breath’ and believed that it would keep nightmares at bay if kept near the bed. In Mediaeval times, it was used as a gargle for sore throats, mixed with honey and vinegar. It was also used to protect people from the Evil Eye, or a curse.
The Romans, known for their feasting, and let’s face it, gluttony, made spiced cakes with it as an ingredient. These were called Mustacae, and were given to guests at the end of a banquet, so that indigestion and flatulence could be avoided. It has been suggested that these were the forerunners of wedding cakes.
Gerard, who wrote a Herball or Historie of Plants in 1597, thought that anise was good to stop hiccups and wrote that it should be given to children who suffered from ‘the falling sickness’ (epilepsy)
Anise has been put to many purposes throughout the course of recorded history; it was good as bait for mouse traps, and it destroys insects that bite. Mixed with spermaceti (oil from the whale) it was used for skin problems.
The stems can be used as a vegetable, and you can find it in toothpastes, chewing gum and soaps, among other products. Of course it is used in ouzo, and anisette, and it was used in the notorious absinthe too, which was much favoured, (until it was banned) by Bohemians in early 20th century Paris, James Joyce among them.
The seeds can be used raw to add a bite to green salads, in cooked vegetable dishes and in curries, tomato sauces, egg dishes and cakes, biscuits and bread. It can also be used to flavour stewed fruit, and, of course, sweets.
Below is a recipe for Anise Tea, which is good for sore throats, colds and to clear the head.


TISANE OF ANISE
Ingredients
2 tsps bruised seeds
500 ml of boiling water


Method
Pour the boiling water over the seeds and leave for 15 minutes. Strain and drink. It is recommended that you take 2 or 3 cups a day to get rid of a sore throat or cold. This is also reputedly good for stopping hiccups.
This has Taste and is a Treat(ment).

ASAFOETIDA, DEVIL' S DUNG, HENG (URDU) PAKISTANI TOMATO SALSA RECIPE

ASAFOETIDA, DEVIL’S DUNG, HENG (URDU)

Asafoetida doesn’t have a very pleasant nick name, Devil’s Dung, but it’s quite appropriate as it has a noxious odour, which breaks down when heated in either water or oil. The name comes from Farsi, aza meaning resin and Latin foetida meaning foetid or stinking. It is a tall perennial herb which can grow to around 7 feet tall, and its leaves can be used in cooking as well as the gummy substance from the roots. We normally buy asafoetida in powder form, but you can also buy it in the form of a solid resin, especially in north Africa and the Middle East, and in this form it resembles a piece of dung. The plant, Ferula asafoetida, in the Umbelliferaceae family is related to fennel and the carrot.

It has carrot-like roots and the gum is extracted from these. One plant can give about a kilo of resinous gum. It has mainly resisted attempts to cultivate it, and grown in eastern Iran and Afghanistan where it is used in medicine but not in cookery. When taken from the soil and exposed to the air, it solidifies.

It’s popular among Jains and some Hindus who do not eat onion and garlic, as it tastes a little like leeks when added to vegetable dishes. It’s most often used with chickpeas, lentils and dried beans as it eliminates flatulence, and aids digestion. It was introduced to Europe by the Romans, who had at first used a herb called Cyrene silphium, which only grew in Libya. However, this became extinct in 1 AD. Luckily for the Romans, Alexander the Great had already found asafoetida when he marched through the Persian Empire, in the third century BC. When silphium became extinct, the Romans substituted asafoetida in their recipes.

In mediaeval Europe it was used to tenderize and preserve meat.

Because of its foul smell, it’s a natural pesticide but Dioscorides used it as a cure-all in 1 AD. He used it to cure baldness, toothache and liver diseases among other things. In the 11th century Ibn Sina, the famous Arab physician used it as an aid for digestion, and it is still used in this way. In Ayurvedic medicine, it’s used to stimulate the appetite, and aid digestion. Recent studies have shown that asafoetida roots have anti viral properties which could be effective in the treatment of swine flu. It can also help lower blood pressure levels.
It might seem expensive, but you only use a pinch at a time, so it lasts for quite a while, and there’s no substitute for it. So if you want the authentic taste of Indian and Pakistani dishes, you should invest in some. Use it with lentils, beans and chickpeas, it gives them a taste boost.



