CARAWAY SEEDS
Caraway seeds are also known as Persian cumin, and they do look almost identical to cumin seeds, but taste more like anise. Be careful! Caraway seeds are slightly curved, like tiny half moons, whereas cumin seeds are flat.
The name comes from the Arabic,al-karwiya, and not as Pliny thought, from Caria in Asia Minor. He probably believed this as the Latin name for caraway is carvi.
Archaeologists discovered caraway seeds in a rubbish dump, dating back 8000 years, while excavating in Switzerland, so these seeds have been around for a long time. The Romans combined them with milk to make bread, and they’re still used in rye bread today Coated with sugar they were served with fruit in the Middle Ages. They were recorded in the papyrus of Thebes, a medical text, in 1500BC, or thereabouts.Dioscorides believed they aided digestion, and modern studies show that they are a good digestive. The Germans make Kummel, the liqueur with them.
In German folklore, they were supposed to keep sleeping children safe. If some caraway seeds were placed under their beds, they would be safe from witches. In other folk tales we are told that they should be added to a love potion to keep the loved one from straying. If they were added to chicken feed or put in a dove cote, these birds wouldn’t stray either. One other belief was that if something contained caraway seeds it couldn’t be taken out of the house by a thief, but rather, would imprison the thief, so he would be captured.
Shakespeare mentions caraway seeds in his history play, Henry V, when Squire Shallow invites Falstaff to sample ‘a pippin and a dish of caraways’. Roast apples with caraway seeds were popular in his day.
What do you do with them? Well you can make seed cake with them like my grandmother used to do, but it’s dry and an acquired taste, I think. You can mix them in with your favourite potato salad recipe or you could try the recipe below, which is a side dish, good with chicken or with salads.



CUCUMBER AND CARAWAY SEEDS
Ingredients
50 gr butter or olive oil
1 tsp sesame seed oil
1 large cucumber, sliced
1 tsp caraway seeds
a few fronds of fresh dill shredded
freshly ground black pepper
salt to taste

Method
In a frying pan melt the butter or oil and the sesame oil, and fry the slices of cucumber with the caraway seeds for a few minutes until the slices become transparent.
Remove from the heat and pour into a shallow serving dish. Sprinkle with the seasonings, garnish with dill and serve warm or cold.
This has Taste and is a Treat.

NUTMEG

Nutmeg, or Myristicin fragrans to give it its botanical name, is the seed kernel of a fruit that resembles an apricot. It has a thin membrane wrapped around it, separating it from the fleshy fruit. This membrane is another spice, mace. Although both spices come from the same tree, they are different, and as far as we are concerned, should not be used interchangeable as some writers suggest. Their flavours are different, as nutmeg is much stronger than the more delicate mace.

It comes from the Malaccan Islands originally, and is now grown in other countries including Singapore, India and the West Indies. It took some years for it to spread from the Spice Islands, as the Malaccans were called, as the Dutch kept firm control of the spices that made them wealthy.

Pliny the Elder, writing in the first century AD wrote of a tree that bore two types of spice, and it is thought that he was referring to the nutmeg tree. We know that Arab traders took nutmeg to Constantinople in the 6th century and that in Medieval Europe, the cost of ½ kilo of nutmeg was the equivalent of the cost of a cow or three sheep. Geoffrey Chaucer mentions nutmeg in ‘The Canterbury Tales’ in the Tale of Sir Thopas; ’And nutmeg for to put in ale, All whether it be fresh or stale…’

Pagans use nutmeg as a symbol of luck, money, health and fidelity.

In 18th century Europe, nutmeg was an expensive commodity, and the fashionable people of the time used to carry their own nutmeg graters around with them if they were dining out. They became fashion accessories, some made into pendants and these antique nutmeg graters are now very valuable.

Historically nutmeg has been used to alleviate diarrhea, improve appetite and digestion, and to help sufferers of gout and arthritis.

While doing the research on this spice, I discovered that it is not as well known in Pakistan as mace, and quite a few people I spoke to didn’t know what it was, even when they saw photographs of it. (There weren’t any nutmegs in the local spice shop either.) However, it is used in traditional Mughal recipes, but it is a banned substance in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia where it is classed as a drug, because of its hallucinogenic effects.

There is some debate in Islam as to whether or not nutmeg is halal or haram, but we believe that as long as it’s used as a spice, then it is halal. If, however it’s used as a drug, then it would be considered haram, as it can be harmful and induce vomiting when taken in large quantities. There is a general health warning that accompanies the use of nutmeg, and that is that you shouldn’t use it in cooking if you are pregnant.

