All About Cooking (Spice It Up)
This Is A Work In Progress
Spices, Spices, Spices! That is the core of Indian cooking. When it comes to Bengal, it is the same! Fresh vegetables, fresh fish, fresh meat - everything is tied up in an exquisite way with the magical spices. We know about the five most basic spices - Turmeric, Chilli, Cumin, Coriander and Mustard. Now we are going to explore a few more - how they look like, what flavour they bring in, and which recipes they are used for. So, get ready to stock your pantry with a few more essential spices in Bengali kitchen. To many people, spicy means hot. Indian dishes are not always supposed to be fiery hot in order to be tasty. By adding the spices the ordinary ingredients become flavourful and aromatic! Can you believe, it is spice-trade which brought Persians and Arabs, Portugese, and French, and even English, to India? A couple of Brave men sailed for months facing adversities and risked their lives to find this mystical land of the East, to look for the precious objects! That is how Columbus found America instead of India, and ultimately Vasco-de-gama reached the coveted destination. Garam Masala, literally means " Hot Spices" in Hindi. It is actually three kinds of spices put together - Cinnamon, Cardamom, and Cloves.
Thecinnamonsticks or quills are the dried bark of a tree. Cinnamon (and mostly the Ceylonese variety) can be found in stick/quill as well as powdered, and is used extensively in Indian cooking, and is generally for savory dishes. Often times a few bits of broken sticks are added as the oil heats up; this way the oil is flavored and the food is cooked in this fragrant oil. Sometimes it is dry roasted in a skillet before cooking, which intensifies the aroma.
Clovesare the second ingredient in Garam Masala. They are dried up flower buds. The fully-grown, unopened buds, are picked green and dried in the sun until they become dark brown and are ready to be used for cooking. Clove is extensively used in Indian cooking. The flavor it brings to food is strong and warm. Clove is sometimes used to flavor spicy food where the whole clove is cooked in oil or ghee. Cardamomis the dried, ripe fruit from the cardamom plant, and it has a smoky, pungent aroma. It is often called " "The Queen of Spices" because of its fragrance. Cardamom is a must in all kinds of flavourful dishes, such as, Pulao or Flavoured Rice, Biriyani, Chicken and Meat dishes, and even aromatic vegetarian dishes as Aloo-Gobi or Chhanar Dalna. Cardamom is grown in the evergreen forests of western ghats in South India. It can be used both whole and ground. Very interestingly, cardamom is used a lot in Bengali dishes, including desserts, like Payasa ( Rice Pudding) - the most important one for celebrations, although it does not grow in Bengal. My cooking mostly leans towards North Indian cooking, and I use cardamom in everything! Now I am curious to know why the fruit which grows mostly in South India, is used more in North and East Indian cooking. Isn't that fascinating?! These are tiny, black, pale yellow, brown or white balls, which release flavour when roasted. You will hear them pop when heated in oil. In South India, whole mustard seeds, along with Tur Dal and Curry leaves, are heated in oil to enhance flavour of their dishes - a technique called " Tadka". In Bengal, my experience with mustard seeds is, grinding them with green chillies, and using as a paste. The most popular dish with this paste is " Sarshe-Ilish" ( Hilsha fish with mustard), but this paste is also used with other fishes.
Tej Pata
In sanskrit the name of these leaves is " Tamalpatra", which is not exactly the bay leaves in western world. It is a three-veined leaf used to flavour curries. When slightly heated in oil, the aromatic leaves release fragrant flavour , and increase aroma of the dish. Starting from Biriyani, Tej pata is used in both meat dishes, like Chicken or Mutton curry, and also vegetarian dishes, as Alu Gobi ( Potato-Cauliflower), or Alu Dum ( Potato Curry).
Many researches are being done on the healing power of spices used in Indian cooking. I know they have medicinal properties, and health benefits, but now I am more than encouraged to use them consciously in my cooking, and persuade others to do so.