TOMATO SALSA, PAKISTANI-STYLE
Ingredients
1 tbsp oil
¾ tsp black mustard seeds
½ tsp Nigella sativa or black seed
3 curry leaves, slightly torn
pinch asafoetida powder
4 green chillies split from top to bottom and seeds removed
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 inch ginger root, pounded to a pulp
5 medium sized ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 tsp red chilli powder
½ tsp turmeric
2 tsp sugar
salt to taste
fresh coriander leaves, shredded to garnish

Method
Heat the oil and fry the seeds, leaves and asafoetida until the seeds start to sputter. Add the garlic and ginger and fry for 2 mins. Now add the tomatoes and cook over a low heat for 10 to 15 mins, until the tomatoes are mushy.
Add turmeric, chilli powder and sugar and stir until the sugar dissolves.
Remove from the heat and add the salt, stir well and serve hot. If there’s any left, it will keep in the fridge for 3 to 4 days in an airtight container. You can eat it hot or cold.
Serve as a side dish garnished with the fresh coriander leaves.
Use as a dip with naan, chapattis or other breads. You can also serve it hot to accompany any meat dishes.
This has Taste and is a Treat.

KALVANJI / KALONJI ARE NOT BLACK CUMIN SEEDS

KALVANJI (URDU) KALONJI (HINDI), NIGELLA SATIVA.BLACK SEED
There’s a lot of confusion in Internet land about Black seed or Kalvanji, Kalonji etc and once again it took two of us, (and a spice seller to convince me), that the little black seeds I take when I have a muzzy feeling in my head-like an hour ago, are not, in fact black cumin seeds. They are quite different. Likewise, the little garden plant, Love-in –The-Mist, which has flowered in English gardens since Elizabethan times, is not the same plant but a relative. The Latin name for the British, self-propagating plant is Nigella Damascena. So please don’t be tempted to try the seeds from this plant instead of the real deal, Nigella Sativa.
So; Black Seeds have a long history, and are known as yet another cure all. The oil of these seeds was found in the tomb of Tutankhamen to assist him in the afterlife, it is supposed. It grows wild in the Mediterranean region and was known as Greek Coriander by the Romans, and Roman coriander by the Greeks. Dioscorides used it to treat headaches, nasal congestion, toothache and intestinal worms. Hippocrates recommended it for treatment of digestive and liver disorders, and in his ‘Canon of Medicine’ Ibn Sina (980-1037) said that it ‘stimulates the body’s energy and helps recovery from fatigue or dispiritedness’.
Recent research has shown that it can boost our immune system if taken over a period of time, and it has been claimed that it is especially effective when taken with garlic. It has been used in traditional medicine on the subcontinent to treat asthma and bronchial problems, and it is generally believed that the oil is good for eczema and to get rid of boils. It was also supposed to help if you were bitten by a rabid dog.
The Arabs call it habbatul barakah, or ‘seed of healing’. It’s an ingredient of Bangladeshi panch phoran or five spice powder, which is made from black seed, fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds, black mustard seeds and fennel seeds in equal amounts and this can also contain thyme and black pepper. This mixture needs to be fried in mustard oil for authenticity. It’s used as a condiment in India, as well as in cooking.
If you take half a teaspoon of the seeds every day you should escape colds, flu, back pain, sore throats and in general helps the immune system. There’s a story of a man going to a holy man to seek advice because his son had a stomach complaint. The holy man told him to give his son half a teaspoon of the black seeds, mixed with a spoon of honey. The man went back the next day and said that his son was still not well. The holy man told him to do the same as the day before. When the man returned on the third day, the holy man told him that his son was lying, so confident was he that the remedy was effective.




BLACK SEEDS WITH POTATOES
Ingredients
300 gr boiled and cubed potatoes
1 tbsp black seeds
1 tsp red chilli powder
mint leaves, shredded
2 tbsps fresh coriander leaves
1 tbsp sesame oil
3 tbsps oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method
Heat the oils in a pan and add the seeds and chilli powder. Fry for a minute over a low heat, stirring not to let them burn. Add the potatoes in the pan with the spices for 5 mins or more, until they are coated with the spices, and turning colour, but not crispy.
Add the fresh leaves and fry for 1 min, stirring so that they release their aroma.
Remove from the heat and serve with any meat and a salad.
This has Taste and is a Treat.

