WHAT IS OKRA? BHINDI TORI IN URDU: HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES OF OKRA: BHINDI GHOSHT KI RECIPE

OKRA, BHINDI TORI, HIBISCUS ESCULENTA

Okra is also known as gumbo in the southern US states and ladies fingers, and bhindi tori in Urdu. It is also known as Abelmoschus esculenta (Abelmoschus meaning father of musk in Arabic). It is in the mallow family and related to hibiscus.

   When you cook okra you have to be careful not to cut the green pod so that it stays intact and doesn’t release the gummy substance inside it. To clean it you should cut off the tops and the bottom of the pods. It contains a lot of white seeds, and these can be roasted or dry fried, then ground and made into a coffee substitute which is said to be very much like the real thing and much closer to the taste of coffee than other substitutes such as dandelion roots.

   Okra originated in West Africa, possibly in Ethiopia, and was either taken to the US with African slaves, or introduced by the French in the 18^th century. It is used in Creole dishes and is called gumbo, which is a derivative of the word nkrumo, perhaps. It is good with prawns and chicken and other meat too, as you will see if you try the recipe below.

   The gummy substance inside the pods thickens sauces naturally without the addition of flour or cornflour. However okra is not to everyone’s taste and you either like it or hate it. You can deep fry okra as well as adding it to soups and stews, and serve it as a side vegetable.

   Okra is packed with vitamins and minerals including vitamin A, C, a number of the B-complex vitamins, and vitamin K; the minerals include zinc, manganese, calcium, magnesium and iron. It also contains some of the essential amino acids. It is good to eat during pregnancy as it helps prevent neural deficiencies in the foetus. It has antioxidant properties and can help fight the free radicals which cause cancer. It also prevents constipation and cleans the colon, thus lessening the risk of colo-rectal cancer and piles. Okra has the best fibre content along with flax seeds and ispaghule (also called psyllium) or plantain. It helps regulate blood sugar levels and lower cholesterol.

   Try this recipe from the Indian subcontinent, okra with meat.

BHINDI GHOSHT

Ingredients

1 kg beef, cubed

½ kg okra

250 gr yoghurt

6 onions, chopped

1 tbsp garlic paste

1 tbsp ginger paste

1 tbsp chilli powder

1 tbsp ground coriander seeds

1 tbsp garam masala

2 tsps turmeric

1 tsp ground cardamom seeds

salt to taste

oil for shallow and deep frying

4 glasses of water

fresh coriander leaves as optional garnish

Method

Top and tail the okra as described above. Wash it thoroughly and dry it completely.

Heat the oil in a pan and fry 2 of the chopped onions until they are golden-brown. Add the chilli powder, salt, turmeric, coriander powder, and the two pastes (make garlic paste by grinding 10 cloves of garlic in a blender and 2 inches of peeled ginger root). Stir and fry for two minutes.

Add the meat and cook for 5-7 mins then add the remaining 4 shopped onions and 2 glasses of water.

Cook until the water has gone, then ad the yoghurt and cook for a further 5 mins.

Add two more glasses of water the garam masala and ground cardamoms.

Deep fry the okra for 3-5 mins. Add it to the meat.

Cover the pan and cook on a low heat for 10 mins.

Your delicious bhindi ghosht is now ready to serve with naan or roti (chapattis).

Garnish with fresh coriander leaves if you wish.

This has Taste and is a Treat.

GRAINS OF PARADISE: HEALTH BENEFITS OF GRAINS OF PARADISE, USES AND HISTORY: RECIPE RAS EL HANOUT, SPICE MIXTURE

GRAINS OF PARADISE, AFRAMOMUM MELEGUETA

Grains of Paradise have been traded since the 9^th century, and were very popular in Europe. They come from West Africa and were taken across the Sahara Desert by intrepid spice traders. They were used as a pepper substitute as they were cheaper than peppercorns, although now they are a rare commodity in Europe, and more expensive than pepper. There are actually two plants which produce these seeds or grains, Aframomum melegueta and Aframomum granum paradisi. They are also known as Guinea grains and Alligator pepper. The seeds are red-brown and have irregular shapes.

