LETTUCE OR SALAD PATA - HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES: HOT LETTUCE SIDE DISH RECIPE

LETTUCE, LACTUCA SATIVA, SALAD PATA IN URDU

Lettuce is a common salad ingredient, and the most popular seems to be the iceberg lettuce, which has least nutrients of the lettuces. To get the most health benefits from a lettuce you should choose dark green ones such as the Cos or Romaine lettuce or the oak leaf lettuces. There is the wild lettuce too, Lactuca virosa which has a bitter taste, but which has the most sap which can be used in medicine. The sap has opium-like qualities and is a sedative. It has been used in children’s cough medicines and is traditionally used to calm people who are irascible and of nervous dispositions.

Cos/Romaine

  If you are a fan of Beatrix Potter, you may remember her book, “The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies” published in 1909 in which Peter Rabbit’s children stuff themselves with lettuce and fall asleep in Mr. McGregor’s garden and end up in a sack. Of course, all is well in the end, but Peter and his offspring got a nasty shock. Beatrix wrote “It is said that eating too much lettuce is soporific.” Certainly the ancient Greeks and Romans thought so, and the Greeks fulminated as to whether it should be served at the beginning of a meal, because it aided digestion, or at the end, because it would induce sleep. The Romans served lettuce at the end of their meals in the form of lettuce soup. Galen believed that it cured insomnia.

   In Rome lettuce was regarded as a wonder cure and Augustus Caesar set up an altar for it and set up a statue in honour of it and the physician who prescribed it, as he believed it cured him of a dangerous illness.

  Cos lettuce appears to have got its name from the Greek island of Kos which is close to Turkey, and it is generally believed that this type of lettuce was first grown on Kos.

  Egyptians featured lettuce in the wall paintings of pharaohs’ tombs and believed that it was a symbol of male virility, perhaps because when it bolts as it produces seeds; it can reach heights of over 6 feet and looks like a phallus. Egyptians cultivated lettuce for the seeds from which they produced oil, rather than for culinary purposes. On the contrary in Ayurvedic medicine lettuce is used to dampen the libido.

   The Latin name Lactuca means containing milk and is a reference to the milky sap which lettuce produce when cut. This is where the cancer fighting flavonoids are, so you should not cut or tear lettuce leaves to serve them but put them whole in salads.

  The sap is a soothing lotion for skin irritation and sunburn and is a herbal remedy for depression. It contains magnesium, chrome and folic acids and lettuces on the whole are rich in vitamins A, C, K and some B-complex vitamins as well as minerals which include calcium, iron, potassium and manganese. Amino acids and Omega-3 and -6 fatty acids are also present as is the carotenoid zeaxanthin which helps prevent age-related macular degeneration. Like carrots and whinberries lettuces are good for the eyesight. They are members of the Asteraceae or daisy family which includes chamomile, yarrow and sunflowers. Wild lettuce turns its leaves in the direction of the sun as sunflowers turn their heads.

red oak leaf lettuce

  Lettuce has been cultivated for more than 2,500 years, and the Romans had around 80 varieties, and they helped to spread the lettuce around the world. It is thought that the wild lettuce, a precursor of the one we have today, Lactuca serriola probably originated in the Mediterranean region, from where it spread throughout Europe and temperate Asia. It is further believed that the first people to use it as food were the ancient Persians.

  Lettuce has diuretic properties and has been traditionally used to cool the temperature in fevers. It has also been used as a blood purifier and to aid digestion. In Ayurvedic medicine it is prescribed for peptic ulcers as are asparagus, broccoli and alfalfa sprouts.

  Gerard the 16^th century English herbalist wrote about the sap; “it procures sleep, assuages pain, moves the courses in women and is drunk against the stingings of scorpions and biting spiders.”

   Whatever type of lettuce you buy has nutrients in it, but so try the darker ones, as they will do you the most good.