LASORA? IN ENGLISH?! LASORA PICKLE RECIPE

GUM BERRY, GUNDA, CLAMMY CHERRY, LASORA
Gum berry or Lasora is known by a whole variety of names, and although I have eaten this delightful little berry, there’s a whole swamp to wade through out there in Internet land to find out what its name is in English. First of all it seemed as though it might be called the Indian Cherry, and the picture looked right, but…So we persevered, yes, it took two of us to identify the real deal, but now we think we’ve found it. It’s a member of the borage family and is also known as Fragrant Manjack.

It has a sticky gum inside, which small children use as glue, after they pick it from a tree. You can eat it raw, I’m told, but it tastes dry. If you have a tree near you, and you just might as it grows in the Americas, you can pickle the green fruits, which are unripe. These are the wonderful morsels I have tasted, and I thoroughly recommend them. You can probably buy Lasora or Gunda pickle online from Asian food sellers, there’s one called Methia Gunda Pickle, and you really should try it. 

The recipe below is with mango, but it’s good as a pickle on its own.The ripe fruit is yellow when ripe, and you can use this as a vegetable – fry in oil like okra or ladies fingers.
It’s used in traditional medicine to help relieve indigestion and the bark of the tree and its roots can be boiled, and then drunk and they say this is good for coughs, colds, and sore throats.
In Punjabi, if children love you a lot and stick to you like glue, people say they stick to you like lasora. Also in Punjab there are people called ‘changhar’ who have nowhere to live and they live from what they can forage in the forests where they tend to live. 

They eat whatever they can find, herbs, snakes, turtles, etc. When they find a suitable place to sleep, they sweep it with a broom made of branches from the Lasora tree, as they believe that it will protect them from evil.
So now you know-all you have to do now I try one!


LASORA AND MANGO PICKLE
Ingredients
500 gr lasora
oil as required
4 tbsps salt
3 tbsps turmeric
3 tbsps fenugreek seeds, coarsely ground
1 tbsp mustard seeds, coarsely ground
½ tsp asafoetida
150 gr green mango cubes
4 tbsps red chilli powder


Method
Slit each berry and rub them with a mixture of salt and turmeric. Leave the red chilli powder, but mix together all the other spices.
Heat about 2 cups of oil in a pan and leave to cool. When it’s lukewarm, pour it over the spices and mix well.
Dry fry the salt over a low heat, for 1 min, then add the red chilli powder and dry fry for 1 more minute. Mix this with the spice mixture, stirring well.
Now add the berries and mango pieces to the mixture and coat them well in the mixture.
Transfer to a glass jar with a tight fitting lid, and leave it to settle for 4/5 days.
On the 5th or 6th day, heat enough oil to cover the fruit, and mix into the pickle when it is cool. Cover the jar tightly and leave for a week.
You can leave it for longer, of course and it will keep for a few months- if it’s still around after that long! Make sure the spoon you use to take the pickle out of the jar is dry, or the pickle will spoil.
You can reuse the oil for the next batch of pickle when you finish it.
This has Taste and is a Treat.

