LOTUS- LOTUS ROOT- LOTUS FLOWER: HOW TO USE THE LOTUS FOR HEALTH: LOTUS ROOT PICKLE RECIPE

THE LOTUS, NELUMBO NUCIFERA, KANWAL IN URDU

The lotus is a sacred plant to Buddhists, Hindus and Jains and has been cultivated for thousands of years. It is a symbol of everlasting life, resurrection, fertility, prosperity (material and spiritual), enlightenment amidst ignorance and one can understand why. This amazing plant has been used in traditional medicine for a number of diseases and infections and Western research has validated most of the traditional medicinal uses. The root or rhizome is edible, and rather like a crunchy water chestnut in taste, and these can be substituted for lotus root in cookery. It also tastes a little like coconut but you have to sample it to judge for yourself what it is like.

  The root will discolour quickly when exposed to air, so if you have a fresh root to cook, keep some water mixed with lemon juice near so that you can dip it into this so that it retains its creamy-white colour. You can batter and deep fry the cut tubers, boil, steam roast, pickle them or even eat them raw. They are crunchy so don’t overcook them thinking that they will go soft; they won’t. You can dry the root and then make meal from it which can be mixed to a paste to get rid of ringworm and other skin problems, or use it like flour.

  Lotus roots can grow up to 4 feet in length and be 2 to 4 inches wide. They can come in segments, each of which can be 8 to 12 inches long. They are cultivated in ponds which can be easily drained to harvest the root or in tanks. The root is the main part eaten, but the whole plant is edible and all of it is used in medicine for different purposes.

   The roots contain asparagines, tannin, nelumbine, carotene, thiamine, nicotinic acid, riboflavin, and ascorbic acid (vitamin C).The seeds contain protein and carbohydrates, and the minerals potassium, calcium and phosphorous among others. The flowers also contain iron and calcium among other constituents.

   Lotus plants are native to Asia, Australia, Egypt, the Middle East and New Guinea, and Nelumba lutea was used as food and medicine by the Native Americans.

Egyptian blue lotus

   The lotus is associated with Creation myths, and one myth tells of the god Vishnu, asleep in the primordial waters which had covered the first created world, and as he dreamed, a golden lotus flower grew from his navel. As it unfurled, it revealed the cosmic egg in which Brahma the creator lay sleeping. As Brahma stirred in the egg, so creation began once more and new worlds and life unfolded. In India today the lotus is viewed as the Cradle of the Universe, and there are similar myths about the lotus in Egypt where a “cousin” of the lotus grows. This is the blue lotus, Nymphaea caerula; the myth says that a new child god was born from this flower who was the Light that banished Darkness. The ancient Egyptians used it to invoke Isis, Osiris and Thoth. In India it is sacred to Lakshmi the goddess of prosperity and abundance.

   The lotus also symbolizes peace and serenity and the lotus position, adopted in meditation, signifies the person transcending the material world. The legs are crossed and the upper parts of the body are erect in an attempt to achieve a oneness with the gods.

   The lotus seeds can be very long lived as in north eastern China some were discovered in the sediment of a dried up lake in the 1920s and planted. No one realized at the time how old they were, but tests in the 1990s revealed that the seeds had germinated after lying dormant for 1300 years. Scientists have said that lotus seeds are “the oldest demonstrably viable and directly dated seed ever reported” and are using evidence from lotus seeds in an attempt to understand the ageing process of other species.

   Seeds are used to make prayer beads, and lotus leaves stalks are harvested in Myanmar for their fibre. This is made into threads and woven into cloth to make religious robes and altar cloths. The lotus leaf stalks are used in India to make wicks for temple lamps.

    Because the seeds can germinate from mud after the monsoon rains and give rise to new plants, they are symbolic of immortality and resurrection.