   They come from the same family as ginger and the plant looks a little like the one that produces cardamom seeds. They have a peppery flavour with hints of ginger, cardamom and citrus, and are faintly flowery. You can chew them to freshen your breath and get the full delightful flavour. You can put them in your pepper grinder with black pepper and use them as a condiment, which will give foods added interest. They are used in Ras el Hanout which means Top of the Shop, a Moroccan spice mixture which we give below. They are good to flavour vegetables and go well with potatoes, aubergines, pumpkins and okra. They are also good ground and rubbed into chicken or meat before it is cooked. Try some on your steak. They should be ground and added to dishes about 15 minutes before they are cooked to get the full flavour from them.

   The seeds and rhizomes are used in West Africa in traditional herbal medicines, and are reputedly aphrodisiacs, stimulants and diuretics. Studies carried out on lab rats support the idea that they increase the libido (in rats) and that they can reduce pain and inflammation so may be good to treat arthritis. However they have yet to be tested on humans.

  They were used to flavour the old wine, Hippocras along with cardamoms and ginger, and Gerard, the English herbalist, recommends them to be taken with “Sacke “for stomach problems. They are used in Scandinavian countries to flavour aquavit, and are one of the ingredients of Bombay Sapphire gin, and are used in the brewing of some beers.

   In 1629 they were used by the inhabitants of Norwich in north eastern England to flavour herring pies. They were one of Elizabeth I’s favourite spices and were very popular in the Renaissance. This may be because the wily traders gave them the exotic name of Grains of Paradise in the 14^th century as a marketing ploy so that they could make more money from their sale. In the 12^th century they were half the price of pepper, so clearly traders felt they were not making enough money out of them. 

   The spice mixture below can be added to meat dishes, especially those that have lamb as a main ingredient, but they perk up almost every dish.

RAS EL HANOUT

Ingredients

This recipe makes ½ a cup of spice mixture and you can add coriander seeds, or other spices of your choice to it

2 tbsps grains of paradise

¼ cup cinnamon or cassia pieces

2 tsps ground ginger

2 tbsps turmeric

1 tbsp black peppercorns

2 tsps cardamom seeds (husks removed and discarded)

2 tsps cloves

½ tsp cayenne pepper

Method

Dry fry the spices to release their aroma, then grind together and store in an airtight jar.

This spice powder will keep for up to 6 months.

This has Taste and is a Treat.

  

  

HOW TO MAKE SPICY FISH FINGERS: EASY AND TASTY RECIPE

SPICY FISH FINGERS

Ingredients

1 kilo boneless fish cut into strips

5 tbsps besan (chick pea flour)

5 tbsps cornflour

1 tsp garlic paste

1 tsp ginger paste

1 tbsp chilli powder

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 tbsp garam masala

salt to taste

2 eggs

oil for frying

Method

Clean the fish and wash then strain well.

Put the besan in a bowl together with the cornflour, spices and pastes and mix well with a very little water. Now add the eggs and stir well to make a batter.

Cover the fish with the batter mixture on all sides and leave for 1 hour.

Heat the oil in a pan and deep fry the fish, for 5 minutes (approximately).

Remove the fish fingers, dry on absorbent paper and serve with chips (French fries) etc.

These have Taste and are a Treat.

HOW TO MAKE DELICIOUS PRAWNS IN TEN MINUTES

TEN - MINUTE PRAWNS

Ingredients

250 gr prawns, shelled and de-veined

100 gr mushrooms, chopped

4 tomatoes, peeled and chopped

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 tbsp oregano or ajwain

2 tbsps brandy

freshly ground black pepper

single cream for garnish

prawn stock

olive oil for frying

Method

Heat the olive oil in a pan, and add the garlic, mushrooms and prawns. Stir well and continue stirring for 5 mins, then add the other ingredients apart from the cream (or natural yoghurt). Cook for a further 5 minutes.

Remove from the heat and serve on toast with a swirl of cream.