FENUGREEK (METHI) HISTORY, TEA and RECIPE

FENUGREEK (METHI)
Fenugreek was used by the ancient Egyptians in their embalming process, and in the Eber medical papyrus fenugreek is listed as one of the ingredients used to treat burns. Hippocrates, the father of medicine, thought it a valuable soothing herb, while Dioscorides used it in treating inflammation of the genitals. Now it is used as a tea to promote milk flow for breast-feeding mothers, and research has shown that it may inhibit liver cancer growth, and help in the treatment of diabetes. French researchers also believe it is a good aid to digestion.
The flowers and seeds are used for medicinal purposes, and the leaves are grown in Europe and parts of North Africa for animal feed. It has a long history of being used in this way, as its Latin name, foenum graecum means Greek Hay. However in Pakistan, in the northern Punjab region, the fresh leaves are cooked as saag, sometimes on their own but more often with spinach. They are rich in vitamins, minerals and protein. The leaves are more often used dried (kasuri methi), and added to sauces and other savoury dishes. Often they are dried at home for use later in the year. The young shoots can be eaten raw with watercress as a salad.
Traditionally, fenugreek has been used to promote weight gain in anorexics, to lower blood sugar and cholesterol levels, and soothe gastric disorders. The oil from the seeds is used as a skin softener, and the powdered seeds, when added to yoghurt are used as a hair conditioner in India.
To make fenugreek tea, steep the seeds in boiling water for 5-10 minutes, then boil for another 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and cover, and leave for a further 10 – 15 minutes. Strain and use 2 or 3 times a day, hot or cold. You need 1 teaspoon seeds per cup of water. It’s a soothing drink for stomach problems, and it calms the nerves. It’s also good for lactation.
You may think that you haven’t tasted fenugreek, but the likelihood is that you have. It’s one of the ground spices normally used in curry powder- that particular smell it has is noticeable and it is used as a substitute for maple syrup, and even for vanilla!
The seeds are fairly easy to come by in Britain, but you’ll probably have to go to an Asian food shop to buy the dry leaves, (kasuri methi) or buy them online. The recipe calls for dried methi (kasuri methi).



FRIED METHI CHILLIES
Ingredients
250gr green chillies (about 3 inches long)
2 medium potatoes
2 eggs
1 cup plain flour
2 tbsps dried fenugreek leaves
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tsp thyme
salt and pepper to taste
oil for frying


Method
Boil potatoes, still in their skins. When cool remove skins and mash to a puree with 1½ tbsp dried fenugreek leaves (methi), cumin seeds and seasonings.
Mix together the flour, 1/2 tbsp methi, thyme and 1tbsp salt on a plate and beat the eggs in a bowl.
Slit the peppers from top to bottom, leaving the stem intact, and remove the seeds.
Stuff the peppers with the potato mixture, then dip them one at a time, in the beaten egg, then roll them in the flour mixture, coating them evenly. Repeat the process once.
Heat the oil in a pan and fry the stuffed peppers for 4-5mins over a low heat.
Serve alone or with dips as an appetizer.
This has Taste and is a Treat.

DILL WITH A DOLMADES RECIPE

DILL
Dill is sometimes confused with fennel leaves, but they are different. Dill has a milder flavour, although it still tastes of aniseed. It’s good with fish, shellfish, vegetables and in yoghurt dips. You can use the leaves and the seeds, although these are not interchangeable. You should add dill leaves at the end of the cooking process to preserve the flavour.
Dill is native to the Mediterranean and western Asia, although it now grows almost everywhere. It was mentioned in ancient Egyptian medical texts written around 3,000 BC. The ancient Greeks believed it was a sign of wealth, and for the Romans it was lucky. In mediaeval times it was believed to have magical properties, and if you drank a tea made from dill leaves and other herbs, people believed that it would rid you of any curse or evil. People burnt dill leaves to calm a thunderstorm, and used it with wine and other herbs in love potions. They hung the dried seed heads in homes, over doorways and babies’ cradles to protect themselves from evil. If you give a witch dill tea, it will take away her power to harm you or so it was believed. Dill symbolized love and protection.
Dill calms the digestive system and contains vitamin C as well as being rich in minerals, particularly calcium. To relieve indigestion, you should bruise 13 gr dill seeds, and steep them in a cup of boiling water. Leave them to infuse for about 20 mins, then strain the liquid and take a tbsp of it. Its name comes from Old Norse, dylla, meaning to soothe.
In recipes, one measure of dried dill is equal to 3 of fresh dill leaves. Culpeper made use of this herb and thought that it ‘strengthens the brain’- brain food, like fennel seeds. Dill seed is good in salad dressings but the leaves are excellent in sauces.


DOLMADES WITH EGG AND LEMON SAUCE
Ingredients
250 gr minced beef
1 large onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
½ cup cooked rice
1 small head white cabbage
4 egg yolks
½ cup lemon juice
small bunch dill leaves, finely shredded
250 cl water or chicken stock (see recipe for Bay leaves),hot
oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper


Method
Steam the cabbage leaves until they are soft and pliable.
Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the onions and garlic until the onions are translucent, then add the meat and stir occasionally until it is cooked through. Remove from the heat and mix in the cooked rice.
Taking a leaf at a time, stuff the cabbage leaves and roll them up, making secure parcels of them. Use wooden cocktail sticks to secure them if you have to.
Put the egg yolks into a bowl and whisk them with a fork, then VERY slowly add the lemon juice, until it has all been mixed with the egg yolks. Gradually stir in the hot stock or water. Add the shredded dill leaves and seasonings.
Arrange the stuffed cabbage leaves in an oven proof dish and pour the sauce over them. Cook in a preheated medium oven for 30 mins.
Serve with a salad, alone or with a side dish of vegetables.
This has Taste and is a Treat.