    In India honey made from the lotus flowers is valued because it is good to treat eye problems, and the large leaves are laid on the body during high fevers to bring the temperature down. The boiled roots, mixed with sesame oil are used to alleviate heat and applied to the head and eyes. A cough syrup is made with dried lotus flowers, and the leaves and stems may be pounded and made into a paste to help cure piles, leprosy, and other skin diseases as well as eaten to stop vomiting. The milky latex in the stems, leaves and flowers has antibacterial properties.

   The flower stamens are used in preparations to help with erectile dysfunctions such as premature ejaculation, and the seeds taken orally for 7 days with water from rice, is believed to improve female fertility. The stamens are also used to stop excessive urine and uterine bleeding. The seeds have sedative properties and can cure insomnia, as well as soothing the uterus muscles. The leaf juice when boiled with liquorice root is effective against sunstroke. The stalk is used to stem excessive blood flow during menstruation, and to halt the bleeding of gastric ulcers. Parts of the plant have been used to cure STDs and cancer, and research is continuing into the anti cancer effects of extracts from the plant.

   A decoction of the flowers is used to combat premature ejaculation and as parts of the plant contain a substance, L-isoaspartyl methyltransferase; it is thought that this might play a role in halting the ageing process in the skin, as it can repair protein damage. The flowers have also been used as a diuretic in traditional medicine.

   One of my favourite recipes is deep-fried lotus root; cut and blanch thin slices of lotus root and coat in a spicy matter, then deep fry for a few minutes. Delicious.

LOTUS ROOT PICKLE

Ingredients

3 tbsps rice vinegar or white wine vinegar

3 tbsps sugar

300 gr sliced lotus root

3 red chillies split from top to bottom

Method

Peel the root and cut into slices. Dipping each slice into water with lemon juice added to stop it discolouring. Boil a pan of water and blanch the root for 3 minutes.

Allow to cool.

Meanwhile boil the vinegar and sugar until the sugar has dissolved. Put the lotus root and chillies into a glass jar and cover with the liquid. Seal the jar and put it in the fridge where it will keep for about a week.

This has Taste and is a Treat.

ORCHIDS AND SALEP - HOW TO USE: SALEP RECIPE

ORCHIDS AND SALEP

Orchids once grew wild and prolifically in Britain and other parts of Europe. Unfortunately wild orchids are now rare and protected, so you can’t dig up the tubers as you once could. The tubers contain a starch–like substance called salep which is mucilaginous and was known to Dioscorides in the 1^st century AD. The tubers were dried and powdered or stored and used to heal wounds, as well as to heal “The King’s Evil” which was the name given to scrofula, the primary stage of tuberculosis, which causes swelling of the lymphatic glands. It was believed that the touch of the king could cure the disease. Culpeper believed that orchids came under the “dominion of Venus” and they were considered an aphrodisiac in Europe, possibly because of the shape of the tubers. The word sahlep in Arabic is said to mean “fox testicles.” It is Culpeper who states that “they heal the King’s Evil.”  Earlier Gerard calls them the “Female Satyrion” and it was believed that satyrs were incited to their sexual excesses by the orchid roots, which began to grow when a satyr, Orchis, who was the son of a satyr and a nymph, insulted (possibly raped) a priestess of Bacchus or Dionysus. His father prayed that he would not be killed for his crime and so Orchis was metamorphosed into an orchid.

   Witches used the tubers in spells with the fresh tubers bringing true love and the withered ones used to stop adulterous passions.

    In the Renaissance the tubers were kept in ships’ stores to provide sustenance when other rations dwindled. One ounce of the powdered tubers in 4 pints of boiling water was considered enough for one man per day in times of shortage.

  Mucilage of salep (powdered tuber) is one of the official preparations in the German Pharmacopoeia. It is used as a cure for diarrhoea and bilious fevers.

   In Turkey salep is a warming winter drink flavoured with saffron, which tastes delicious, and powdered tuber is used to make the kind of ice cream that stretches and has to be cut with a knife. This also contains mastic gum. I once observed ice cream vendors stretching their ice cream across a wide road in Kusadasi, Turkey. The ice cream tastes very good, as does the salep drink you can buy there.