When you are working full-time, and you have babies, and or you are working on a thesis, and don't have time to brush your teeth (I was told), you have no other option but using some canned food (Chick Peas, Tuna, Chicken Soup), but please try to focus on organic and natural food, and spend a little time boiling lentils or chick peas. Actually it is not that hard! You may soak chick peas in water before you go to bed, in the morning they are ready to be boiled. Boil them when you are writing a few pages of your thesis. By the way, I preferred to use my own blended version of baby-food for my babies; my daughter blended veggies and fruits and saved them in ice-cream trays. I visited Hongkong when my youngest daughter was one. That was quite brave, a two-and-half and a one-year old in tow when you are flying for five hours, and trying to enjoy sight-seeing spots like Ocean Park where we watched Seals and Dolphins, to get on a mountain-to-mountain escalator. That is the only time I used ready-to-eat frozen food for babies. Our life now is so busy, so fast, mothers have a life too (who understands that better than me?)! But I would suggest, if you can, prepare frozen food for babies from scratch.
The same for the spices. They are available in stores, ground. But if they are stored for weeks and months, they lose their flavour. If you can use your dry grinder and grind cinnamon, cardamom, fennel seeds, or mustard, at the time when you are using it, or store them in a jar for later use (not for long), you are doing a great favour to yourself and your family. Actually you can grind almost any spices other than Turmeric in a dry grinder, or using a mortar and pestle. If spices are fresh, even a little pinch goes a long way!
Cinnamon is supposed help balance blood-sugar. This spice, according to researchers, actually mimics the action of insulin, the hormone that controls blood-sugar. More and more cases of Type 2 Diabetes are increasing - that's undeniable at the moment! According to researchers, Cinnamon stimulates insulin-receptors on fat and muscle-cells the same way as Insulin does. It also allows the excess sugar to move out blood and into cells. The best Cinnamon grows in Sri Lanka. So if you like to buy the best cinnamon, buy the Ceylon Cinnamon.
Coriander seeds are an excellent source of minerals like iron, copper, calcium, potassium, manganese, zincand magnesium. Copperis essential for the production of red blood cells. Iron is essential for cell metabolism and red blood cell formation. Zincis a co-factor in many enzymes that regulate growth and development, digestion and nucleic acid synthesis. Potassiumis an important component of cell and body fluids that helps controlling heart rate and blood pressure. The human body utilizes manganeseas a co-factor for the important antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase.
Turmeric powder is used in almost every dish in Bengali cooking. According to research, this preventive and curative spice has an ingredient called Curcumin which is rich in antioxidant and known for its anti-inflammatory actions. It is claimed that Turmeric protects and improves almost every organ in our body. To me, it sounds true because, from my childhood, I have seen every dish to be cooked with a generous sprinkling of turmeric powder. It's a root, usually the dried ones are used for powdering and cooking.
Turmeric is supposed to help reduce inflammation and stop proliferation of cancer cells. So far, Turmeric is the only readily available and edible source of Curcumin, and two places in India are famous for growing turmeric - Madras and Alleppy. The turmeric from Alleppy is known to have two times more curcumin than the other ones. Obviously from now, I will find out if I can get Alleppy-grown turmeric powder, and perhaps sprinkle a little more - actually no, more than needed turmeric powder spoils a dish. One of my Indian friends told me she mixes turmeric powder, ginger paste, and lemon juice to create a tea-like drink for herself, and feels that it heals her bronchial cough, and cold.
Tips for using:
- Before sautéing vegetables or making stir-fry, heat oil in a pan and sprinkle it with turmeric, stirring for a few seconds so it toasts a bit but doesn’t burn.
- Add turmeric to fried onions (one study found that onions and turmeric work together, synergistically, to protect against cancer).
- Use turmeric generously in lentil or dal dishes.
- Blend it in melted butter and drizzle over cooked vegetables.
- Add a teaspoon of turmeric to a large pot of chicken noodle soup.
- Add a teaspoon of turmeric to homemade chilli.
- Eat more yellow mustard, which contains turmeric.