Fennel Leaves, Fennel Stalks, Fennel Seeds and Florentine Fennel Bulb also misri:Recipes for: Misri with Fennel Seeds; Fennel Bulb

FENNEL

Fennel leaves, fennel stalk, fennel root, fennel seeds and the Florentine fennel bulb can all be used in cooking and in other ways too. It’s a very versatile herb and was one of the nine sacred herbs of the Anglo-Saxons, which were;-mugwort, plantain, watercress, betony, chamomile, crab apple, chervil, thyme and fennel. It has also been used, in Britain, to keep evil away on Midsummer’s Eve, or the summer solstice, and was hung over doorways with other herbs at this time of year.

It originated in the Mediterranean region and western Asia, but is naturalized in Britain and cultivated all over the world. Italians love it and use the peeled stalks, ’cartucci’ in salads. The edible bulb is called Florentine fennel, and is good either eaten raw in salads or cooked. This has an aniseed flavour and is rich in vitamin C and the mineral potassium.

Pliny wrote that snakes ate the plant and rubbed their eyes on it to help improve their eyesight after they had sloughed their skin. It was used as eyewash, and even modern herbalists recommend its use for pink eye or conjunctivitis. The Romans thought it was efficacious as a treatment for snake bites, and Culpeper agreed with them. He also wrote that it was an antidote for food poisoning after eating the wrong kind of wild mushrooms

The ancient Greeks believed that fennel tea would help reduce weight and some modern herbalists still believe it helps with weight loss. This is because it accelerates the digestion of fatty foods.You should boil ½ tsp fennel seeds (sanf) with one cup of water for 10 to 15 mins, and then cover the pot and leave to cool. Then strain it and drink it. Take a cup of tea three times a day, but you shouldn’t take any more than that, and if you’re pregnant, don’t drink it. This tea will soothe a sore throat and cough, and will relieve stomach pains and cramps. We don’t know about weight loss, as in Pakistan, people chew the seeds to improve their appetite! In Mediaeval England it was used as an appetite suppressor during days of fasting, e.g. Lent.

It features in Greek mythology too, as Prometheus is reported to have brought back fire, which he stole from the god Hephaestus Roman (equivalent Vulcan), to humanity hidden in a stalk of fennel, which was used as kindling. Also the fennel stalk, topped with a fir cone was the thyrsus used by acolytes of Dionysus (Roman equivalent Bacchus).

It is also used to keep fleas away from stables and kennels.

Below is a recipe for the bulb and the seeds. You can use the feathery leaves as a garnish and also with fish recipes. It really is a versatile plant.

LIVER AND FENNEL CASSEROLE

Ingredients

300 gr liver, cleaned and cut into 1 inch cubes

1 large onion, sliced

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 fennel bulb, roughly chopped

1 tsp thyme

½ tsp paprika

1 glass red wine (white will do)

2 glasses water

oil

salt and pepper to taste

Method

Heat the oil and fry the onion, garlic, fennel and liver for 5 mins. Add the red wine and stir to remove residue from pan. Add the water, thyme, paprika and seasonings and bring to the boil. Stir well and cover the pot.

Put it in a preheated medium oven and cook for 45 mins.

Serve with mashed potatoes.

This has Taste and is a Treat.

FENNEL SEED AND MISRI APPETISER

Ingredients

200 gr fennel seeds

50 gr almonds, roughly chopped

50 gr pistachio nuts chopped

50 gr walnuts, roughly chopped

10 green cardamom seeds, removed from the pods and crushed

150 gr rock candy sugar (misri)

50 gr sultanas

100 gr butter

Method

Melt the butter in a pan and add the fennel seeds. Fry for about a minute, then when they are cold, grind the fennel seeds. Now mix all the ingredients together including the butter.

