RED CHILLIES HISTORY AND USES, PIRI PIRI SAUCE RECIPE

RED CHILLIES
These are indigenous to the South American continent where they have been grown for their food and medicinal properties since at least 7,500 BC. They were taken to the subcontinent by Spanish and Portuguese trader in the 16th century, and replaced the indigenous pippali pepper, as they proved easy to grow.
If you use fresh chillies of any description-and there are a good many of them, you should wash your hands thoroughly immediately after chopping them, as they will irritate your eyes or other parts of your body if you rub your hands on your skin.
Christopher Columbus thought they were another type of black pepper when he found them growing in the West Indies. I guess he was surprised when he tasted one!
Now in India, you can see 2 chillies and a lemon hung over doorways to ward off evil. Also, if you burn them, they will rid the place of any evil that might be lurking. They are the food of the poor as they are really cheap, and can be eaten raw with chapattis as a lunch time meal. They are from the same family (Solanaceae) as the tomato and potato.
You can use these as an antiseptic gargle for sore throats, and we think they are good for the blood. They are used in creams in the West to relieve muscle pains.
Here we have ground red chilli pepper, which is just that, although while researching red chillies I found that some commercially produced ‘chilli powder ‘is mixed with other spices such as ground cumin. When buying the powder, go for the real, unadulterated stuff, which you may need to find in an Asian store.


PIRI PIRI SAUCE
Ingredients
12 red chillies finely chopped, with seeds
1 tsp salt
1 cup olive oil
a third of a cup white wine vinegar
a third of a cup whisky
3 or 4 garlic cloves, very finely chopped


Method
Put in all ingredients in a glass jar with airtight lid and shake to mix. Leave for a month before using, but turn the jar upside down every day. You don’t need to shake it vigorously.
This has Taste and is a Treat.

NOTE

This recipe is authentic. I was given it by a bar owner in a backstreet bar/restaurant in northern Portugal.

TURMERIC HISTORY AND USES, TURMERIC EGG RECIPE

TURMERIC
Turmeric is a relative newcomer to the West, although it has been cultivated in the Indian subcontinent for around 5,000 years. At first it was used as a dye, and later for its uses in medicine and cooking. In the West it’s used extensively as a yellow food colouring, in mustards, piccalilli, sweets etc. It is a very strong dye, so you need to be careful when using it, as it will stain everything it touches- not good for messy eaters (or for kitchen surfaces).
It has spiritual uses in Hinduism and Buddhism and is applied to a bride’s face and body as part of a pre-marriage purification ceremony. Generally it’s thought to be good for the skin. In Indian medicine it is used to prevent liver diseases, and people take it in warm water, before breakfast to prevent liver problems. If you inhale turmeric smoke, it is said to stop hiccups. In Ayurvedic medicine, it is used to help counteract the ageing process. It can help with stomach disorders, and can stop diarrhea.
In the West, scientists have been slow to research the properties of turmeric, but it has been shown in one study that it can have beneficial effects in some cancer treatments if it is used on the skin. Scientists now also agree with the ancient practitioners that it may protect the liver.
It is often called ‘poor man’s saffron’ as it gives food the same colour as saffron does and is much cheaper. It can be found in commercially produced curry powder, but we don’t use this in our cooking. It gives a very different flavour to that of the delicate saffron, so although people use it as a substitute, the taste of the dish will be affected, although it will look the same.
Some people eat the fresh rhizomes of turmeric (which resemble those of ginger), and they may be eaten raw in salads, if you have the chance to buy fresh rhizomes.
We use it in ‘curry’ sauce with pakoras. However, this is not the same as the curry sauce you are served in typical Asian restaurants.
We also think it’s good to clean wounds and staunch the flow of blood from them. If you have pimples or spots, you should mix it with chopped onion and a little flour and water to a paste, then warm this and apply it while warm to the affected area.




TURMERIC EGGS
Ingredients
250 gr cooked diced potatoes
1 large onion, finely sliced
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
½ inch piece of ginger root, finely chopped
1 tsp crushed coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 handful shredded coriander leaves
freshly ground black pepper and salt
4 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped


Method
Heat oil in a pan and fry the onion and garlic along with the cumin seeds, ginger, coriander seeds, chilli powder and turmeric. When cooked add the cooked potatoes and the chopped tomatoes and thyme. Cook over a low heat and add the beaten eggs and fresh coriander leaves. Season to taste, and cook, stirring constantly until the eggs are cooked-about 5 mins.
Serve immediately.
This has Taste and is a Treat.