If you are not used to nutmeg, then it would be better for you to use just a little of it until you become accustomed to the taste. The recommended amount for recipes is 1/8 of a teaspoon only.

You can use nutmeg in rice puddings, and cheesecakes as well as in sauces and savoury dishes. Personally, we wouldn’t use mace in sweet dishes, only in savoury ones. There is a garam masala recipe that includes mace, for example.

Try our recipe below, using nutmeg in a side dish which can be served with boiled potatoes as an accompaniment to meat, or as part of a vegetarian meal.

SPINACH WITH NUTMEG
Ingredients
750 gr fresh spinach, washed, dried and trimmed

50 gr butter or olive oil

1 tsp sesame oil

1/8th tsp grated nutmeg
125 gr natural yoghurt
1 bunch spring onions
200 gr peas, shelled
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method

Cook the peas with a sprig of mint added to the water. Refresh with cold water, drain and reserve.
Chop the spring onions. Heat the oils or butter and sesame oil and lightly fry the onions, then add the spinach and cook until it wilts. Stir in the yoghurt, and cooked peas and heat through for 5 mins, trying not to let the yoghurt boil.
Serve as suggested above.
This has Taste and is a Treat.

MACE
Mace has the same history as nutmeg, coming as it does from the same fruit. However there is no controversy surrounding this spice, and it is more expensive than nutmegs. This is because a pile of nutmegs, weighing 100 pounds, only produces 1 pound of mace.
One Dutch governor of the Malaccan Islands ordered that more mace trees should be planted and less nutmeg tree; that just goes to show how much HE knew about spice production.
In Pakistan, mace is very expensive as compared to other spices, and you can buy it by the blade for special occasions. The lower paid and the underclass cannot afford it
It has been used through the centuries to preserve meat, or to mask the smell of rancid meats.
You only need about an inch of a blade for cooking, and we think that it goes best in white sauces, so feel free to add a whole blade, or half a blade to our Parsley Sauce recipe.
Below is a recipe for mace in garam masala.


UP MARKET GARAM MASALA
Ingredients
2 or 3 black cardamom pods, depending on size
1 tbsp cumin seeds
½ tbsp coriander seeds
½ tbsp caraway seeds
½ tbsp black peppercorns
½ tbsp whole cloves
2 inch piece of cinnamon stick, broken into smaller pieces
¼ of a whole nutmeg, grated
1 blade of mace
1 bay leaf, crushed
a pinch of saffron threads
1 heaped tbsp freshly ground ginger

Method
Dry fry the cardamom pods until they plump up over a medium heat. When cool to touch, take out the seeds and put them in a bowl. Discard the pods.
Dry fry the coriander seeds, caraway seeds, black peppercorns, cloves and pieces of cinnamon. Stir for a few mins, and then transfer to the bowl with the cardamom seeds.
Reduce the heat to low, and gently fry the saffron, nutmeg, bay leaf and mace. When the leaves start to get crisp, remove from the heat and transfer to the bowl with the other spices.
While still warm mix all the spices together well and grind to a powder. Cool completely, then store in an airtight jar where the mixture will remain fresh for up to 3 months. Alternatively, freeze the garam masala and it will keep for 6 months.
Use with meats and in sauces.
This has Taste and is a Treat.

Green chillies, history and uses

GREEN CHILLIES
Green chillies have much the same history as red chillies. They are immature fruit of the same plant. They were first cultivated in South America, more than 3,000 years ago. They were first used in medicines and then as a food. There are hundreds of varieties of chilli, with the hottest in contention for first place. One of the hottest is the little Jalapeno (pronounced halapeeno) which comes from Mexico, and the hottest South American variety is the Habanera or scotch bonnet. Then there’s the tiny Pequin, which is used as a base for Tabasco. The Naga variety from India lays claim to being the hottest, but this is disputed, as the claim is that the hottest chilli in the world comes from the foothills of the Himalayas, and this is known to locals as the Sikkimese Cherry Chilli, which is orange in colour when fully ripe.
If you steep chillies in vinegar, this will distribute their flavour throughout the dish, as in a Vindaloo.
It’s reported that Montezuma liked his cocoa flavoured with vanilla, honey and chillies. I wonder where the phrase Montezuma’s Revenge really came from. (Joke!)
The Incas, by the way, worshipped the chilli among other things.
India is now the biggest exporter of chillies.
So much for chilli facts, now for a recipe.


