Crave Bits

Tag: methi

  • Go Nuts about Nuts! (Part 1)

    Go Nuts about Nuts! (Part 1)

    With high nutritive value and a deliciously sweet taste, dried fruit is fruit from which the majority of the original water content has been removed either naturally, through sun drying, or through the use of specialized dryers or dehydrators. Nuts are edible fruits as well, anatomically different from the rest because of their soft internal kernels enclosed within a hard shell. Both dried fruits and nuts possess high shelf life, and have been in use throughout centuries in every part of the world. Today, they form an integral part of our culture and cuisine, and have an irreplaceable importance in our daily lives.

     

    1. Khajoor

    Khajoor, or the rather generic term, dates are the fruits of palm trees. Named Phoenix dactylifera in the binomial classification system of living organisms, both these names are derived from the Greek word for “finger”, dáktulos, because of the fruit’s elongated shape. What is interesting about the date palm, which produces this particular fruit, is that the male and female plants are separate and independent of each other, and only the female is capable of bearing fruit. The male plants only produce pollen, which is vital for the fertilization of the female and the subsequent production of dates. In most cities in India, dried dates are available easily at every fruit seller’s and vendor’s, and you can find those yellowish, deep red fruits packaged in small cylindrical plastic casings. Dates are extremely high in their carbohydrate content, and a hundred grams of dates will provide you with over three hundred calories. Dates contain minimal protein content, and an abundance of simple sugars which get easily absorbed in the bloodstream, and hence should be mostly avoided by obese and overweight people.

     

    2. Dried figs

    Figs (Ficus carica) are native to the countries of the Middle East and western Asia, and have been used for both ornamental and consumption purposes over the course of many centuries. One of the first edible plants cultivated by humankind, figs are mentioned in many historical accounts and incidents, one of the most famous being the suicide of the Egyptian queen Cleopatra, who apparently got herself bit to death by an asp smuggled in a basket of figs instead of surrendering to the erstwhile Roman Empire. The small, green-skinned fruit contains many smaller drupelets, or one-seeded fleshy fruit components, and can be eaten fresh, after drying, and in numerous other preparations ranging from jam to ice cream. Known by the vernacular term anjeer in most of the Indian subcontinent, figs are extremely high in their carbohydrate content as well. Dried figs contain rich amounts of sugar, and hence have high calorific content, making it an unhealthy dietary component for obese, overweight people with cardiac risks.

     

    3. Almonds

    Almonds, popularly known by their Hindi name badam in the northern states of India, are the seeds of a tree (Prunus dulcis) originally found in the Middle East and South Asia. Closely related to the peach family, the almond fruit also look rather like small green peaches, and are available in both sweet and bitter varieties. Etymologically speaking, the word is derived from countless variations and modifications of the Latin amandula, the Greek word amygdala, and the Old French almande or allemande over the ages. Apart from being eaten in its raw, roasted, and blanched forms, almonds are also used in your daily breakfast muesli as well as while making many delicacies such as cakes, nougat, marzipan, and macaroons in Europe and America, and badam halwa, barfi, biscuits, and flavoured milk in India. Extremely nourishing in nature, almonds are valued as a good muscle and body building substance, in addition to boosting the brain’s grey matter. Used for making oil, almonds also have high calorific value, with every hundred grams of almonds giving over six hundred and fifty calories, and sixty grams of almond fat giving nearly twelve teaspoons of oil.

     