This has Taste and is a Treat.

RUE HERB ( RUTA GRAVEOLENS): HEALTH BENEFITS OF RUE HERB USES AND HISTORY: RUE CHEESE DIP

RUE, RUTA GRAVEOLENS

Rue is a herb that was known to the ancients and used to ward off spells and witches. Perhaps this was because of its strong smell which isn’t exactly pleasant. It originated in Southern Europe, and is believed to have been yet another of those herbs that was introduced to Britain by the Romans. It grows wild in Britain in northern England, but this plant was not much used in medicine as its smell is even more pungent than Garden Rue, which has been grown in gardens for centuries for its medicinal properties. Its Latin name “graveolens” comes from gravis meaning heavy and olere meaning smell. Ruta comes from the Greek, reuo meaning to set free, and this may be a reference to the fact that rue was highly esteemed and thought to rid the body of a great number of ailments.

   Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine, used rue as the principle ingredient of an antidote to the poison of Mithradates Eupator and it was thought by ancient Greeks to be able to ward off witchcraft as they used it when eating with strangers as it stopped nervous stomach complaint and indigestion, which, they believed were induced by the witchcraft of strangers they ate in front of.

    Pliny wrote that artists and sculptors consumed a lot of rue in the belief that it would help keep their eyesight in perfect shape.

     Gerard the English herbalist tells us that Dioscorides believed that rue grew best under the shade of the fig tree. In fact rue likes to grow in sheltered spots. He went on to say this about the plant: - “if a man be anointed with the juice o rue, the poison of wolf’s bane, mushrooms and todestoles, the bites of serpents, stinging of scorpions, bees, hornets and wasps will not hurt him”.

     Rue water was sprinkled in houses to rid them of fleas and lice, and in the Middle Ages people would carry a bunch of rue when they went out to ward off the plague and other diseases. Judges would take it into court rooms with them so that they were not contaminated by the prisoners brought to the dock. People thought that the strong smell of the plant could kill diseases that were contagious.

     Rue is also known as the Herb of Repentance possibly because brushes of rue twigs were used to sprinkle holy water in churches before High Mass. It was also called Herb of Grace.

      Shakespeare makes reference to this in Richard III: -

        “Here in this place

          I’ll set a bank of rue, sour herb of grace;

          Rue, even for ruth, shall shortly here be seen,

          In the remembrance of a weeping queen.”

Again in Hamlet, he has Ophelia say in Act 4 sc 5:-

         “There’s fennel for you and columbine; there’s rue

            for you, and here’s some for me; we may call it

            herb-grace o’Sundays. O you must wear your rue with

            a difference. There’s a daisy: I would give you

            some violets, but they withered all when my father

            died; they say he made a good death.”

Here Shakespeare gives rue the meaning of regret as well as the name of the herb.

   Dikes of Saxony used rue as a symbol of honour and the Order of the Rutenkrone (Crown of Rue) was bestowed on Queen Elizabeth II’s father. In Britain rue has been used since the middle of the 17^th century in the Collar of the Order of the Thistle in Britain.

   The expressed juice of rue was once used to cure earache, but rue must be treated with caution and it is not advisable to use it without a doctor’s supervision as it can have violent side-effects and induce vomiting. It has been used to bring about abortions and acts on the uterine muscles. It is a useful anti-spasmodic though when you get stomach cramps and it has been used as an emmenogogue to regulate the menstrual blood flow. Pregnant and breast-feeding women should avoid using it.

   A tisane can be made from the young tops of the rue plant- 1 ounce of tops to 1 pint of boiling water, left to steep for 15 minutes. This is a good antispasmodic and can be used to calm anyone who is hysterical. Rue has sedative properties. Culpeper recommended it to be applied externally to relieve joint pains, especially those connected with sciatica. The bruised leaves should be applied to the painful area. You can make a hot poultice with the leaves and apply it to the chest to relieve chronic bronchitis too. The plant contains rutin which supports and strengthens the inner walls of blood vessels and helps reduce blood pressure. Fresh leaves can be bruised and applied to the forehead and temples to get rid of headaches and the juice will prevent nightmares and help with nervous conditions. Chewing a leaf has the same effects as chewing kalvanji or Nigella sativa seeds; this will relieve nervous headaches and prevent giddiness.