GREEN CHILLI AND GREEN MANGO RELISH
Ingredients
250 gr green chillies
2 green mangoes, peeled and grated
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp cumin seeds
salt to taste
½ cup oil


Method
Slit the chillies from top to bottom but otherwise leave intact, you do this so they don’t explode while frying.
Heat the oil in a frying pan and put in the slit chillies and the cumin seeds, and stir. Fry until the pith in the slit turns white, about 5 mins, depending on the type of chilli and how much liquid it contains.
Now add the grated mango with the seasonings, stir and cook for a further 5 mins, stirring constantly so that you don’t burn the mixture.
Remove from the heat and serve with steamed meat or fish, ideally. You can leave this relish in the fridge for a week.
This has Taste and is a Treat.

A TASTY TREAT FOR THE WEEKEND
This writer is feeling jaded today, so no new post about spices, I’m afraid. Tomorrow, manyana, avrio….Here, instead is a recipe which is a spicy treat. Don’t be put off by the list of ingredients, it’s actually quick and easy to prepare and cook. Cooking the spaghetti will be more of a problem than cooking the meat sauce!


SPICY MEAT SAUCE FOR PASTA
Ingredients
5oo gr minced meat
2 onions, finely chopped
3 tomatoes chopped and peeled
4 fresh green chillies, finely chopped
6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 inch piece of ginger, finely chopped
½ a handful of shredded mint leaves
½ a handful shredded coriander leaves
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp garam masala
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 curry leaf (optional)
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tsp turmeric
2 green cardamom pods
½ cup oil
grated Parmesan cheese
salt to taste


Method
Heat the oil in a pan and fry the onion, garlic and ginger for 3 mins; then add the tomato and cook for a further 3 mins Now add the minced meat, green chilli, spices and sugar and cook over a low heat, stirring well. Leave to cook in its own juices for 8 mins, until the minced meat is fairly dry.
Now add the lemon juice with one glass of water and cook over a medium heat for 5 mins. Remove the pan from the heat, cover and allow to stand for 5 mins before serving.
Serve with spaghetti or other pasta of your choice. And don’t forget the freshly grated parmesan!

This has Taste and is a Treat!

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.

BLACK PEPPER HISTORY AND USES

BLACK PEPPER
Yes, common or garden black pepper is not quite as it seems; believe it or not is known as “the King of Spices” and has been greatly prized. It used to grow wild in Kerala in India, and probably still does, as it’s now cultivated there. India is one of the major exporters of pepper today, as it was in the ancient world.
Peppercorns were very expensive commodities, and rents and dowries were sometimes paid with them. You know that we now use the phrase a ‘peppercorn rent’ to mean that you pay virtually nothing in rent, but it used to mean the exact opposite.In Europe, in the Middle Ages, pepper was used to preserve meat and to cover up its deficiencies, after it had been stored over winter and then cooked. It has been traded for more than 4,000 years, and along with ginger is one of the oldest exported products.
One tidbit of information I gleaned while researching its history is that Attila the Hun wanted 3,000 lbs of this valuable commodity, along with other items, for the ransom of the city of Rome. It didn’t say whether or not he got it, but I guess he didn’t.
It has been used in traditional medicine on the subcontinent for centuries as a cure for problems in the digestive system, and to cure coughs and colds. Scientists of today have reported that it has anti-fungal and anti-oxidant properties, and can assist in the treatment of fevers. It is also reported to be an anti-inflammatory and can kill and repel insects.
Ants hate it, so if you have ants in the house, sprinkle their paths with pepper, and this will deter them from using them. If you mix ½ tsp of freshly ground black pepper in 2 pints of warm water, this will kill ants on your plants in the garden or in pots, and will even kill cockroaches (even the BIG ones).
In 1498, Vasco da Gama reached the coast of India and is accredited for opening up the lucrative spice route to India. Ships could voyage there safely before the monsoon season- which I’m currently impatiently waiting for.
White, black and green peppercorns come from the same plant, but I prefer not to use the white ones as I’ve had a few culinary disasters with white pepper. If your hand slips when you’re putting it into food then start again, as the result will be inedible. Black pepper on the other hand isn’t too bad; if your hand slips you can still eat the food, although you might not like the pungency of the taste. Green peppercorns are good and milder, I think, than their black and white siblings, and they look pretty (see pic).
In the recipe below, you can use a mixture of peppercorns if you wish, but if you’re using white ones go easy. You’ve been warned!



PEPPERCORN STEAK
Ingredients
Steaks, beef or pork
2 tbsps peppercorns, crushed, by rolling them with a rolling pin
butter for grilling

Method
Having crushed the peppercorns, rub them into the steaks on both sides, and cover them with aluminium foil. Leave for 30 mins.
Preheat the grill to high and grill the steaks according to your taste, blue, rare, medium etc. Use the butter so that it keeps the meat tender. Put a pat of butter on each side of the steak as you grill it.
Serve with our rocket salad.
These are a Treat and have Taste.