Cos/Romaine

HOT LETTUCE SIDE DISH

Ingredients

½ head dark green lettuce

225 gr fresh peas

4-6 spring onions, finely chopped

½ handful snipped mint leaves

½ tsp sugar

¼ pint chicken or vegetable stock

1 oz butter

1 tbsp olive oil

Method

Melt the butter with the olive oil then lightly fry the spring onions for 3-4 minutes.

Add the lettuce and swish around the pan until it is wilted.

Add the shelled peas, mint and chicken stock and bring to a boil then simmer until the peas are tender.

Adjust seasoning and serve.

This has Taste and is a Treat.

SAUSAGE TREE - TRADITIONAL MEDICAL USES AND ROLE IN MODERN MEDICINE

THE SAUSAGE TREE, KIGELIA AFRICANA, KIGELIA PINNATA

Kigelia Africana or Kigelia pinnata is one of a kind and the only Kigelia plant. It gets its name from the Mozambican name for the tree, Kigeli-keia, and the English name is because of the shape and size of its fruit. 

These are not your breakfast type of sausage, but more of a German wurst, or Italian Mortadella or salami. In fact the German name Leberwurst (liver sausage) for this tree reflects this. It is a member of the Bignoniaceae family of trumpet-creeper plants as is the jacaranda, another species which is unique.

  It is native to Sub-Saharan Africa and particularly likes woodland areas along streams and river banks and savannah. Its flowers have an unpleasant smell which may be why it attracts fruit bats, as they are normally drawn towards white flowers, but the Sausage tree flowers are maroon or dark red. Hawk moths along with the bats help to pollinate the flowers which also attract birds as they are full of nectar. Hungry antelope and deer species eat the fallen flowers, and it is said that baboons and porcupines among other animals feast on the fruit which is toxic for humans. Despite this it is used in traditional medicine, especially the dried seeds and leaves and the pulp when removed from the seeds is said to help give women firm breasts.

  The powdered leaves are used for their wound healing and cleansing properties and it is used for STDs, malaria and a whole range of diseases including gynaecological ones. In fact it may be the African equivalent of the Neem tree that grows in the Indian subcontinent.

  The fruit hangs down, suspended on twig-like ‘strings’ and it looks rather as though someone has played an elaborate April Fool’s joke, tying German sausages to the branches. However it is a real tree and does have these amazing fruit. They can probably give you concussion if you unwittingly take shelter from the sun under its shade. On average they weigh around 3 kilos but a large one could weigh as much as 9 kilos. They can be 30-60 centimetres long and have a diameter of around10 centimetres. If you try to eat one you will get blisters on your skin and in your mouth and will be violently ill.

  The roasted fruit is used to flavour beer and to assist in the fermentation process, and in times of scarcity, apparently the seeds are roasted and eaten.

  They have many traditional uses as the fruit has anti-microbial properties so the powdered fruit is used for skin problems such as acne, and for dressing wounds, and in water it is used as disinfectant. On a dressing the powder is applied to eczema and slices of the fruit are used to make breasts firm. Beauty products are now available which utilize extracts from Kigelia Africana, and these have been advertised as halting the aging process of the skin, although this has not been confirmed in clinical trials by those who do not have a vested interest in the beauty industry.

  What seems to have been proved is that the extracts have anti-inflammatory properties and so are useful in after-sun lotions, and for soothing irritated skin. It is also believed, according to researchers at the University of Karachi’s Research Institute of Chemistry, that the extracts from the seeds have potent antioxidant effects. Currently research in on-going into the properties of the Sausage Tree, and researchers who have undertaken a review of the research so far (conducted in 2009) concluded “there is an enormous scope for the future research of Kigelia Africana considering the many medicinal properties it carries” and the fact that it is used for so many purposes traditionally. The researchers end with this call to action “more research work should focus on anti-cancer properties” as it seems that the extracts from this tree may inhibit melanoma.