   The whole herb can be used in poultices but the most potent part of the plant is the top, picked before it flowers.

   The recipe below has been adapted from a recipe used by the Romans.

RUE CHEESE DIP

Ingredients

½ bulb of garlic, peeled and finely minced

4 oz crumbly Feta cheese

2 celery stalks, finely minced with hard veins removed

½ bunch of fresh coriander leaves, finely minced

½ bunch of rue leaves, finely minced

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsps white wine vinegar

black pepper

Method

Make a creamy paste with the Feta cheese by pounding it with a little olive oil. Blend all the other ingredients then add the Feta to the blender with the rest of the olive oil and the wine vinegar.

Store in the fridge until you are ready to use it. (Leave to stand for 15 minutes if you want to serve it almost immediately.) It is best to keep it overnight for best results.

This has Taste and is a Treat.

   

HOW TO MAKE MEDITERRANEAN PRAWNS AND PRAWN STOCK

MEDITERRANEAN PRAWNS

Ingredients

250 gr prawns, cleaned, shelled and shells reserved

4 tomatoes, peeled and chopped

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 tbsp oregano or ajwain

freshly ground black pepper

½ wineglass white wine (optional)

1 small pot of natural yoghurt

olive oil for frying

Method

Heat the oil or butter and fry the onions until golden brown. Then add the prawns and cook on all sides for 5 minutes, making sure they are coated in oil.

Add all the other ingredients except the yoghurt and stir well.

Cook over a low heat for 15 minute, then stir in the yoghurt and allow to simmer, but not boil, for 5 minutes.

Serve with rice and a salad.

This has Taste and is a Treat.

PRAWN STOCK

The reserved prawn shells can be boiled with a small whole onion and mixed herbs for 30 minutes and used as a stock in other dishes. It can form the base of a fish soup, or be added to other prawn dishes.

CUCKOO PINT ( ARUM MACULATUM): TREAT WITH CAUTION

THE CUCKOO PINT, ARUM MACULATUM

The Cuckoo Pint may or may not be native to the British Isles, but it grows wild there and is often seen under hedges. It likes moist ground and shade, and has an attractive flower and berries, which are poisonous. The whole plant should be treated with caution as the sap from the plant causes a burning sensation and this lasts for hours. If you use the root then wash all utensils in boiling water afterwards.

   This plant is the only one of the Arum family to grow wild in Britain, and its leaves are among the first to emerge in spring. They are a glossy shade of green with purple blotches on them and the flower can also look stained with purple. It is said that these flowers grew under the cross of Christ and caught some of his blood. In this way they are the Holy Grail or Chalice of the British hedgerow.

   In the past children used to play a game to see which flower was first, the Lord or the Lady, differentiated by the colour of the stamens. That is how it came to have the name Lords and Ladies.

   Another name for it was Starchwort as its starchy tubers were used in Elizabethan times to starch the elaborate cuffs and ruffs that were so fashionable in the Renaissance. Gerard commented that the hands of the poor laundresses who used this root as starch were chapped and blistered because of it.

    Rural people say that the name is really Cuckoo’s Pintle or Pintel, meaning Cuckoo’s Penis, but there are several other ‘reasons’ given for the name too.  There are several pubs with the name “Cuckoo Pint” and the landlords of each will give different explanations for the name. Young girls used to be told not to touch the cuckoo pint or else they would become pregnant.

   In Germany there is an old superstition that if a young man goes to a dance he should put a little of the plant into his shoe and say the following words “I place you in my shoe; let all young girls be drawn to you”. In this way he could have the dancing partner of his choice, whatever the male competition.