    4. Peanuts

    Peanuts, or groundnuts (Arachis hypogaea) as they are mostly called in India, belong to the leguminous beans family, and was first cultivated in the red soils of Paraguay. The species name as according to taxonomist Carl Linnaeus hypogaea has Latin roots and literally means “under the earth”. Apart from being eaten in their raw, salted, roasted, and even boiled forms, peanuts are used to make countless basic cooking ingredients such as flour and oil, as well as many complex delicacies. They also have many applications outside the realm of the kitchen, such as their usage in the manufacture of solvents, industrial non-edible oil, textile materials, and both allopathic as well as herbal medicines. American botanist George Washington Carver is credited with hundreds of peanut recipes and related products, peanut butter being one of his most famous patents of all time. In India, groundnuts alone make a wonderful evening snack in winters, and you can find them being sold at very cheap prices at any roadside vendor. Groundnut oil is very healthy and is used in many households as a cooking medium. They are also a major component of chikki, a popular north Indian snack made by boiling and solidifying jaggery, sugar, peanuts, and til (sesame seeds) in long sheets. Though groundnut resembles other pulses in general nutritive value, they are very rich in fat, with a hundred grams of groundnut will yield almost forty grams of oil worth more than five hundred calories.

     

    5. Cashews

    Cashewnuts are derived from the cashew tree (Anacardium occidentale) which also bears the cashew apple. White, sweet, kidney-shaped, and extremely versatile as far as their culinary uses are concerned, cashews can be salted, roasted, creamed into gravies, made into liquor and oil, and are also used in the preparation of many sweet dishes. The word cashew has been derived from the Portuguese word caju which has been in turn derived from acajú of the indigenous Tupi language, and literally translates to the “nut that produces itself”. Cashews are used for making many Indian curries, such as korma and shahi dishes, and sweetmeats such as kaju katli. Because of their high starch content, cashews serve as good emulsifying agents and are used for thickening soups, syrups, curries, and the works. Boiling them in oil or salting them makes them harder to digest so they are best eaten in their natural, raw state. They go best with acidic fruit and non-starchy vegetables rather than sweet fruit and heavy starch. They are good body builders and easily digested when raw, and hence, help in cases of emaciation and in building good teeth. Like all nuts, cashews contain a great deal of unsaturated fatty acids, mostly in the form of oleic acid. On consuming a hundred grams of cashew nuts, you gain nearly fifty grams of fat, and a hundred grams of cashew oil, which amounts to around ten teaspoons, yields 600 calories.

  • Go Nuts about Nuts! (Part 2)

    Go Nuts about Nuts! (Part 2)

    With high nutritive value and a deliciously sweet taste, dried fruit is fruit from which the majority of the original water content has been removed either naturally, through sun drying, or through the use of specialized dryers or dehydrators. Nuts are edible fruits as well, anatomically different from the rest because of their soft internal kernels enclosed within a hard shell. Both dried fruits and nuts possess high shelf life, and have been in use throughout centuries in every part of the world. Today, they form an integral part of our culture and cuisine, and have an irreplaceable importance in our daily lives. In the second segment of this listicle, there is more to learn about our favourite ones.

     

    6. Walnuts

    Walnuts are derived from the Persian and English walnut trees (Juglans regia) and its soft edible kernel resembles the human brain. In etymological terms, the word is derived from the Germanic wal and the Old English wealhhnutu, meaning “foreign nut”. The shells are thin with a faint sheen and crack neatly into half, revealing the twisted, curly shaped nut. Versatile in the kitchen, walnuts can be candied and pickled in addition to being eaten raw or in their roasted form. Walnuts also form an integral part of many dishes, particularly desserts like chocolate brownies and even breakfast mueslis. You can also find them in many a salad, as their slightly bitter taste balances out the overall sweetness of the rest of the dish. Walnuts are very rich in protein and also contain a small amount of Vitamin B. They are rich in antioxidants and are curative for many minor diseases such as eczema. In fact, the oil obtained from the kernel has been found of great help in skin diseases. The green unripe walnut is useful for expelling worms from the stomach. They are also good for treating constipation because of their proven laxative qualities. Walnuts also possess many other non-culinary qualities, some of them being in the areas of cleaning agents, inks and dyes, and even anti-cancer drugs. Although walnuts are highly rich in protein and are very good for the brain, they yield nearly seven hundred calories and seventy grams of fat in just a hundred grams.