Olatunji and Olubunmi who carries out the review were also concerned about sustainability and doubtless had in mind what tends to happen to plant species when Westerners decide they are useful either as cosmetics, food supplements or in pharmaceuticals. The Himalayan Yew is one species which is under threat because it is valuable to the pharmaceutical industry and Devil’s Claw is similarly endangered.

  It is said that the roots yield a yellow dye, while the boiled fruits give a red one.  It is used in Botswana and Zimbabwe to make dugout canoes, and the strong wood is used for shelving and to make fruit boxes.

  One of the folk remedies is to wrap a leaf from the Sausage tree around a wart, then bury it so that as the leaf decays so will the wart disappear. This is similar to the belief that you can cut a potato and rub it on a wart then bury the potato. Legend has it that Dr Livingstone saw a Kigelia africana and camped beneath it just before he got to Victoria Falls and carved his name on the trunk. It must not have been the fruit season (December to June) I guess.

  The tree is sacred to some tribes’ people in Kenya and if a person is missing, presumed dead, they will bury one of the fruit of the sausage tree in place of the body of the lost person.
 To see more photos of this tree go to hear.org and see Kim and Forrest Star's  site.
This is a real tree and not an April Fool's joke- it's just an accident that it was posted on 1st April.

WHAT IS KHEERA? CUCUMBER - HISTORY: HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES OF CUCUMBER: TURKISH CUCUMBER AND YOGHURT SOUP RECIPE

CUCUMBER, KHEERA in URDU CUCUMIS SATIVA

When you think “cucumber” you probably think of the long green one that we know in Europe, the one that is grown in greenhouses, but in Pakistan there are different varieties of cucumber, the desi kheera, which is a relatively small, thick yellow cucumber and small green cucumbers which are kheera and look like mini-cucumbers. The seeds and leaves are used for medicinal purposes to cure a variety of ills including jaundice, sore throats general weakness and insomnia, to name but a few uses.

  Cucumbers originated in the Indian subcontinent, and are known to have been cultivated in Western Asia for at least 3,000 years. They were probably introduced into Europe by the Romans and were cultivated in France in the 9^th century, in England in the 14^th (although they had been introduced earlier, but had disappeared, it would seem in the Dark Ages after the fall of the Roman Empire) and were grown in North America by the mid-16^th century. Christopher Columbus apparently took cucumber seeds with him to Haiti in 1494.They are mentioned in the Epic of Gilgamesh as being eaten in the ancient city of Ur, and were cultivated in ancient Thrace which is now parts of Bulgaria and Turkey. The cucumber is part of traditional Greek and Bulgarian and Turkish cuisine, used in desserts and yoghurt-based soups. It is also used in raita in the subcontinent and tzatziki in Greece.

   The Emperor Tiberius insisted on having cucumbers on his table every day in winter and summer and so they were cultivated for him in the first “greenhouses” protected from the cold by frames of oiled cloth at night and taken into direct sunlight on warm winter days. Roman matrons who were barren would wear cucumbers around their waists believing that they would make them fertile. In Roman times they were also carried to births by midwives and thrown away after the baby was born. Clearly this had something to do with the phallic appearance of the cucumber.

   In English we have the phrase “cool as a cucumber” which comes from a poem “A New Song” by John Gay and English poet and dramatist of the early 18^th century. Cucumbers are used for their cooling properties in medicine and can be placed on sunburn to relieve the pain and calm the skin’s redness. They are useful to get rid of puffiness around the eyes- just put a slice on each eye and leave it there for 15 minutes to half an hour while you lie back and relax. This is also a remedy for tired eyes. The cucumber cools the eyes and skin and rehydrates it. Try pulping a cucumber and applying the pulp to your face. It will leave your skin feeling rejuvenated and glowing with health. The pulp can also be applied to burns and scalds and applied to sunburn to reduce the heat.