CORIANDER SEEDS HISTORY AND USES, FALAFEL RECIPE

CORIANDER SEEDS
There’s a lot of information about coriander leaves, and as the seeds come from the same plant, this description will be brief-but there is a great recipe for them below.
Coriander was used and cultivated by the Greeks at least since the early Bronze Age, as excavations in Macedonia have shown. In the ancient world they were used do aid digestion and were written about in Sanskrit texts dating from around 1500 BC. Their use in Europe was spread by the Romans. The seeds were found in the pyramids, and even now the Chinese believe that by eating the seeds, you will attain immortality.
They are used in the manufacturing of English black pudding and Italian mortadella, (and if you’ve eaten both, you’ll understand their versatility). Beware of eating too many handfuls of them, though, as they are a mild narcotic, and known as ‘dizzycorn’ in some parts of the US.
Modern medical studies have shown that they are useful in lowering cholesterol levels.
You could put them in a pepper mill along with black pepper (or in a separate mill) so that you can have them freshly ground on your meats and fish. They’re good to add to soups and stews, and to use in the liquid when you poach fish.We use them every day in our cooking.
When a recipe calls for ground coriander, it’s best to grind the seeds freshly, as the powdered stuff you can buy doesn’t have the same flavour. This goes for all other seeds too.


FALAFEL
Ingredients
250 gr chickpeas
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 slice white bread soaked in water
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp freshly ground coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds, freshly ground
2 tbsps coriander leaves, finely chopped
salt
Oil for frying


Method
Soak the chickpeas over night then cook with the bicarb in plenty of water for about an hour, or until soft. Blend to a puree with all the other ingredients, having squeezed the bread and removed the excess water from it. Let the mixture stand for about 2 hours, then roll into small balls, and deep fry. You need to heat about 1 inch of oil in a frying pan and cook the balls on all sides until they are golden brown. This should take 2 or 3 mins for each ball.
Serve with a salad and pitta bread.
This has Taste and is a Treat.

CARDAMON SEEDS HISTORY AND USES, GREEN TEA RECIPE

CARDAMOM SEEDS
There are basically two types of cardamom seeds, green and black. They have very different flavours, so don’t think about substituting one for the other. They have been around for thousands of years, and were allegedly grown in the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. They are native to the subcontinent, Sri Lanka and Malaysia, but are now grown commercially in Guatemala and Tanzania too.
Cardamoms are the third most expensive spice in the world, after saffron and vanilla, but as you don’t need to use many at a time, they don’t really seem to be all that expensive.
They have had many uses, in religions, they were used as incense and Cleopatra is reported to have used their smoke to perfume her palace, particularly when she was expecting a visit from Mark Anthony. It was highly prized in the ancient world as a spice, for its medicinal properties and its smell. It was used to cure mouth infections and digestive problems. Now it is chewed to get rid of bad breathe, and the Arabs and Turks use cardamom seeds to flavour their coffee, either putting freshly ground cardamom into the coffee, or putting a seed pod into the coffee cup or adding several seed pods to the coffee pot.
It is also supposed to break up kidney and gall stones and is used for this in different fields of traditional Indian medicine. It isn’t used in Western medicine for its healing properties yet, but is used to flavour some medicines, to make them taste better.
It apparently came to Europe with Alexander the Great’s returning soldiers. The Greeks used it as a perfume, as did the Romans, and it was valued by the ancient Greeks for its medicinal qualities and as a culinary spice. The ancient Egyptians used it to clean their teeth.
The green cardamom pod is sweeter than the black one, which has a more earthy flavour. You can use green cardamom seeds in apple pies along with cinnamon, but use the seeds from the black cardamoms in savoury dishes, such as curries.
We use it in teas a lot and it’s really good in mint tea. That’s very refreshing and great when the temperature soars.


GREEN TEA
Ingredients
1 tbsp green tea
2½ cups water
2 green cardamom pods
1 tsp lemon juice
sugar to taste

Method
Bring the water to the boil in a pan, then add the green tea and cardamom pods. Cover the pan and simmer for 5 mins. Remove from the heat, add the lemon juice and stir well, lifting the tea out of the pan and pouring it back in so that air passes through it. Strain and serve, garnished with slices of lemon if you wish.
This has Taste and is a Treat.