WHAT IS PUNJAB FIG? WILD FIG OR ANJEER - HEALTH BENEFITS: HOW TO USE PUNJAB FIG

PUNJAB FIG, ANJEER, FICUS PALMATA

The Punjab fig or anjeer as it is called in Urdu grows wild in Pakistan, northern India, Afghanistan, Nepal, Somalia, Ethiopia and southern Egypt. It looks and tastes like its close relative, the cultivated Ficus carica, and is a member of the Moraceaea or mulberry family of plants. As it has a thin skin and deteriorated shortly after picking it is only sold in areas where it grows, which is a shame, as it is very sweet and tasty, just like the cultivated variety. In fact it is so closely related to the more common fig that it is sometimes called Ficus pseudocarica. It is, however a little smaller than cultivated figs but generally grows around villages on wasteland and in fields. It flowers between March and April and the fruits ripen between mid-June and mid-July. It is usually eaten raw, although could be made into a preserve or jam. The unripe fruits are cooked with the new leaves in spring and used as a vegetable. First of all they are boiled, then squeezed to remove water and fried and served. The ripe fruit has a slightly astringent taste but this can be removed by soaking the fruit in water for a short time before consuming them. The astringency is due to the sap layer under the skin.

  The fruit and parts of the tree, particularly the sap and milky latex are used for medicinal purposes.  They are used as a mild laxative as they are not as potent as jamalgota in this respect, and are given to people with lung diseases and bladder problems. The latex from the plant is used to help remove thorns and splinters from the flesh, and the sap is used as a laxative as well as the fruit itself. The young leaves are mashed to make poultices, either hot or warm which are placed on burns and are also used to help with skin irritations.

  The Ficus palmata trees grow at altitudes of 1500 feet and their wood is used to make decorative items, hoops and garlands. The fruits contain a small amount of vitamin C, and the minerals, potassium, phosphorous, calcium, iron and manganese, so are a healthy source of free food and a source of income for the poor who pick them to sell at local bazaars, however, like the edible buds of the kachnar tree, they are only in season for about 4 weeks every year.

 

CASTOR BEAN OR CASTOR OIL PLANT ( ARANDI): BENEFITS AND USES OF CASTOR PLANT: INFORMATION ABOUT CASTOR OIL

CASTOR BEAN OR CASTOR OIL PLANT, ARAND, RICINUS COMMUNIS, ARANDI IN URDU

Castor oil is used all over the world for a whole variety of ailments, but very few people realize that the plant it comes from is highly toxic, containing as it does the albumin ricin. If you have a castor bean plant in your garden, grown for ornamental purposes you should treat it carefully and wear protective gloves and long sleeves when you prune it. It is cultivated for its flowers which are very pretty red ones, and its long-leaves foliage which looks a little like a hand (although not as much as the fingered citron fruit does).

  It is believed to have originated in Africa, but it is mentioned in ancient Sanskrit writings and grows extensively in the Indian subcontinent in both its wild and cultivated state. It has become naturalized in the southern states of the US and also grows and is cultivated for its oil in countries such as Morocco, Brazil, Taiwan and the US.

  Warm castor oil can be applied to the bridge of the nose to ease congestion and is useful to rub into dry, coarse skin. It is a strong purgative if taken internally, but is not one that is to be recommended. There are more effective ways of preventing constipation, such as eating bananas. They are a lot more pleasant-tasting and cure the disease and not just the symptoms.

  The seeds from the castor plant are made into oil which is used not only in medicinal preparations, but also for industrial and agricultural use. The stems from the plant can be made into paper and wallboard, and the cake or meal left over from the oil-extraction process can now be fed safely to animals as there is a way of detoxifying it.

  Because the sap from all parts of the plant is so highly toxic, it has been used as a poison just like the aak plant. It is said that 20 seeds or beans will kill a person, although it takes 80 or so to kill a rooster or a duck, but only 4 to kill a rabbit. (Please don’t try this as the experiment might well backfire.) However it acts as a counter-irritant to the stings of scorpions.

  As a member of the spurge or Euphorbiceaea family of plants it is related to the cassava or manioc as well as to Dog's Mercury and French mercury, both of which should not be used as herbal remedies..

   Apart from the oil used in medicine traditionally the leaves are applied to the forehead to relieve a headache, and hot applied to skin irritations in poultice form, and to ease pain and swellings. The hot leaves are also used to ease the pain of arthritis, gout, rheumatism and other inflammations and scientists have concurred that they do have anti-inflammatory properties, as does an ethanolic extract of the root bark which also has antihistamine properties.

  In Ayurvedic medicine the leaves or pulp from the beans are applied hot to the abdomen to stop flatulence, while the oil is used for eye problems including conjunctivitis (red eye).The oil is also used for dry skin and internally is given for headaches, tremors, arthritis, sciatica and various other ailments mixed with guggul (Indian Bdellium or false myrrh). The juice of the leaves mixed with gur or jaggery is used for hepatitis and a decoction of the roots with Indian Bdellium is used for arthritis and rheumatism.