CINNAMON AND CASSIA BARK, MY RICE PUDDING RECIPE

CINNAMON AND CASSIA BARK
First of all I think I should clear up any confusion you have regarding these two spices. You can substitute on for the other and it really doesn’t make much difference, although true cinnamon quills are sweeter than cassia bark. There’s a lot of stuff written about how you tell one from the other, but in Britain, if you buy from a shop which has imported things from the subcontinent, cassia is clearly labeled as such, and looks darker, is thicker and a duller colour than actual cinnamon. Cassia is the cheaper spice. Now you know!
Cassia comes from China, Vietnam and Indonesia, whereas cinnamon comes from Sri Lanka, India, Madagascar, Brazil and the Caribbean. It originated in the subcontinent and was first exported to Egypt as early as 2,000 BC. It came to Europe via Arab traders. The Venetians bought it in Alexandria, and shipped it back to Italy. Later the Portuguese ‘discovered’ Sri Lanka, where it grew in abundance, in the early 16th century.
Pliny the Elder wrote complaining about the cost of cinnamon, as it cost the equivalent of 10 months wages for 327 gr .It was used in cooking and in temples as sweet-smelling incense. Interestingly, modern studies have found that the odour of cinnamon increase cognitive processes.
The ancient Greeks used it to flavour wine, and we still use cinnamon as an ingredient in mulled wine.
The Arabs made up myths about cinnamon to protect its origins from the Europeans. Herodotus got wind of one of these myths and relates that the Phoenix used cinnamon sticks to build its nest, and the brave Arabs would trick the bird by giving it huge pieces of meat which it would take back to its nest. The meat was so heavy that the nest materials would fall to the ground and that’s where cinnamon came from (it’s actually the harvested bark from trees).If you are interested in other stories by Herodotus the historian you should look up his description of a crocodile!
We use cinnamon quills in desserts and cassia in savoury dishes, but it doesn’t really matter all that much, just use whichever bark you have. Cinnamon and cassia can be brought as a ground powder, but we prefer to make our own when we need it from the bark.
Whichever you use is good in teas if you have a cough, cold or flu, especially when mixed with finely chopped ginger root.


MY RICE PUDDING
Ingredients
1cup broken rice
1 litre milk
1 cup sugar
1 cup rose water
2 green cardamom pods
1 tbsp freshly ground cinnamon

Method
Wash the rice well. Put the milk and sugar in a pan and let them boil. Add the rice and cardamoms and cook over a low heat for 2-3 mins. Add the rose water and continue cooking over a low heat, stirring to prevent the mixture from sticking to the bottom of the pan and burning. When the rice is well cooked and has absorbed some of the liquid, remove from the heat and pour into small dishes. Sprinkle the cinnamon on top of each, and put in the fridge until cold.
This has Taste and is a Treat.

TRY OUR TASTY SALADS RECIPES

SALADS
We guess that summer’s happening in Europe now, so we thought we’d post some tasty salad recipes for you to try. It’s been sweltering here in Pakistan for about two weeks now, and we haven’t wanted to do much cooking- even sitting typing at the computer is thirsty work. Luckily we have a supply of lemon squash, liberally laced with tukh malanga-see our basil page.
For those of you where it’s hot, but not this hot, you’ll probably be planning BBQs, and these salads will be ideal for these occasions. You can eat them alone or with any kind of meat or fish. We give alternatives to some ingredients so that you can more easily find appropriate ingredients. We’d really like to know what you think of these recipes, so please leave comments when you visit Herbs- Treat and Taste. This site can be much more interactive than it is at present. We‘d really appreciate more feedback.
So here they are; give your taste buds a treat.



THE THREE C’S SALAD
Ingredients
2 tsps cumin seeds
250 gr carrots, grated
2 medium sized courgettes (zucchini) grated
30 gr pine nuts, lightly fried in olive oil
30 gr sultanas
4 tbsps lemon juice
1 lettuce, cos or iceberg, shredded
salt and black pepper to taste
1 handful fresh coriander leaves to garnish


Method
Soak the grated carrots in the lemon juice, mixed with cumin seeds. Leave for 15-20 mins. Add all the other ingredients, including the oil you fried the pine nuts in, but not the lettuce, to a large bowl and mix together.
Arrange the lettuce in a salad bowl and place the other ingredients in the middle of it.
Garnish with fresh coriander leaves or leaves of flat parsley.
You can serve it with a tomato and cucumber salad, or with meat, chicken or fish.
It has taste and is a Treat.


