WATERCRESS ( NASTURTIUM OFFICINALE): MEDICINAL BENEFITS AND USES OF WATERCRESS: WATERCRESS SALAD RECIPE

WATERCRESS, NASTURTIUM OFFICINALE

Watercress is related to the flowers that grow in many British gardens, nasturtiums. Nasturtium comes from the Latin, nasus meaning nose and torquere, to torment. The nasturtium family of cresses (which includes the flower and the herb called Garden cress) has a pungent aroma, which explains their name. Watercress grows wild in Britain by clear flowing streams, and I used to gather it on the mountain, when I was a child. I have always loved both the smell and the taste of this herb. Now of course it is cultivated and can easily be bought from supermarket shelves, but you can also grow your own by putting some leaves with stems in a bottle of water and changing it once a day. When it has grown roots it can be transplanted into pots of sandy soil and watered frequently.

   Watercress is native to Europe and Russia, but now grows on most continents. The Greeks and Romans believed that it cleared the mind so that decisions could be made more easily. They used it as a salve for wounds. If you rub a paste of the leaves onto a wound it will stop any infection as the leaves have antiviral and anti-bacterial properties.

   It is good eaten raw in salads and is useful for diabetics as it helps get rid of excess sugar in the blood. It is a diuretic and so good for obesity as it helps the body rid itself of excess water. It cannot help remove stones from the internal organs but it a good preventative. Watercress aids the liver, helping it to stay healthy.

   Watercress belongs to the Brassica family of vegetables along with broccoli and brussel sprouts and shares many of the same properties. It tastes a little like rocket but is less spicy, although they can be substituted for each other.

    A tisane can be made from 5 gr. of watercress to 1 cup of boiling water, steeped for 10 minutes and then strained. This is good as a diuretic and if you have a bronchial cough or cold. You can also steep 25 gr of watercress in a glass of cold water overnight and strain it in the morning and take a tablespoon 4 times a day. Pep it up with the addition of cayenne pepper or black pepper.

    If you crush the leaves to get the juice from them you can apply this to your face to remove any skin blemishes, but to get rid of pimples you should take the tisane internally.

    Watercress can help with respiratory illnesses as it is an expectorant, antibronchitic, antiviral, antipyretic and a general tonic. It contains 13 amino acids, the B-complex vitamins, vitamins A, C, and the following minerals: - calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorous, potassium, sodium, iodine and zinc. This means that it contains a lot of antioxidants, so helps with blood flow, etc. It also contains beta-carotene, fibre, and essential oil, glutotropeolin, and glycosides. It has been used in the past to treat TB and Culpeper suggested the bruised leaves could be used to remove skin blemishes.

   An old superstition says that if you wrap watercress in red flannel and wear it when you have to go on water you will be protected from drowning.

WATERCRESS SALAD

Ingredients

1 bunch of watercress, shredded

½ head of lettuce, shredded

4-6 spring onions, roughly chopped

½ cucumber sliced

4 tomatoes, sliced

1 tbsp capers

12 black olives

olive oil and wine vinegar for the dressing

½ tsp dried oregano

Method

Combine all the ingredients except for the oil and vinegar.

Mix 2 parts oil and 1 part vinegar and add a little oregano. Shake well to combine, then toss the salad in this dressing.

This has Taste and is a Treat.

HOW TO MAKE SPICY FRIED PRAWNS: EASY AND TASTY RECIPE

SPICY FRIED PRAWNS

Ingredients

2 cups prawns, shelled and cleaned

3 tbsp plain flour

3 tbsps cornflour

1 tsp chilli powder

½ tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp garam masala

1 tsp salt

1 egg white

oil for frying

Method

Mix together the flour, cornflour and spice powders add a little water and stir to a paste.

Put the prawns in this mixture, making sure they are completely coated in it and leave to stand for ½ hour.

Whisk the egg white until it is stiff and forms peaks.

Heat the oil in a pan and dip each prawn in the egg white and add to the pan.

Fry the prawns for about 5 minutes.

Serve immediately with salad.

This has Taste and is a Treat.

FISH CURRY WITH SPRING ONIONS RECIPE

FISH CURRY WITH SPRING ONIONS

Ingredients

1 kg white fish cut into 3 inch pieces

½ kilo spring onions, chopped

1½ tsps fenugreek seeds (methi)

1½ tbsps chilli powder

1½ tbsps ground cumin seeds

1½ tbsps ground coriander seeds

salt to taste

1 tbsp pounded garlic paste

1 tbsp pounded ginger root (paste)

1 cup natural yoghurt

1 cup oil

8 green chillies, finely chopped

1½ inch piece of ginger root, chopped

fresh coriander leaves for garnish (optional)

Method

Heat the oil in a pan with the fenugreek seeds and fry until they become red. Add the spring onions and fry until they become light brown.

Add the garlic and ginger pastes, chillies and all the spices. Cook for 5 mins.

Then add the yoghurt to the spice mixture and stir well. Cook over a low heat for 10 minutes.