   The plant was known to the ancient Greeks, as it was Herodotus the so-called Father of History who wrote that it was called kiki and used by the ancient Egyptians as an unguent and oil for lamps and the seeds have been found in the tombs of the pharaohs. Dioscorides writing his Materia Medica in the 1^st century AD knew about the castor bean plant, saying that it was not good as food but that the seeds were good in external medicinal preparations. Pliny agreed, writing that the seeds were extremely purgative (they are actually less so than jamalgota, however).

   Gerard writing in Britain in his Herball in the 16^th century calls it “ricinus” or “kik” and says that the oil “Oleum cicinum” was good for skin diseases. It was used throughout Europe in the Middle Ages and was used to expel internal worms when all else failed. Combined with citron it has been used as a skin ointment for leprosy. The Latin name Ricinus means tic, of the sort that feed off dogs’ blood and this was probably because of the shape of the markings on the white seeds or beans. Kiki is still cultivated in Greece under the same name as that given to the plant by the ancient Greeks.

   While the oil, bought over the counter can be very beneficial for a number of problems, but it is best not to attempt to make your own preparations from any part of the plant as it is highly toxic, with ricinoleic acid being the major compound in all parts of the plant.

GREEN BEANS OR PHALIA - HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES: HOW TO MAKE SALADE NICOISE

GREEN BEANS, PHALIA, PHALYION, PHASEOLUS VULGARIS

There are hundreds of varieties of green bean, and each one produces a large bean or seed if they are left to reach maturity. However we eat many of them fresh. The French bean, phaliyan in Urdu, produces the haricot bean when it is mature, and I once spent an hour or so extracting the small seeds from the dried pods on a rooftop in Lahore. The pods were discarded, but the little beans were delicious when cooked.

  Green beans originated in the Andes region of South America and also, probably in the Indian subcontinent. They were taken back to Europe by Columbus in 1493 and later by other Spanish and Portuguese explorers. The bean described by Virgil is now though to be the hyacinth bean, as the Romans could not have known about the green beans that are so common today. They are not as well liked it would seem in India and Pakistan, as the dried beans such as the moong bean are more common fare. As legumes they are related to peas and chick peas, and green beans are a good source of beta-carotene despite their green colour. The raw beans contain a toxalbumin, phasin which is destroyed in the cooking process, so they should not be eaten raw.

  They have been used in traditional medicine practices around the world to treat a variety of ailments including acne, diabetes, burns, dysentery and as a diuretic and are believed to help the kidneys to function normally. Legumes are richer in proteins than all other plants and so are a good source of protein for vegetarians. They are also the legume which is most commonly eaten.

  A study of the green beans grown in the Mediterranean region, published in 1988, traced these green beans ancestor to the Andes.

  Green beans contain phytonutrients which include lutein, violaxanthin, neoxanthin and beta-carotene, which have antioxidant properties. They also contain vitamins A, C, K and some of the B-complex vitamins, along with amino acids, bioflavonoids such as quercetin and kaempferol and the minerals manganese, potassium, iron, calcium, copper, selenium, zinc and phosphorous, along with Omega-3 fatty acids including alpha-linoleic acid (ALA). The antioxidant properties of green beans give them cholesterol and heart protective actions, and they are good for our overall health.

  The recipe below requires small fresh French beans, which just need to be snipped at both ends before cooking. Put them in salted water, bring to the boil and cook for about 15 minutes until they are tender but not too soft. They should still be a little crunchy.

 

SALADE NIÇOISE

Ingredients

8 oz cooked French beans, trimmed

4 hard-boiled eggs, halved

1 or 2 tins tuna fish, drained and flaked

1 tbsp capers

4 oz black olives

1 small tin of anchovies, each one snipped in half and washed to remove the saltiness

8 oz cooked potatoes, cubed

3-4 tomatoes, roughly chopped

1 small red onion, finely sliced (optional)

1 head lettuce, leaves separated but kept whole

Dressing

2 tbsps olive oil

1½ tbsps white wine vinegar

few sprigs of fresh oregano, or ½ tsp dried

Method

Place lettuce leaves in a bowl and in another combine all the other ingredients with freshly ground black pepper. (As anchovies are salty you probably won’t need extra salt.)

This has Taste and is a Treat.

 

WHAT IS CHOLIYA? FRESH GREEN CHICKPEAS: HEALTH BENEFITS AND USUS OF CHICK PEAS: SPICY POTATOES AND GREEN CHICKPEAS RECIPE

 CHICKPEAS, GARBANZO BEANS, CICER ARIETINUM

Most people have eaten chickpeas in falafel, hummus, or in salads from salad bars, but how many people have tasted the wonderful fresh green chickpea or choliya as it is called in Urdu? They are a delight and so satisfying to shell as the pods are rather like bubble wrap, so if you enjoy popping those bubbles, then you will adore shelling fresh green chickpeas. The pods are puffed up with air and give a delightful popping sound when squeezed, which is how you shell chickpeas. 