   You can also eat orchid flowers, as you can those from the kachnar tree and the hibiscus. They can be used as a garnish, or to flavour desserts such as ice cream. Vanilla, of course comes from an orchid. If you can get an orchid root, you should try this drink. However you can’t import orchid roots from Turkey, but you can get powdered salep in some gourmet shops, although you may not be getting the real thing.

SALEP

Ingredients

1 tsp salep powder

1 cup milk

1½ tsps sugar

a pinch of saffron

sprinkle of cinnamon powder

(optional dash of rose water, orange blossom water, chopped walnuts or pistachios)

Method

 The salep powder, sugar and saffron in a cup of milk, pour into a glass or cup and sprinkle with cinnamon powder.

If you wish you can top add a dash of each or either of the flower water and stir then top with the walnuts or fresh pistachios (not the salted ones).

This has Taste and is a Treat.

YUCCA AND CASSAVA OR MANIOC: EDIBLE ROOTS USES AND BENEFITS

yucca

YUCCA, CASSAVA, MANIOC

Yuccas are ornamental plants in Europe and North America, but they have edible tubers and flowers. Two yuccas that can’t be eaten are the Actaea rubra or banana yucca and the Actaea arguta. You can eat the flowers and the tubers of the other plants, although they have to be peeled and leached of toxins. Some can be eaten raw, but you have to know which type these are before you start chomping on a tuber.

   They originated in Central America, and the manioc or cassava is the source of what we know as tapioca, the stuff that looks a little like frog spawn when cooked as a dessert with milk. This comes from Manihot esculenta, which is also used to make flour which has the advantage of being gluten free. It is made by grating the raw tuber and then drying the grated root and grinding to a powder or meal. In Brazil, they make Farafa which is seasoned manioc meal which is used as a condiment on almost every cooked dish in Brazil.

cassava or manioc crop

   Manioc or cassava has been a staple crop for centuries, and archaeologists have found evidence that it was cultivated by the Mayans 1400 years ago in El Salvador. They discovered a field the size of a football pitch which had been preserved under a blanket of volcanic ash. Today the crop is also used to make alcoholic drinks including beer, as well as being a staple food. It has twice the protein value of a potato and is higher in vitamin content and potassium than the potato, so it has been a valuable food crop over the centuries.

   It was discovered by the Portuguese and Spanish explorers and they took it to the Caribbean, Africa and Asia, where it is also commonly used today.

edible manioc root

    The Witoto tribe of the Colombian Amazon use the water used to leach the toxins out of the bitter roots to poison fish and other tribes use the water to treat skin infections and as poultices to draw out foreign bodies from the skin. The Makura use it to get rid of scabies. It has antimicrobial properties and is used to heal wounds.

    The flowers of the yucca plants can be stuffed with breadcrumbs or a vegetable mixture and baked. In this they are similar to the edible buds of the kachnar tree and other edible flowers such as the rose, nasturtium and lavender. The tubers can be used like potatoes and baked, boiled or steamed after being peeled as there is prussic acid in the skins which gives them a bitter taste. You can make crisps or chips with them and they are good fried with garlic and chilli.

HORSERADISH: HEALTH BENEFITS, USES AND HISTORY OF HORSERADISH: HORSERADISH SAUCE RECIPE

HORSERADISH, ARMORACIA RUSTICANA, AMORACIA LAPATHIFOLIA

Horseradish is native to the Mediterranean, although it has been growing wild in Britain for centuries, as it has in the rest of Europe and Scandinavia. It grows virtually anywhere and we used to take a shovel and dig a root up when we needed it in Wales. You don’t have to go to those extremes, and it’s probably illegal to do so now; you can buy it in powdered or grated form or in ready-made sauces, including one with Roquefort cheese. It is related to the wallflower family and to mustard and Brassica, such as broccoli. It contains the same constituent (sinigrin) as black mustard seed, and is now used as a condiment in much the same way as mustard is. The French call horseradish Moutarde des Allemandes, or mustard of the Germans, as it was these people who first used it as a condiment in Europe.