   Dioscorides in the first century AD wrote that the leaves of the cuckoo pint were “excellent” eaten cooked as a vegetable. However the tuber is more frequently eaten as it has a high starch content and is like a potato. Care should be taken gathering the tubers though as the juice will cause a burning sensation and blistering. The tubers can be dried and then heated and ground to a fine powder. This was known as Portland Powder and was used as arrowroot is, but it was supposed to be an excellent treatment for gout.

   This powder was one of the ingredients of Poudre de Cypre (Cyprus Powder) used by fashionable Parisian ladies as a cosmetic, presumably to whiten the skin. The starch has to be washed copiously however to get rid of any toxins which irritate the skin. The tubers have a milky juice in them which needs to be got rid of before use. Drying then heating them gets rid of their acridity.

   After the root has been dried and baked, it can be eaten or the flesh can be pounded in a mortar to a powder and stored for future use in airtight jars in a cool dry place. The powder is a diuretic and stimulant.

   The American variety of this plant is Arum triphyllium or Dragon root also called Jack-in-the–Pulpit, or wild turnip. There are many arums all over the world which have the same toxicity as the Cuckoo pint, so all should be treated with caution.

   Taro, comes from the Calocasia antiquorum variety of Arum which is a close relative of the cuckoo pint. This is the tuber of the plant which is used like a sweet potato, in Hawaii and the Pacific islands. (Another name for it is Arum esculentum.)

   Calocasia macrorhiza, found on the Indian subcontinent is the plant from which gingili oil is obtained, and used in the treatment of intermittent fevers. It is obtained from the root of the plant. Another member of the Arum family is Arum montanum which also grows on the subcontinent, and the root was once used to poison tigers.

   You can use the dried powder of the cuckoo pint tuber to make bread and biscuits, instead of flour, but unless you are really strapped for cash it is inadvisable given the toxicity of the plant.

HOW TO MAKE CHILLI PRAWN KEBABS: EASY AND TASTY RECIPE

CHILLI PRAWN KEBABS

Ingredients

30 king prawns, shelled and cleaned but leave tail

60 gr butter

1 bulb of garlic, peeled and crushed

2 tbsps brown sugar or gur

2 tbsps lemon or lime juice

2 tbsps fresh coriander leaves, pounded

2 tbsps holy basil( tulsi) leaves, pounded

1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce

Method

Slit the prawns along the vein, lengthways.

Heat the butter in a frying pan, and add all the ingredients apart from the prawns and stir well to mix.

Add the prawns one by one and cook them for 5 minutes each.

Put the prawns on a tooth pick so that you skewer them twice so that they almost form a circle.

Serve as an appetizer or with other nibbles with drinks.

These can be made beforehand and kept until the fridge until they are needed and grill before serving. They are tastier if you do this.

These have Taste and are a Treat.

WATERCRESS ( NASTURTIUM OFFICINALE): MEDICINAL BENEFITS AND USES OF WATERCRESS: WATERCRESS SALAD RECIPE

WATERCRESS, NASTURTIUM OFFICINALE

Watercress is related to the flowers that grow in many British gardens, nasturtiums. Nasturtium comes from the Latin, nasus meaning nose and torquere, to torment. The nasturtium family of cresses (which includes the flower and the herb called Garden cress) has a pungent aroma, which explains their name. Watercress grows wild in Britain by clear flowing streams, and I used to gather it on the mountain, when I was a child. I have always loved both the smell and the taste of this herb. Now of course it is cultivated and can easily be bought from supermarket shelves, but you can also grow your own by putting some leaves with stems in a bottle of water and changing it once a day. When it has grown roots it can be transplanted into pots of sandy soil and watered frequently.

   Watercress is native to Europe and Russia, but now grows on most continents. The Greeks and Romans believed that it cleared the mind so that decisions could be made more easily. They used it as a salve for wounds. If you rub a paste of the leaves onto a wound it will stop any infection as the leaves have antiviral and anti-bacterial properties.

   It is good eaten raw in salads and is useful for diabetics as it helps get rid of excess sugar in the blood. It is a diuretic and so good for obesity as it helps the body rid itself of excess water. It cannot help remove stones from the internal organs but it a good preventative. Watercress aids the liver, helping it to stay healthy.