Here is Pakistan we buy them by the kilo which consists of stems and leaves, so you come home from the bazaar carrying a small bush. The leaves and roots are used in traditional medicine but they contain oxalic and malic acids (as do the pods) so are not generally eaten. The chickpea root is boiled and produces a milky substance, which is used as milk for babies and to stop diarrhoea. The leaves and root are also used to produce indigo dye which is used for cotton, silk and wool.

  The leaves are used in medicinal preparations to help bronchitis sufferers and the seeds (the little chickpeas) are used as tonics, stimulants and aphrodisiacs. They are also used in liver and spleen disorders. Eaten raw the little green chick peas quench thirst and stop burning sensations in the stomach and are used to get rid of internal parasites, although I think they are cooked to do this. The leaves are said to have abortifacient properties and are used to promote the menstrual flow, and for colds, coughs and pains.

  The leaves, roots and pods are also used to get rid of warts, to stop constipation, diarrhoea, sunstroke and cholera, so have a lot of traditional uses.

  The fresh chick peas are usually allowed to dry in the pod, giving us the dried chickpea we are accustomed to, the pale yellow ‘bean’ that looks like a hazelnut. Last year we were given some of these, along with the fresh ones (which are in the bazaar right now), and we left them to soak overnight in a metal pot. We were awakened during the night by a noise that sounded like popcorn spattering in a pan. On investigation we discovered it was the chickpeas popping as they expanded. We had to put them on the roof in a plastic pot (covered) so that we could get back to sleep.

Chickpeas were probably one of the first crops to be cultivated and we can trace their consumption back to more than 7,000 years ago. It is believed that they were being cultivated in Turkey well before that, but their origins are thought to be in the Middle East. From there they spread westward into the Mediterranean region (where they were cultivated by the ancient Greeks and Romans) and east into the Indian subcontinent and into Ethiopia. They are related to the garden pea and other legumes including clover, beans, lupin and peanuts and are in the Fabaceae family of plants. The Romans ground the dried chickpeas into flour and used them to make a kind of polenta (usually these days made with corn/maize flour in Italy). Roasted chick peas were combined with lupin seeds and sold on the streets in ancient Rome as snacks. Today Greeks and Pakistanis also eat them roasted with pumpkin seeds and other seeds as a healthy snack. Today they are still found on the streets and in packets in supermarkets.

  Culpeper called them “chick pease or cicers” in the 17^th century and said that they were good to stop flatulence and for semen production as well as to bring on the menstrual flow. (Cicero, the Roman orator, is believed to have got his name because one of his ancestors had a cicer mark on his face, possibly a mole that looked like a chick pea. Cicer was the Latin word for this legume and arietum means little ram)

  Fresh green chickpeas or choliya contain vitamins C, E, K and B-complex vitamins, folate, and the minerals magnesium, zinc, calcium, iron and pantothenic acid; they are rich in molybdenum The dried ones that we make falafel with also contain beta-carotene which the body converts to vitamin A, and phosphorous, potassium selenium and sodium as well as those listed above in fresh ones. They also contain amino acids including arginine (see watermelon) and the flavonoids including quercetin, kaempferol and myrcetin in their outer skins (especially in the black-skinned variety). The interior of the bean contains phenolic acids which include ferulic, chlorogenic, caffeic and vanillic acids and anthocyanins which help to reduce the risk of heart disease. 

Chickpeas have a unique combination of substances which give them powerful antioxidant qualities and they protest the blood vessel walls and keep the blood healthy as well as being good for the digestive system.

  Chick peas are high in dietary fibre and so help reduce the risk of colon cancer, and studies have suggested that they help control blood sugar levels, cholesterol levels and insulin secretion. The fibre in chickpeas remains undigested until it gets to the lower intestine and the colon and so helps those with Irritable Bowel Syndrome, (IBS) and spastic colons.

  There are two types of dried chick peas, the ‘desi’ variety which has a light brown to black outer skin, which is quite thick, and has potent antioxidant properties, and the ‘kabuli’ type (from Kabul, Afghanistan) which we most commonly find in supermarkets.

  The recipe below is for green chickpeas although you can find others on this site for dried chickpeas.

SPICY POTATOES AND GREEN CHICKPEAS

Ingredients

2 medium-sized potatoes, peeled and cubed

150 gr shelled green chick peas, choliya

3 tomatoes, chopped

1 onion, chopped,

1 inch ginger root, peeled and sliced

4 garlic cloves

2 green chillies, chopped

pinch asafoetida (heng)

1 tsp cumin seeds

½ tsp turmeric

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

½ tsp garam masala

½ tsp ground coriander seeds

1 tbsp oil

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method

Grind the onion, tomatoes, ginger, garlic and chillies to a smooth paste.

Heat the oil and throw in the cumin seeds, and fry until they release their aroma.

Add the paste, all the spices and salt and pepper stir well and fry until the oil begins to separate.

Now add the fresh chickpeas, the cubed potatoes and 2 cups of water. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 45 mins or until the potatoes and chick peas are tender.

If you need to, add a little more water to prevent the mixture burning and sticking to the pan.

Serve with plain rice or roti (chapattis) or naan.

This has Taste and is a Treat.