Ginger
Ginger is a tropical flowering perennial plant with green-purple flowers. It belongs to the Zingiberaceae family and is native to Asia, where they have been cooking with the spice for the last 4,400 years. There are many uses of ginger, including using the root for its medicinal properties in addition to cooking. Ginger can be minced, made into a powder, or used as an extract. You can eat it alone, as ginger tea, in lemonade, or sprinkled on food as a seasoning.
Ginger Uses and Health Benefits
Active compounds like volatile oils and pungent phenol compounds--which include gingerols and shogaols--provide ginger health benefits. In China, people have used ginger for the last 2,000 years to treat ailments like diarrhea, nausea, and stomach pain. It’s said to contain the following properties:
- Antibacterial
- Antibiotic
- Antioxidant
- Antiparasitic
- Anti-inflammatory
Ginger is also said to be a promising chemopreventive agent. For cancer patients already undergoing chemotherapy, ginger can help curb the nausea associated with the treatment. With many ginger benefits comes the potential to aid in common physical ailments. Try ginger to help with the following:
- Laryngitis- Laryngitis is inflammation of the larynx, which is a part of the throat. It’s common to use ginger for cough problems, such as those caused by laryngitis.
- Sore Throat- You can also eat ginger for sore throat issues, such as those caused by allergies, tonsillitis, smoking, or strep throat
- Vomiting - The idea of using ginger for nausea and vomiting has been around for centuries, and it’s even a safe home remedy for nausea and vomiting during pregnancy. You can also use ginger for headaches and other related issues.
- Osteoarthritis- Osteoarthritis is a condition that causes painful, swollen joints. Since ginger has anti-inflammatory properties, it can help combat osteoarthritis pain and help patients improve their range of motion. One study of over 200 patients showed that the ginger extract called Eurovita Extract 77 helped improve patients’ osteoarthritis pain after standing and walking.
- Ovarian Cancer- Ovarian cancer is abnormal cell growth in the ovaries. Studies suggest that ginger extract may slow the growth of ovarian cancer cells.
With ginger’s many health benefits, people also commonly eat ginger for colds or take ginger for stomach aches and other related issues. In India, Ginger is used in cooking curries, stir-fries, dals. You may buy ginger paste in a bottle, available in almost all grocery stores; or you may make your own paste using a blender, and freeze in ice-cream trays ( very convenient!).
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/11-proven-benefits-of-ginger#section1
Health benefits of fennel seeds
- Fennel symbolizes longevity, courage, and strength. In addition to its use as medicinal values, fennel has many health benefiting nutrients, essential compounds, antioxidants, dietary fiber, minerals, and vitamins.
- Fennel seeds indeed contain numerous flavonoid anti-oxidants like kaempferoland quercetin. These compounds function as powerful antioxidants by removing harmful free radicals from the body thus offer protection from cancers, infection, aging and degenerative neurological diseases.
- Like in caraway, fennel seeds also are a rich source of dietary fiber. 100 g seeds provide 39.8 g of fiber. Much of this roughage is metabolically inert insoluble fiber, which helps increase the bulk of the food by absorbing water throughout the digestive system and easing constipation problems.
- Further, dietary fibers bind to bile salts (produced from cholesterol) and decrease their re-absorption in the colon. It thus helps lower serum LDL cholesterol levels. Together with flavonoid anti-oxidants, fiber composition of fennel helps protect the colon mucosa from cancers.
- Fennel seeds compose of health-benefiting volatile essential oil compounds such as anethole, limonene, anisic aldehyde, pinene, myrcene, fenchone, chavicol,and cineole. These active principles in the fennel are known to have antioxidant, digestive, carminative, and anti-flatulent properties.
- Fennel seeds concentrated source of mineralslike copper, iron, calcium, potassium, manganese, selenium, zinc, and magnesium. Copper is essential for the production of red blood cells. Iron is required for red blood cell formation. Zinc is a co-factor in many enzymes that regulate growth and development, sperm generation, digestion and nucleic acid synthesis. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps controlling heart rate and blood pressure. The human body uses manganese as a cofactor for the important antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase.