  Cucumbers are members of the Cucurbitaceae family of plants which include the watermelon, pumpkin, courgettes and gourds such as the ash gourd or petha. Although the English cucumber is sold as seedless it still has a few seeds, and these are considered very beneficial in Ayurvedic medicine and other traditional medicinal practices in the Indian subcontinent.

   Cucumbers contain a lot of water, of course, so are good in warm weather, and cucumber juice is full of nutrients and very refreshing. They contain vitamins A, C, E and some of the B-complex ones as well as minerals such as potassium, iron, manganese, magnesium, molybdenum, phosphorous, calcium, copper, sodium and zinc. They also contain silica which the body needs to strengthen the connective tissues, the muscles, cartilage, tendons and ligaments. Amino acids including arginine are present, and arginine is especially beneficial for the immune system and the heart and circulation. Arginine also boosts nitric oxide in the body which relaxes blood vessels and has the same basic effect as Viagra, so eating cucumbers with the peel on them, can help with erectile dysfunctions. The skin of the cucumber contains silica, potassium, manganese and fibre, so should be eaten and not discarded. The ascorbic acid and caffeic acid contained in cucumbers means that they are good for preventing water retention, and are used for their diuretic properties here in Pakistan. They are also used in the Ayurvedic system of medicine to dispel kidney stones and to stop haemorrhages.

Desi Kheera

  In Pakistan the traditional healers or hakims use the cucumber seeds as coolants in fevers, for their diuretic properties and because they are highly nutritious for general weakness. The leaves are boiled and mixed with cumin seeds then mashed to a pulp and given to relieve throat infections. They may also be dried and powdered, then mixed with gur and given to stop water retention. For sunstroke pieces of cucumber are placed on the head so that the sufferer will breathe moistened air to neutralize the body heat. Pulped cucumbers with seeds are made into a paste to relieve burns and headaches and for skin problems. It is also believed that cucumbers cure insomnia, although I haven’t worked out how. Another recipe is for 1 oz of cucumber seeds and the same of yellow melon seeds, watermelon seeds and raisins (probably sultanas though I think) 2 oz chicory 10 ounces of gur or jaggery and a litre of water. The seeds are boiled then strained and the liquid drunk in ½ -1 oz doses three or four times a day for water retention and to cool the body during fevers.

  To cool down during summer, try this Turkish recipe for cucumber and yoghurt soup or our raita or tzatziki recipes.

TURKISH CUCUMBER AND YOGHURT SOUP

Ingredients

1 large pot natural yoghurt

1 lb cucumbers, grated

2 tbsps fresh dill, snipped into ½ inch pieces

2 tsps distilled white vinegar

1 tbsp olive oil

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

freshly ground black pepper

1 tbsp fresh mint, snipped into small pieces

mint sprigs to decorate each bowl of soup

Method

Put all the ingredients except for the mint in a bowl and whisk so that they are all thoroughly combined.

Chill for at least an hour.

When ready to serve you may have to whisk the soup again as you need to add the freshly snipped mint.

Pour into bowls and garnish with a sprig of fresh mint.

This has Taste and is a Treat.

  

WHAT IS AARHOO? PEACH - DELICIOUS JUICY FRUIT: HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES OF PEACH: HOW TO MAKE BELLINI COCKTAIL

PEACH, AARHOO, PRUNUS PERSICA

Peaches have the Latin name Prunus because they were thought to resemble a plum and Persica because it was thought that they originated in Persia. However we now know that they originated in China where they have been cultivated for thousands of years and where wild peaches still grow. It is thought that they may have grown along the Chinese trade routes of the ancient world as traders threw away the peach kernels (which like almond kernels contain hydrocyanic acid which is toxic). The English word peach comes from the Old French peche. They were called Malus persica in the ancient world, meaning Persian apples. Peaches are members of the rose family of plants as is the strawberry. They are caller Aarhoo (pronounced aru) in Urdu.

  There are different kinds of peach and the white variety so loved by the Italians is a delicious one to use in desserts. Poached in wine with cinnamon they make very tasty ones.

