WHAT IS SATTU - HOW TO MAKE SATTU AND SATTU DRINK

SATTU; A REALLY REFRESHING DRINK WITH A DIFFERENCE

Along with skanjveen, tukh malanga and gond katira, sattu is a deliciously different drink which is a great thirst-quencher for sweltering summer days. It’s lemon barley water Pakistani-style. 

You can also add ground yellow dhal (channa dhal) or use wheat instead of barley if you prefer. The recipe below is for fresh barley.

SATTU

Ingredients

100 gr barley seeds

To prepare the barley: -

Soak the barley overnight in water, then the next day, drain them and leave them to dry in the shade.

Heat a heavy-based pan over a low heat and add the dry barley seeds and dry fry them until they turn brown. Be careful not to let them burn.

Remove them from the heat and allow them to cool before grinding them to a fine powder.

You can store the powder in an airtight container until you are ready to use it.

Sattu Drink for 1 glass

1 tbsp sattu (prepared as above)

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

sugar to taste

water

ice

Method

Mix the sugar into the water well, add the lemon and sattu and mix together, add ice and serve.

This has Taste and is a Treat.

WHAT IS CARALLUMA FIMBRIATA? CHONG - OUR UNIDENTIFIED 'VEGETABLE': HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES OF CARALLUMA FIMBRIATA: CHONG WITH MINCED BEEF RECIPE

CHONG, CARALLUMA FIMBRIATA

Chong or perhaps chonga is used as a vegetable where we are in Pakistan, although it is not well known in other places it would appear. It is a strange-looking thing when you first see it sitting in a greengrocers, or at leas, we thought so. Neither of us had any idea what it was, so the vegetable seller kindly informed us that this was chong (in Urdu). Apparently it is called danda thor in Punjabi. I wanted to taste it, whatever it was, so my husband spoke with the greengrocer, who called his wife to ask her how to cook it. Her recipe is given below.

  We have been trying to find out what it is called in English for about a year, and finally discovered that it is a succulent cactus, having found photographs online. We know what it is used for here in this part of Pakistan, but were surprised when we discovered that it is used for weight loss in the West. A friend told us that when he was younger he would pick this plant and eat it raw as he was walking as it stopped his hunger and quenched his thirst too. I later found that tribal people have used it for centuries to quell hunger on a day’s hunt.

  Our greengrocer says that it is good to purify the blood when it is eaten as a green vegetable (although it is bitter like karella or bitter melon, so the juice needs to be removed prior to cooking) and it is also good for skin problems and diabetes. It can be made into a pickle or chutney, but we have only eaten it cooked, as the juice is very bitter.

  It is a member of the Asclepiadaceae family, so is a relative of Indian sarsaparilla, and has star-shaped flowers which are unpleasantly pungent, but which are very attractive as they can be purple, black, yellow, tan maroon, red or black. Here they grow on the mountains although in India they grow more freely it would seem, on any patch of waste land. We didn’t see them in other parts of the Punjab, but that may be because the people of Lahore think they are too sophisticated to eat what other websites say is “famine” food. Here it is sold at the greengrocer’s when it is in season and it is expensive as, like kachnar buds and falsa it is picked by hand and those that pick it might have to spend a long time looking for spots in which it grows.

  Studies have been done which seem to prove that little chong is a great aid to weight loss diets, as it contains HCA10 (hydroxyaltrate) which has been proved to contribute to weight loss without stimulating the central nervous system as some weight loss drugs do.

It contains pregnane glycosides which appear to block the activity of citratelyase which is an enzyme that builds fat in the body and also it may block the activity of Melonyl Coenzyme A which means that fat formulation and build up is also blocked, so the body is compelled to burn off the fat reserves it has accumulated so speeding up the body’s fat loss. Furthermore these glycosides may inhibit the hunger sensory mechanism which is found in the hypothalamus, a “primitive” part of the brain.

  Chong also combats fatigue, so you can use it without feeling a loss of energy and you get lean muscle mass by eating it regularly. Trials reported weight loss after 1 month of taking capsules containing Caralluma fimbriata. Hopefully, when this is proved, people will start growing their own chong as I wouldn’t want to be deprived of this vegetable because it is a weight loss product for obese Westerners.