   Watercress belongs to the Brassica family of vegetables along with broccoli and brussel sprouts and shares many of the same properties. It tastes a little like rocket but is less spicy, although they can be substituted for each other.

    A tisane can be made from 5 gr. of watercress to 1 cup of boiling water, steeped for 10 minutes and then strained. This is good as a diuretic and if you have a bronchial cough or cold. You can also steep 25 gr of watercress in a glass of cold water overnight and strain it in the morning and take a tablespoon 4 times a day. Pep it up with the addition of cayenne pepper or black pepper.

    If you crush the leaves to get the juice from them you can apply this to your face to remove any skin blemishes, but to get rid of pimples you should take the tisane internally.

    Watercress can help with respiratory illnesses as it is an expectorant, antibronchitic, antiviral, antipyretic and a general tonic. It contains 13 amino acids, the B-complex vitamins, vitamins A, C, and the following minerals: - calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorous, potassium, sodium, iodine and zinc. This means that it contains a lot of antioxidants, so helps with blood flow, etc. It also contains beta-carotene, fibre, and essential oil, glutotropeolin, and glycosides. It has been used in the past to treat TB and Culpeper suggested the bruised leaves could be used to remove skin blemishes.

   An old superstition says that if you wrap watercress in red flannel and wear it when you have to go on water you will be protected from drowning.

WATERCRESS SALAD

Ingredients

1 bunch of watercress, shredded

½ head of lettuce, shredded

4-6 spring onions, roughly chopped

½ cucumber sliced

4 tomatoes, sliced

1 tbsp capers

12 black olives

olive oil and wine vinegar for the dressing

½ tsp dried oregano

Method

Combine all the ingredients except for the oil and vinegar.

Mix 2 parts oil and 1 part vinegar and add a little oregano. Shake well to combine, then toss the salad in this dressing.

This has Taste and is a Treat.

HOW TO MAKE SPICY FRIED PRAWNS: EASY AND TASTY RECIPE

SPICY FRIED PRAWNS

Ingredients

2 cups prawns, shelled and cleaned

3 tbsp plain flour

3 tbsps cornflour

1 tsp chilli powder

½ tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp garam masala

1 tsp salt

1 egg white

oil for frying

Method

Mix together the flour, cornflour and spice powders add a little water and stir to a paste.

Put the prawns in this mixture, making sure they are completely coated in it and leave to stand for ½ hour.

Whisk the egg white until it is stiff and forms peaks.

Heat the oil in a pan and dip each prawn in the egg white and add to the pan.

Fry the prawns for about 5 minutes.

Serve immediately with salad.

This has Taste and is a Treat.

FISH CURRY WITH SPRING ONIONS RECIPE

FISH CURRY WITH SPRING ONIONS

Ingredients

1 kg white fish cut into 3 inch pieces

½ kilo spring onions, chopped

1½ tsps fenugreek seeds (methi)

1½ tbsps chilli powder

1½ tbsps ground cumin seeds

1½ tbsps ground coriander seeds

salt to taste

1 tbsp pounded garlic paste

1 tbsp pounded ginger root (paste)

1 cup natural yoghurt

1 cup oil

8 green chillies, finely chopped

1½ inch piece of ginger root, chopped

fresh coriander leaves for garnish (optional)

Method

Heat the oil in a pan with the fenugreek seeds and fry until they become red. Add the spring onions and fry until they become light brown.

Add the garlic and ginger pastes, chillies and all the spices. Cook for 5 mins.

Then add the yoghurt to the spice mixture and stir well. Cook over a low heat for 10 minutes.

Add the fish to the mixture and make sure the heat is low.

Cover the pan so that the fish is cooked by the steam. Don’t remove the lid, but shake the pan to mix everything when you think you need to, (every 3 to 4 mins should be enough).

Cook for 15 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat take out the fish and pour the sauce over it. Garnish with the ginger and fresh coriander if you wish.

Serve with boiled rice or breads of your choice.

This has Taste and is a Treat.