   We can only speculate as to why it is called horseradish; some say that it is a misnomer from the German translation as it is called Meerrettich in German, meaning sea radish, but it was heard as mare radish (mare being a female horse). Some say that it is just called horse radish because it is a big tuber. However the roots resemble horse dung when they are first uprooted, so maybe that’s why it got its name. It actually looks a little like a parsnip or a mooli radish, and it tastes like the latter, although it is more pungent.

Other countries only used horseradish for its medicinal value. It was not until the mid 17^th century that Britons began using it in the same way as their German cousins.

   Horseradish was cultivated by the ancient Egyptians prior to 1500 BC, and Pliny recommended it (he called it Armoracia) as a diuretic. The ancient Greeks called it Raphanus agrios and Gerard, in his herbal of 1597 calls it Raphanus rusticana. He says that it was “commonly used among Germans for sauce to eate fish and such like meates as we do mustarde.” This comments shows that at Gerard’s time Britons did not use horseradish in this way.

    Culpeper says “If bruised and laid to a part grieved with sciatica, gout, joint-ache or hard swellings of the spleen and liver, it doth wonderfully help them all.” If it is scraped and secured by a bandage it will get rid of chilblains and if grated horseradish is applied to the face in cases of neuralgia that will go away too. However your hand may go numb if you hold the horseradish for too long. Infused in wine, horseradish makes a good stimulant for the nervous system and will bring on perspiration, so is good for a fever which accompanies flu. If you infuse horseradish in milk, this will help rejuvenate your complexion as it will stimulate blood flow in the face. Horseradish steeped in white vinegar used to be used to get rid of freckles. The root was also thought to be very effective in removing intestinal worms.

   Today horseradish is mainly used for respiratory problems, and it will get rid of mucus if you have a cold, cough or flu. It really does clear the sinuses, as you will know if you’ve unwittingly bitten into a beef sandwich without first knowing that it contained horseradish sauce. Horseradish is good with fatty foods as it aids digestion and seems to cut through the fat. It’s good with chicken, roast or boiled beef, tongue, cheeses and pork products.

   It is one of the five “bitter herbs” eaten by Jews at the feast of the Passover when they remember the bitterness of their enslavement in Egypt under the pharaohs. The other bitter herbs eaten at this time are coriander, lettuce, nettles, and horehound.

  Japanese horseradish is wasabi and you can buy this as a powder, which is pale green. This comes from a different family to the horseradish though, as it is Wasabi japonica. It is similar in taste to horseradish but not as pungent.

   Poultices of horseradish are good to clean infected wounds, as the root has antimicrobial and antiseptic properties. If you put fresh, grated horseradish on a part of the body that suffers from the pain of rheumatism or arthritis, it will help relieve it.

   If you buy powdered horseradish and mix it in water to reconstitute it. Leave it for 20 minutes or so for the full flavour to develop as you would with mustard prepared from a powder. You can mix the fresh grated root with yoghurt or soured cream or double cream to make a sauce, depending on the flavour you favour. Horseradish contains more vitamin C than an orange or a lemon so is good to ward off colds as well as to get rid of them. Cooked horseradish loses some of its pungency, but there’s nothing quite like the horseradish sauce below to perk up your appetite.

HORSERADISH SAUCE

Ingredients

¼ cup of fresh grated horseradish (freeze any remaining)

½ tbsp sugar

2 tsps Dijon mustard or green peppercorn mustard

1 tsp lemon juice or white wine vinegar

handful chopped chives

4 cloves garlic finely chopped or minced

1 cup natural yoghurt, soured cream or double cream

½ tsp paprika

Method

Mix all the ingredients together carefully, then chill for two hours or so before use.

Serve as suggested above, with meats, sausages, or cheeses.

This has Taste and is a Treat.