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.