CHONG WITH MINCED BEEF

Ingredients

½ kilo chong

1 tbsp salt

½ kilo minced beef

2 onions, finely chopped

4 tomatoes, finely chopped

6 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 inch fresh ginger, finely chopped

2 tbsps lemon juice

1 handful of fresh coriander leaves, finely shredded

6 green chillies, finely chopped

1 tbsp cumin seeds

1 tbsp ajwain or thyme

1 tbsp coriander seeds, crushed

1 tbsp garam masala

1 tsp turmeric (haldi)

8 whole black peppercorns

1 tbsp chilli powder

salt to taste

1 cup oil

Method

To prepare the chong: -

Wash the chong very well and separate the pieces, discarding the root. Pound it a little but not too much, then put one tablespoon of salt over it and rub it into the pieces of chong with you hands, so that it is well mixed into it. Leave this for half an hour to remove the bitter juices.

After half an hour, squeeze the chong to remove the excess juices. Then wash it in cold water two or three times so that all the bitter juices are removed. Put it in a strainer or sieve and leave to drip.

Cooking

Heat the oil in a pan and add the garlic, ginger, black peppercorns and cumin seeds, and fry them for 30 seconds then stir in the onion and fry this for 1 minute. Add the minced beef and green chillies, stir and fry for 5 minutes.

Pour in 1 cup of water the turmeric, ajwain or thyme, chilli powder, coriander seeds and salt to taste. (Remember that some salt will have remained on the chong, however well you washed it.)

Cook this until the water is gone, then add the chong and tomatoes, stirring well to mix. Cook this still stirring for 5 – 7 minutes.

Add 2 glasses of water the lemon juice and the garam masala, stirring to mix.

Cover the pan and let it cook for ½ hour over a low heat or until all the water has gone and the oil floats to the top.

Remove from the heat, and then add the fresh coriander, cover for a few minutes so that the flavours mingle and settle and serve with naan or chapattis.

To get the best out of this dish, serve with natural yoghurt.

This has Taste and is a Treat.

LEMONS - COOLING DRINKS, REMEDIES AND BEAUTY TREATMENTS

Handy Tips for Using Lemons

Lemons are exceedingly nutritious, and we can use them for things other than cooking. Here are some of the traditional uses for lemons and the leaves from the tree in Pakistan.

  Don’t throw away the peel, as for one thing you can get rid of any discoloured or rough skin on your elbows or heels by rubbing the lemon halves that you have squeezed into them.hhhjjj

   Mix the same quantities of lemon juice and salt, shake the mixture and use it to remove stains from cloth, including white clothes and tablecloths.

   Mix ¼ tsp of salt with 1 tsp lemon juice and rub it onto your teeth to whiten them. If you also rub this mixture onto bleeding gums, it will stop this problem.

   If you want your hair to shine, after washing and rinsing your hair, add some lemon juice to a little water, rub this onto your hands and run them through your hair, leaving it to dry naturally.

   If you have eaten burning hot food and have mouth blisters, put 1 tbsp lemon juice in 1 glass of water and rinse this around your mouth.

   If you have bad breath or a wound in the gums, mix1 tbsp lemon juice with 2 tbsps rose water and rinse your mouth with it - spitting it out and not swallowing when you have run it around your mouth for a while.

   If you have a sore throat, or hoarseness, mix 3 tbsps lemon juice which you have heated first, with a tbsp honey, and take some on a spoon and suck it over the course of a day.

  For this remedy you need four types of salt and dried lemon peel. You dry the peel in the shade, and when it has dried you grind it to a powder, and mix it with table salt, black salt, sea salt and lake salt (sambar in Urdu). Store this in an airtight jar and take a pinch after you have eaten so that you don’t suffer from indigestion or other stomach problems. This is very good for those who suffer with stomach pains in the lower abdomen region which lead to either constipation or diarrhoea.

Pakistani Lemons

  If you have a stomach pain, take the same weight of black peppercorns and fresh lemon leaves, grind them together and mix in water, and the pain will be relieved very quickly.

  When you get bitten by an insect such as a mosquito, rub lemon juice into the affected area to stop the itching and prevent lumps forming. You can also cover yourself in lemon juice to prevent being bitten.hhhhhhjj

  To prevent wrinkles and signs of aging of the skin, maze equal quantities or lemon juice, rose water and glycerine and put this on your face at night before you go to sleep. Wash it off as normal in the morning.

   If you have had a particularly hard day and need to get rid of the sweat and dirt, put 2 tbsps lemon juice in the bath and it will help remove the grime and body odour.

   Peel some lemons and break them into natural segments, then thread yarn through each piece and hang them to dry in the sun. When they are completely dry grind them to a powder then mix this with 4 times the weight of sugar or sugar and salt, and store the mixture in an airtight jar. Take a pinch after each meal to aid the digestion and make the stomach strong and healthy. It will stop nausea too.

   If you want a glowing complexion, mix 3 tbsp of milk with 1 tbsp lemon juice, and put it on your skin with cotton wool. Wash it off after half an hour and feel your skin glow.