Store in a jar in a cool place and have a few spoonfuls each morning, as this will help the body and aid memory. It won’t spoil, which is why this recipe is for a large amount.

You can serve it with drinks of any kind.

MISRI

This is a sugar which was made in Persia and the Indian subcontinent in the 9th century. It is sugar which has been heated to a high temperature and allowed to form into crystals. Apparently we call it rock candy or jaggery. Basically it’s large sugar crystals, you can make it yourself from ordinary sugar and water. But it takes 7 days for the crystals to grow.You can find it in Asian shops and specialist stores.

ALOE VERA in COOKERY and MEDICINE

ALOE VERA
I’d seen it many times before I realized that the rather ugly (I thought) spiky plant was aloe vera, which I knew was used in various lotions and creams as well as shampoos, as a beauty treatment. You can see the picture so some of you will understand what I mean.
This unprepossessing plant has been used for centuries to heal wounds (Dioscorides) and Pliny the Elder wrote that it was used to heal leprosy sores. It was the world’s first anti-perspirants too.
It’s known in different cultures by other names; it is known as the ‘lily of the desert’ in Arabia, where it originated and the ‘silent healer’ by Hindus, who believe it came from the Garden of Eden. The ancient Egyptians depicted the plant in stone carvings 6,000 years ago and called it the ‘plant of immortality’. It was entombed with the pharaohs for use in the after life, and later used for embalming when mixed with myrrh. Alexander the Great took over the island of Socotra, which produced a lot of aloe vera plants.
It was believed to ward off evil, and placed over doorways, to protect the inhabitants from witches and their spells. The Egyptians also found another use for it; they made scrolls with it.
It was in the subcontinent by 600 BC and now grows here in abundance. Nearly every house has a plant on the roof or in the courtyard. It also grows in North Africa, South America, the Caribbean and the Mediterranean.
It can be used for all skin problems, and the efficacious substance is a clear gel that is found in the leaves. It can be used as a laxative when digested, but you must be careful not to take too much. Modern medical research has shown that it lowers cholesterol levels and is helpful to sufferers of type 11 diabetes, as it can help lower blood glucose levels.
What is also good about it is that it can be used in cooking. It has the effect of tenderizing meat when cooked with it. We give you a recipe using it below.


ALOE VERA AND LAMB STEW
Ingredients
1 kilo lamb on the bone (shoulder) and cut into small pieces with bone
1 medium onion, chopped
3 tomatoes, chopped
6 cloves garlic, chopped finely
1 inch piece of ginger root, finely chopped
1 inch piece of aloe vera with the green outer skin removed
6 green chillies, finely chopped
½ handful shredded fresh mint
½ handful shredded coriander leaves
6 cloves
10 black peppercorns
2 green cardamom pods
1 black cardamom pod
1 cinnamon stick 2 inches, split in half
1 tbsp garam masala (see recipes)
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tsp turmeric
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 cup oil
salt and pepper to taste


Method
Put the meat, green and black cardamoms, black peppercorns and cinnamon sticks into a pan and cover with 2 glasses of water. Bring it to the boil and simmer steadily until all the water has evaporated.
Pour the oil into another pan and fry the onions, garlic, aloe vera and ginger for 5 mins. Add the tomatoes and green chillies, stir and cook for a further 2 mins. Now add the garam masala, cumin seeds, turmeric, seasonings and the meat from the other pan. Cook over a low heat for 5 mins, Add 2 glasses of water with the lemon juice stir and cook over a low heat until half the water remains. Remove the pan from the heat.
Garnish with the fresh herbs, cover and leave to stand for 5 mins.
Serve with rice or breads of your choice.
This has Taste and is a Treat.