Add the fish to the mixture and make sure the heat is low.

Cover the pan so that the fish is cooked by the steam. Don’t remove the lid, but shake the pan to mix everything when you think you need to, (every 3 to 4 mins should be enough).

Cook for 15 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat take out the fish and pour the sauce over it. Garnish with the ginger and fresh coriander if you wish.

Serve with boiled rice or breads of your choice.

This has Taste and is a Treat.

WHAT IS PLANTAIN? ISPHAGULA OR ISPHAGOL: HISTORY OF PLANTAIN USES AND BENEFITS: PLANTAIN TISANE FOR COLDS AND FLU

PLANTAIN, PLANTAGO MAJOR: ISPHAGULA, PLANTAGO OVATA

The common plantain of the British Isles and Europe is Plantago Major, while the plantain in the Indian subcontinent is Plantago ovata or isphagula. The Asian one is used as a bulk laxative in the West under the trade name Fybogel and is very useful for Irritable Bowel Syndrome sufferers. In Pakistan it is sold as Ispaghol, made from the husks of the seeds of Plantago ovata or Indian desert wheat.

  In Britain plantain has been used for centuries as a medicinal herb, and grows there as a weed. In Anglo-Saxon it was called Weybroed and was one of the nine sacred herbs. It has been used as a panacea, and this is reflected in the Scots Gaelic word for the herb, ‘Slan-lus’, the healing plant. The Anglo-Saxons used it as an antidote for “flying venom” along with hammerwort, chamomile and the roots of water dock. Later it was used as an ointment for burns, in a compound of celandine flowers (shiny yellow ones that look a little like buttercups) elderflower buds and houseleeks. Its expressed juice was mixed with comfrey, and sugar to stop the spitting of blood, although there is no medical evidence as yet to support this use.

Plantago ovata

   It contains acubin which is a powerful anti-toxin, so the use of it to cure snake bites and those of other venomous creatures has a basis in medicine. In US folklore, it was said to have cured a dog after it was bitten by a rattlesnake, and Erasmus, writing in the Colloquia during the early Renaissance tells of a toad that on being bitten by a poisonous spider, immediately ate a plantain leaf and showed no sign afterward of having been bitten. Pliny said that if “it is put in a pot where many pieces of flesh are boiling, it will meld them together.” He also said that it would cure a rabid dog, however. It has been used in the past to treat a plethora of illnesses, including insect bites (rub the leaves on them) nettle rash, all skin inflammations, malignant ulcers, fevers, to heal minor wounds, burns, scalds, and to stop haemorrhages both internally and externally among other things.

Decoctions of plantain have been made with a variety of flowers, docks and comfrey, and some of these were used for kidney problems. The expressed juice was used for piles. Plantain juice mixed with lemon juice was thought to be an excellent diuretic, and powdered dry leaves were used to rid the body of intestinal worms. To stop diarrhoea and dysentery the whole plant except the roots is used; you need an ounce of the plant, chopped, and a pint of boiling water. Pour the water over the plantain and leave it to steep for 20 minutes, then strain and drink half a cup 3 times a day.

   The powdered plantain seeds were used to stop vomiting, lethargy and liver disorders, and in Salmon’s Herbal of 1710 it says “The liniment mixed with juice and oil of roses eases headaches caused by heat and is good for lunatics.” He also says that when mixed with houseleeks and lemon juice essence of plantain was used in cosmetics.

    There are references to plantain in literature from Chaucer onwards, and it is mentioned in several of Shakespeare’s plays including Romeo and Juliet “plain plantain” In Act I scene 2, and “Plantain leaf” was recommended for mending a broken shin.

    The young leaves can be used in salads and it can also be used as a herb in soups and stews. The leaves and seeds have antibacterial, astringent, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, anti-tussive, diuretic, expectorant laxative, ophthalmic, demulcent, and cardiac properties, and medical research has shown that it can be used effectively in the treatment of asthma, emphysema, bladder disorders, bronchitis, fever, hypertension, rheumatism and blood sugar control.

   For colds and flu it is good to drink a tisane; 1 tbsp of fresh or dried whole plantain herb (seeds, roots and leaves) to 1 pint of boiling water. Pour the water over the plantain and leave to steep for 10 minutes. Strain and sweeten with honey to taste and drink throughout the day.

  For insect bites and a night cream to prevent wrinkles, or help the skin knit together you should mix ½ lb ghee or lard with 1 pound of chopped plantain plant. Put in a pot and cover it then cook over a low heat until the mixture is green and mushy. Strain while hot and cool. This is good for burns and skin irritation too.

ispaghol

  If you boil the roots in water this decoction is good for diarrhoea, dysentery, gastritis, peptic ulcers, piles asthma, hay fever etc. Plantain is also used to cause an aversion to tobacco smoking in some anti-smoking aids. The distilled water from the plant is also apparently, good for sore eyes.

  Plantago ovata makes a very good remedy for diarrhoea and dysentery, which I can personally vouch for.