  Of course if you cut a fruit such as an apple which discolours quickly on contact with oxygen, you can coat it with lemon juice so that it keeps its colour.

   Benefits of Skanjveen

Skanjveen is not just a refreshing drink but it has health benefits too as it can help those with jaundice and stop sickness and diarrhoea. If you want to prevent yourself getting these problems, drink one glass in the morning and one in the afternoon, and to make this drink more effective use misri rather than normal sugar.    

How to Store Lemon Juice

In a sterilized glass jar or bottle with a tight fitting lid, pour in lemon juice to almost the top, then add 1 or 2 tbsps of almond oil to cover the surface of the lemon juice. 

When you want to use the lemon juice, the oil will separate and should be poured into something clean. Use as much juice as you need to then put the almond oil back on top of it and make sure the top of the jar or bottle is securely fastened once again.

How to Make Lemon Sharbet

This will help you if you are on a weight loss diet, and is very refreshing on sweltering hot days, as well as cooling the body internally.

Ingredients

1 kilo sugar

½ litre fresh lemon juice

Method

Put sugar in a pan and add one glass of water to make a syrup. Stir well over a low heat until when you take a spoonful of the syrup and let it fall from the spoon it falls in one line. Then add the lemon juice, stir well and when the liquid boils remove it from the heat.(Don’t over heat or it will become sour.)

Let this cool and when cold bottle it and store for later use.

To drink: - 1 glass of water to 1 tbsp lemon sharbet over ice.

If you are on a weight loss diet, drink one glass every morning instead of breakfast.

This has Taste and is a Treat.

DAISY - EYE OF THE DAY - A BENEFICIAL LITTLE FLOWER

COMMON DAISY, BELLIS PERENNIS

This daisy is common on lawns in Britain as well as in fields, woods and at the sides of motorways. It is a low growing plant with white petals that are often tipped pink, hence another of its names, “strawberries and cream.” In Welsh it is called Llygadd y Dydd or Eye of the Day, which is what Chaucer, writing in the 14^th century, calls it,

   “Well by reason men call me

     The Daisie, or else Eye of the Day.”

In the Dark Ages, when there were no citrus fruits such as there had been in Britain in Roman times, oranges and lemons for example, daisy roots and leaves in a strong decoction were used to prevent scurvy and conditions which resulted from lack of vitamin C. However the strong decoction made from daisies for this purpose needs to be taken over a long period of time to be effective. It is not necessary today when grapefruit, pommelo and other citrus fruits are in plentiful supply.

  Gerard writing in the 16^th century called it Bruisewort as it was used for bruises and sprains, as mallow is more commonly these days. He recommended it for “alle kinds of aches and paines,” for curing fevers and for inflammation of the liver as well as “alle the inward parts.” In 1771 Dr. Hill wrote that an infusion of the leaves was good against “Hectic Fevers” and we know that in the 14^th century daisy was used in ointments for gout, wounds and fevers. The leaves have an acrid taste and cows and other animals avoid them as do insects, so the infusion was also used as an insect spray.

  An infusion of the flowers and leaves was given to alleviate rheumatoid arthritis and liver and kidney problems. The distilled water made from the plant was used for inflammation of the liver and kidneys.

  This European daisy is invasive in North America where the indigenous daisy is the Ox-Eye Daisy. In the US the common daisy is regarded by the USFDA as generally regarded as safe and there is a possibility that it might help in the treatment of HIV. When used with Arnica montana or wolf’s bane it can help bruising and trauma, and also, when the 2 are combined it can stop excessive bleeding after a woman has given birth. However, not much research has been carried out on this common little plant.

   The daisy symbolizes gentleness and is a favourite flower of children who love to make daisy chains with them. In the past these chains were hung around young children’s necks to stop faeries taking them and leaving changelings in their places. The chain itself symbolizes the sun, earth and circle of life, so they must be joined when the chain is long enough to be worn around the child’s neck.

   People used to like to have daisies in the garden to keep malevolent faeries away from their homes. Daisies are often used by young people who imagine themselves to be in love, as they pluck the petals from the daisy one by one while saying “He loves me, he loves me not” until the last petal has been plucked, so showing whether or not the object of their affections returns their love or not. There are other superstitions with rhymes in different countries in Europe, but all have a sense of the prophetic power of the daisy.

  The great Romantic poet, William Wordsworth wrote several versions of “To a Daisy” and here is the first stanza of one: -

 

“In youth from rock to rock I went
 From hill to hill, in discontent
 Of pleasure high and turbulent,
 Most pleas'd when most uneasy;
 But now my own delights I make,
 My thirst at every rill can slake,
 And gladly Nature's love partake
 Of thee, sweet Daisy!”