- Furthermore, fennel seeds indeed are the storehouse for many vital vitamins. Vitamin-A, vitamin-E, vitamin-C as well as many B-complex vitamins like thiamin, pyridoxine, riboflavin and niacin particularly are concentrated in these seeds.
https://www.nutrition-and-you.com/fennel-seed.html
An Indian household cannot do without methi or fenugreek seeds and leaves. It is used in almost every Indian preparation be it dal, parathaor curry. But what you might not know is that methior fenugreek is a rich reservoir of medicinal properties that imparts many health benefits. Here are 15 reasons why you should include methiin your diet more often. Lowers blood cholesterolAccording to studies [1]fenugreek helps to reduce cholesterol level, especially that of the low density lipoprotein (LDL). They are known to be rich source of steroidal saponins that prevent the absorption of cholesterol and triglycerides. Here’s how to reduce cholesterol levels naturally. Reduces risk of heart diseaseDue to the presence of galactomannan, fenugreek plays a key role in maintain your heart health. It also contains high amount of potassium that counters the action of sodium to help control heart rate and blood pressure. Team a healthy diet with yoga for healthy heart. Controls blood sugar levels
Diabetic must include methi (either in the form of seeds or leaves) in their diet. Because galactomannan, a natural soluble fibre present in fenugreek slows down the rate of sugar absorption into blood. It also contains amino acid responsible for inducing the production of insulin. Here’s how to prepare methi ladoo which is extremely healthy for diabetics.
Aids digestion
As fenugreek is rich in fibre and antioxidants, it helps in flushing out harmful toxins from the body and thus, aids digestion. In some cases, fenugreek tea is used to relieve indigestion and stomach pain. You can even drink fenugreek decoction early in the morning to deal with constipation.
Helps counter acid reflux or heartburn
One teaspoon of fenugreek seeds in your food can be an effective remedy for acid reflux or heartburn. Mucilage of fenugreek seeds coat the lining of the stomach and intestine and soothe irritated gastrointestinal tissues. Before consuming, you can soak the methi seeds in water to make their outer coat mucilaginous.
Helps you lose weight
Include fenugreek in your weight loss diet by chewing soaked methi seeds in the morning on an empty stomach. The natural soluble fibre in the fenugreek can swell and fill the stomach thereby suppressing your appetite and aiding your weight lossgoals.
Remedy forfeverand sore throat
Fenugreek, when taken with a teaspoon of lemon and honey, can work wonders to reduce fever by nourishing the body. The soothing effect of mucilage in fenugreek also helps to relieve cough and pain from sore throat. Here are 5 foods that relieve sore throat.
Increases breast milk production in lactating women
Fenugreek ranks high among the ‘must haves’ for nursing mothers. This is due to the presence of diosgenin in the spice which increases milk production in lactating mothers.
Helps prevent colon cancer
The fibre content (saponins, mucilage, etc.) of fenugreek binds to toxins in the food and flush them out. This in turn helps to protect the mucous membrane of the colon from cancer.
Helps soothe skin inflammation and reduces scars
While Vitamin C acts as a powerful antioxidant, fenugreek also contains anti-inflammatory compounds that aid in the treatment of various skin problems like burns, boils and eczema. The seeds are known to help in getting rid of scars. All you need to do is apply a clean cloth soaked in methi seed paste to fight skin inflammation.
Helps treat skin problems
Fenugreek or methi can be used in face packs to help prevent blackheads, pimples, wrinkles, etc. Washing your face with water boiled with fenugreek seeds or applying a paste of fresh fenugreek leaves for twenty minutes on your face can work wonders for your skin. Read more about beauty benefits of methi.
Can help resolve hair problems
Using fenugreek as a part of your diet or as a paste to directly apply on your hair makes your hair shiny and black. Massaging your head everyday with boiled fenugreek seeds soaked overnight in coconut oil can be an excellent remedy for thinning of hair and hair fall. What more? Fenugreek is also great to keep the dandruff away. Also read about health benefits of methi or fenugreek.
http://www.thehealthsite.com/diseases-conditions/15-health-benefits-of-methi/
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