   The peach was known to the ancient Greek physician, Theophrastus in 329 BC and was in the writings of Confucius. In fact it is sacred to the Taoists and is the symbol of longevity. There is a legend from China which talks of a peach tree which belonged to the gods and which grew fruit once every 3,000 years if someone ate the fruit of this tree they were assured of virility and immortality. The peach is a symbol of longevity in China and gifts of peaches or decorative items with the peach motif on them are highly valued.

   Peaches are high in fibre and can be used as part of a weight loss diet, as they can be eaten as snacks and suppress the appetite. There is now the Saturn variety of peaches which is a flat peach, sometimes referred to as the doughnut peach, which has gained in popularity in Britain since 2004 mainly because it can be eaten without being too messy. The flesh doesn’t cling to the stone, and as it is flat, (rather like the flying saucer shape of the popular imagination) you don’t tend to get juice all over you and have to resort to licking parts of your anatomy. These have not been genetically modified as you might be forgiven for supposing, but have been grown in China since the 19^th century.

  Peaches come in a variety of colours as well as shapes and may have white, yellow, red, pink or orange flesh. They are rich in vitamins A and C and also contain some B-complex ones as well as E and K. As for minerals, they are rich in potassium, and also contain iron, phosphorous, magnesium, calcium, selenium, manganese, copper and zinc. They have anti-microbial and antioxidant properties and may inhibit cancerous growth and reduce the risk of certain cancers, although trials are on-going.

  In the Indian subcontinent peaches and leaves and bark are used for a variety of illnesses including anaemia, asthma, gall bladder and kidney stones, bronchitis, constipation, dry coughs, gastritis, high blood pressure and poor digestion.

  Peach leaf tisane is given to get rid of internal parasites and for coughs including whooping cough and it is also supposed to be good for bronchitis as it has expectorant qualities. To make peach leaf tisane, take 1 oz dried peach leaves to 1 pint boiling water. Pour the water over the leaves and allow to steep for 15 minutes, then strain and drink. Flavour with honey if necessary. A tisane can also be made from ½ oz of dried bark to a pint of boiling water as in the leaf tisane. Peach leaves and flowers can be distilled to make cordials and peach wine can be made from the fruit. The leaves and bark have sedative, expectorant and diuretic qualities. In Italy people used to place a peach leaf on a wart and then bury the leaf. It was believed that as the leaf rotted so the wart would drop off.

   You can make an infusion of peach flowers which was reckoned to be good for jaundice, and which has purgative properties.  The best time to harvest the leaves is early summer, while the bark should be stripped from young trees and then sun-dried, taking it in at night before the dew falls.

   The 16^th century English herbalist John Gerard grew peach trees in his garden, and Culpeper recommended the powdered leaves for staunching blood flow from wounds and to close them. He also suggested using the sap from the cut tree mixed with coltsfoot, sweet wine and saffron for “coughs, hoarseness and loss of voice.” He went on to say that this was also good for the lungs as it “clears and strengthens” them and “relieves those who vomit and spit blood.” Finally he recommends that the bruised kernels should be boiled in vinegar “until they become thick and applied to the head, it marvelously causeth the hair to grow again on any bald place or where it is too thin.”

  The recipe below for the Bellini cocktail is the original one first concocted in Harry’s Bar in Venice by Giuseppe Ciprianti who was inspired so it is said, by Bellini’s art. It’s best with white peaches but any variety will do.

BELLINI COCKTAIL

Ingredients

Serves 2

1 white peach, peeled and blended

½ bottle champagne or sparkling white wine

2 peach balls

Method

Put the peach pulp in a champagne flute and add champagne (originally Italian Prosecco was used).

 Put a melon ball in each flute and let it sink to the bottom.

If you want to add a measure of crème de peche and a dash of peach bitters to each flute this will be closer to the Bellini that you will be served in a cocktail bar.

This has Taste and is a Treat.