What is KARELLA? A BITTER GOURD or BITTER MELON

KARELLA or BITTER GOURD or BITTER MELON
Is it a cucumber? I asked naively, only to be told that it wasn’t. Well, what is it then? I really wanted to know the name of this vegetable in English, so that I knew a bit about what to expect from it. No one knew, and in the end I had to look it up on the net- to find the answer under someone else’s plaintive plea ‘What is Karella?’ What indeed! Luckily 2 people had answered the question, giving one of its names each. Ok, so now I know what it’s called. I’d eaten it by then, of course, and knew all about this bitter taste. Personally, I like it, but I could understand if you didn’t. It has a particularly bitter taste, unlike anything else I’ve eaten, and is one of those food items that is an acquired taste.
It would be good if you could acquire it, though, as recent medical studies have borne out the claims of traditional medical practitioners of the subcontinent; it helps diabetes sufferers. Although research is still continuing there are hopes that this bitter little vegetable will “probably” delay or “perhaps” prevent cancer, and studies are being conducted into it could help in the treatment of HIV.
In traditional medicine,(it grows in East Africa, Asia the Caribbean and South America) it is used to relieve fatigue, and the Chinese use it to quench their thirst.
You prepare this strange beast by slicing it in half lengthwise to remove its seeds, These can be dried, then ground to a powder and used to flavour Pakora (see recipe) and other dishes. Alternatively the oil from the seeds is good to put on wounds. Some people boil one whole and then drink the cooking water to lower blood pressure. (You boil one for about an hour.)
There’s a National Bitter Melon Council in the States- a fledgling organization at the present time, and you can find these in Asian shops in the UK. However, if their healing properties are proven, they will undoubtedly be stocked in the big supermarket chains.


TASTY TRADITIONAL KARELLA

Ingredients
1 kilo karella
½ kilo minced meat
4 onions chopped
4 tomatoes peeled and chopped
1 inch ginger finely chopped
4 cloves garlic finely chopped
6 green chillies, finely chopped
½ handful mint leaves, shredded
½ handful coriander leaves, shredded
1 cup natural yoghurt
1 cup oil
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp garam masala (see recipes)
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tbsp ground pomegranate seeds
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste


Method
Scrape the knobbly bits off the skin of the karella, so that it’s completely smooth. Cut the karella into 1 inch rounds and remove seeds with your thumb, by pushing them out, or a teaspoon.
Now rub all the pieces all over with salt inside and out, but take care not to break the circles of karella. Leave for 15-20 mins until all the bitter juices have come out. Wash them with cold water to remove salt and remaining juices. Dry on absorbent paper.
Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the karella pieces for 5 mins. Remove the karella and put them in a bowl. Add the onions to the oil, and fry for 5 mins then remove and put in the same pan as the karella.
Now fry the garlic and ginger for 2 mins. Add the tomatoes and minced meat, the spices and the ground pomegranate seeds, plus seasonings. Don’t add too much salt as the karella is a little salty. Cook this mixture for 15 mins.
Pour the yoghurt into the pan with the minced meat, and stir it well so that it is mixed throughout the meat.
Add the karella and onions to the pan along with the green chillies and cook over a low heat for 5 min.
Remove from the heat and add the fresh mint and coriander leaves. Allow to stand for 5 mins then serve with chapattis, naan, pitta or other breads and a salad.
This has Taste and is a Treat.

SPICY HERBAL TEA or TISANE

As the beverage described here is not made with tea leaves, we’ll call it a tisane, as opposed to other descriptions of teas which use tea leaves.
Tisanes have been used by probably every culture and in all civilizations for centuries. They are well documented by both Culpeper and John Gerard, and many others.
It’s useful to keep the ingredients for this tisane in a store cupboard and to take them with you when you travel, especially if you have children. It can be made and administered easily and will help until you can get medical treatment from your doctor.
This recipe will help when you have cold, flu, or sore throat symptoms; it will bring down your temperature and help you to relax. It also helps alleviate stomach pains and cramps.
The recipe below will make two cups of the tisane.



Spicy Tisane
Ingredients
1 tsp dried ground ginger root
2 green cardamom pods
1 inch piece of cinnamon stick, crumbled
sugar to taste
1 tsp lemon juice

Method
Pour 2 and a half cups of water into a pan and add the spices. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and bring to the boil again. Do this twice, or three times. With a ladle scoop up the liquid and pour it back into the pan several times to allow air to pass through the liquid and mix the spices well into the water. Turn the heat right down and cover the pan. Allow it to simmer for 2-3 mins. Strain the liquid into the cups and add the lemon juice and sugar to taste.
You should drink this hot, don’t allow it to cool too much or it will be less effective. It will induce perspiration, so wrap up warm .Preferably drink it in bed as it works immediately.
This has Taste and is a Treat(ment).