     

    7. Pistachios

    Pistachios belong to the cashew family and are obtained from small pistachio trees (Pistacia vera) which originated from the countries of Central Asia and the eastern part of the Mediterranean coast. The word pistachio comes from the medieval Italian pistacchio, which has been derived from the classical Latin pistacium, which in turn has its origin in the ancient Greek pistákion and the Persian pistákē. The kernel of the pistachio nut is consumed, and the non-edible beige coloured shells also find many uses in non-culinary areas, such as fuel and composting purposes. Pistachios formed a common part of the diet of ancient human civilizations, with notable mentions in ancient texts dating back to centuries before the advent of the Christ. Slightly sweet in taste, pistachios are eaten raw, roasted, salted, and also as a part of desserts such as the Indian kulfi, cold salads, Italian biscottis, Turkish delights, and ice cream. Pistas, as they are commonly called in India, are very high in calories and thus should be avoided by obese and overweight people with diligence. According to dietary charts, a hundred grams of pistas yield more than six hundred calories.

     

    8. Fenugreek

    Fenugreek seeds are obtained from the small herbaceous fenugreek plant (Trigonella foenum-graecum), and are usually called methi by most people in the Indian subcontinent. Originating from Egypt and other countries of Western Asia, fenugreek and its various parts are used as herbs, spices, and vegetables. The word has its origins in the Latin faenugraecum, literally meaning “Greek hay” and dates back to the ancient Roman era where the dried fenugreek plant was used as fodder. Hard lentils by biological classification, fenugreek seeds are a dark fawn in colour and possess an astringent aroma. Containing around five percent of bitter fixed oil, the seeds are usually broken to down to obtain the same. The oil is bitter in taste, smells like celery, and is used in small quantities in seasoning Indian dishes like sambhar and kadhi. Rajasthani people even make curry out of fenugreek. Fenugreek oil greatly improves the flavour and quality of pickles, and is mostly used in cooking with sour substances so as to balance out the taste. It is particularly beneficial to non-insulin dependent diabetics as it helps them to regulate their blood glucose levels by their significant hypoglycaemia-inducing properties. It is also used in buttermilk to treat dysentery.

     

    9. Mustard

    Mustard seeds are derived from the mustard plant (Brassica juncea) and are generally advised to be consumed in moderate amounts. They are small in size, stretching no more than two millimetres in diameter, and are usually reddish-black in colour. Mentioned in many ancient religious texts, mustard holds an important historicity in Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity, and Buddhism. Generally called by their Urdu term sarson in most parts of northern India, mustard has its etymological origins in the Old French mostarde and the Latin mustum which means “new wine”. The leaves are consumed as vegetable, the skinned seeds are used for making pickles, and its oil is used as a cooking medium. The pungent taste and tear-producing properties of mustard seeds are due to nitrogen and sulphur containing compounds called isothiocyanates. Mustard seeds are used in treating rheumatism, arthritis, acidity, kidney and bladder ailments, bronchial inflammation, and are also recommended particularly for pregnant women. Nursing mothers are advised to take mustards due to its detoxifying properties. Mustard greens are rich in Vitamins A, B, and C, and contain fibre in bulk, which produces a mildly laxative effect.

     

    10. Coconut

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    Dried coconut is obtained from the coconut palm tree (Cocos nucifera) and is ideally found in coastal and tropical areas where the hot temperature and slightly arid soil contribute to its growth. The coconut has even been mentioned in old fiction, such as in “The One Thousand and One Nights” story by Sindbad the Sailor. Derived from the Spanish word coco which literally means “grinning face” and refers to the three-holed humanoid appearance of the fruit, coconuts have important uses all over the world. Primarily used in the southern states of India for its oil, coconut is a vital part of the local cuisine, and an inseparable ingredient of many delicacies. It is also used in the north as a part of many sweetmeats, with coconut milk a favourite summer beverage throughout the country, and fermented coconut being used to make toddy, an alcoholic beverage native to South Asia. Rich in Vitamins A, B, and C, this tropical wonder food is also a rich source of potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, and sulphur. While the carbohydrate and protein content is moderate, the fat content is quite high, with a hundred grams of oil yielding nearly seven hundred calories.