CHICKPEA AND MANGO SALAD
Ingredients
150 gr chickpeas
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp black mustard seeds
½ tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp turmeric
1 curry leaf
½ tsp salt
80 ml sunflower oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 small cauliflower, cut into florets
2 medium mangoes
2 green chillies (more if you like) finely chopped
1 handful shredded coriander leaves
3 tbsps lemon juice
1 lettuce (cos or iceberg)

Method
If you’re using dried chickpeas, soak them over night and drain them. Put them in a pan of boiling water with the bicarb.,and cook for 30-40 mins, or until they are cooked through. You can use tinned ones for ease of course, but remember to rinse them well to get rid of the preservative juice. Drain the cooked chickpeas and leave to cool.
Dry fry the seeds and curry leaf until they change colour then crush them to a powder. Alternatively, use a tbsp of our garam masala (see recipe). Add the turmeric, and the salt.
In the same frying pan, heat ½ the oil and fry the onions for 5 mins. Add the spice mix and cook for a further 5 mins. Remove from the pan, leaving some of the spicy oil. Put onions in a large bowl.
Blanch the cauliflower florets for 1 min in boiling salted water. Drain and when dry, fry them in the remaining oil until they change colour. You can use a high heat to do this.
Remove the pan from the heat and add the chickpeas, coating them in the residue of the oil. Add the contents of the pan to the bowl. Stir well. Leave to cool to room temperature.
Peel, cut and dice the mangoes, and add to the bowl, stirring with all the other ingredients.
Serve immediately.
This has Taste and is a Treat


BULGUR WHEAT SALAD
Ingredients
250 gr bulgur wheat
2 carrots, grated
½ tsp chilli powder
1-2 tsps cumin seeds
300 gr tomatoes, peeled and diced
1 large cucumber, peeled and diced
40 gr sultanas
6 hard boiled eggs
1 handful fresh coriander leaves, shredded


Method
Cook bulgur wheat according to directions on the packet; don’t be tempted to add water, as you don’t want soggy wheat. Add the cumin seeds and chilli powder to the water and cook for about 5 mins, until the water has been absorbed. Leave to cool.
Soak the grated carrots and sultanas in the lemon juice. Leave for 15 mins.
Mix all ingredients together when bulgur wheat is cold.
You can either garnish with slices of egg, or chop up the egg and mix in the salad, or garnish with egg halves. Sprinkle the coriander leaves over the salad and serve.
This has Taste and is a Treat.



ROCKET SALAD
Ingredients
1 bunch rocket (or an oak leaf lettuce and radicchio)
300 gr fresh tomatoes peeled and sliced (or sun dried tomatoes)
100-150 gr black olives or a mixture of black and green pimento stuffed olives
1 tbsp capers
1 cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
250 gr of Parmesan cheese, cut into thin slivers
1 handful fresh coriander leaves, shredded, or fresh flat leaved parsley shredded
Balsamic vinegar and olive oil


Method
Thoroughly wash the rocket or substitute lettuces, drain and dry thoroughly. Arrange on a large serving platter, or in a salad bowl and add the other ingredients, and toss well. Place the cheese on top and pour balsamic vinegar and olive oil over to taste.
This has Taste and is a Treat.


SPICY RED KIDNEY BEAN SALAD
Ingredients
1 cup cooked red kidney beans
1 red onion thinly cut in circles
1 lettuce, shredded
6 green chillies, finely chopped
1 Mediterranean tomato, peeled and seeded and roughly chopped
½ handful each of fresh mint and coriander leaves
2 tbsps lemon juice
2 hard boiled eggs cut in slices for garnishing
olive oil
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
salt to taste


Method
Mix the first 7 ingredients together in a salad bowl with the salt and black pepper. Place the egg slices on top, and drizzle with oil.
Serve immediately.
You can use tinned beans as long as you wash them thoroughly to remove the taste of preservatives, and dry them before using in the salad. If you wish, sprinkle some dried oregano over the egg slices before drizzling them with olive oil.
This has Taste and is a Treat.


WHITE SALAD
Ingredients
1 small white cabbage, rinsed in cold water after shredding, drained and dried
1 large mooli, thinly sliced
1 small bunch of dill

Dressing
2 tbsps tahini
200 ml natural yoghurt, Greek yoghurt is best
a little olive oil

Method
Mix together the cabbage, mooli and chopped dill in a salad bowl.
Make the dressing in a separate bowl. Mix the tahini and yoghurt well until you have a mixture which will pour from a spoon, but which is not too runny. To make the mixture thinner, add olive oil’ but only a little and stir, briskly into the yoghurt mixture.
You can make your own tahini using ¼ cup vegetable oil to 1 cup of sesame seeds and blending these to form a paste.
This has Taste and is a Treat.