What is IMLI? TAMARIND. SPECIAL SWEET and SOUR SAUCE with IMLI

TAMARIND or IMLI in URDU

The tamarind tree is not native to the subcontinent, although its history there is very ancient. It originally came from Africa, and was introduced from Europe into Mexico in the 16th century, where it is now cultivated. It is also grown in the West Indies.
It is mentioned in the Hindu epic the Ramayana, which dates back to the 4th century BC. There it is written that its leaves were split by the hero, Lakshmana, hence their appearance. Krishna is said to have had an intense spiritual experience while sitting in the shade of the tamarind tree. He had become separated from his beloved Radha and as he was sitting, he was infiltrated by her spirit, which permeated his whole being.
It is believed to be an unlucky tree, as it is associated with Yama, the god of death; its name in Sanskrit is Yamadutika, or the messenger of death. It is considered to be unlucky and unsafe to sleep under a tamarind tree, perhaps because it makes the soil high in acidity, so that few plants can grow under it. Its leaves fold at night, and even now some people believe that the tamarind trees are haunted by ghosts of the departed, so stay away form it at night.
Tamarind can be used as a dye, red coming from the leaves and yellow from the flowers. It’s used in turmeric and henna based hair dyes to boost the colour. Indian silversmiths use an infusion of the roots to clean their wares. It’s used to make varnish and a gum used for binding watercolour paints, used to paint miniatures in Iran and the subcontinent. Extract of the tamarind’s fruit and leaves are used in cosmetics, body lotions, soaps etc. The tamarind tree is host to lac insects, whose shells are used to make shellac. (The same is true of the Banyan tree, or Bohar tree as it’s called in Urdu.) The wood from the tree is also used in construction and fuel for fuel. Its leaves are used for animal fodder. People say that the honey produced from tamarind flowers is superb.
Of course tamarind is used in traditional medicine and Western research has now shown that it strengthens the immune system, can be effective in reducing fever and is good as a mild laxative. This research bears out what ancient medical practitioners believed. However in subcontinental traditional medicine, it is believed that tamarind can help treat diabetes and intestinal infections. To relieve fevers it is given in a drink made from milk, honey, lime and spices. The pulp from the seeds is mixed with salt and used as a gargle for sore throats. The leaves are boiled and applied to the joints to relieve swellings and sprains. These can also treat boils.
These days young girls eat the sweet fruit as they are convinced that they will grow large breasts if they eat enough of it. They do this in secret though, as their mothers would take a dim view of this practice.
In most countries you can buy the sticky pulp made from the fruit of the tamarind, or the thick paste. When the fruit is picked unripe, the taste is sour, and this is what is made into the paste we flavour meat dishes with.  It is used in Worcestershire sauce, and here it is used to make drinks, soups and dips, as well as an additional ingredient to savoury sauces.However, here in Pakistan we can eat the fresh,ripe fruit,which is sweet.
Below is our own recipe for a savoury sauce that goes well with all types of meat and fish.



SPECIAL SWEET and SOUR SAUCE with IMLI (TAMARIND)
Ingredients
½ cup tamarind pulp, stones removed
1 onion, finely chopped
3 tomatoes, peeled and chopped
6 green chillies, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
½ inch ginger root, finely chopped
½ handful mint leaves, shredded
½ handful fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped
2 tbsps sugar
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsps oil
2 green cardamoms
salt to taste
2 tbsps fresh lemon juice



Method
Heat the oil in a pan, and fry onion, garlic, ginger and green chillies for 5 minutes over a low heat. Add the tomatoes and cook for 3 mins.
Now add the sugar, garam masala, black pepper and salt and cook for a further 2 mins. Now pour in 2 glasses of water, the tamarind and green cardamoms.
Stir well and cook over a medium heat until the water has reduced, so that ½ a glass of liquid remains.
Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice and fresh herbs, and stir to mix well.
Cover the pan and leave to cool.
Serve cold with meat, chicken or fish. It goes with everything, and is really delicious.
This has Taste and is a Treat.

VANILLA HISTORY, RECIPE: CARROT, GINGER and VANILLA SOUP

VANILLA
Vanilla is the second most expensive herb after saffron. It is a seed pod which looks like a fresh green bean hence the name given to the pod, which is misleading. If you split a pod you will see thousands of tiny seeds, which can be ground and used to flavour soufflés, custards, and of course ice cream. The name comes from the Latin, vagina, meaning sheath or scabbard, and became vaina in Spanish, meaning the same thing. The pod resembles a sheath for a knife, or a sword’s scabbard- or that’s what Cortez thought.
It originated in Mexico and is the fruit of an orchid, which only flowers for a day. So to produce the pods, the orchids must be pollinated quickly. The Mexican and Madagascan varieties of vanilla are considered to be the best, although it is grown in the Pacific region now.
The Totonacs were probably the first to enjoy the taste of vanilla, but they were conquered by the Aztecs, and this is how we got vanilla in Europe. The Emperor, Montezuma gave Cortez, the famous Spanish conquistador a drink that was considered fit for royalty. This was xocolatl, which consisted of cocoa beans, honey and vanilla. Cortez brought it to Europe and Queen Elizabeth I’s apothecary declared that it was wonderful, so it quickly gained popularity.
Throughout history it has been used as an aphrodisiac and this was ‘proved’ in 1762 in a German study which found that a medication based on vanilla ‘cured’ more than 300 men of impotence.
It is believed to boost activity in the brain, increase muscle power and keep you awake. However it seems not to be used in modern medicine as a cure, only as a flavouring to make medicines more palatable. It was believed that vanilla cured fevers, but there is no proof of this.
It is usually used in desserts, and you can make your own vanilla sugar by storing a pod in a jar of sugar. Actually this is good for the vanilla pod as they should be stored in cool dark places. Some recipes call for vanilla extract or essence (cake recipes) for example, but if you are making a sauce that requires vanilla you can use a whole pod and when cooking is finished, remove it from the sauce wash it carefully, dry it thoroughly and replace it in your jar of sugar. There is no need to throw it away if it is still intact.



CARROT, GINGER and VANILLA SOUP
Ingredients
2 tbsps olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1½ inch piece ginger root, finely chopped
1 kilo carrots, roughly chopped
1 ltr chicken or vegetable stock (see recipe for chicken stock Bay Leaves)
2 inch stick of cinnamon
1 vanilla pod, whole
100 ml natural yoghurt



Method
Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the onions for 5 mins with the ginger, then add the carrots and stir to coat them in the oil. Add the stock, cinnamon stick and vanilla pod. Stir to mix and bring to the boil. Cover the pan and simmer for 20 minutes.
Remove pan from the heat and cool a little.
Remove the vanilla pod, wash and dry it, then store it in the sugar jar again.
Pour the soup into a blender and blend until smooth. Return the soup to the pan and reheat, stir in the yoghurt and allow to simmer but not boil.
Pour into a serving dish and serve.
This has Taste and is a Treat.

REETHA, SOAP NUT, SOAP BERRY: MAKE YOUR OWN NATURAL LIQUID SOAP

REETHA, SOAP NUT, SOAP BERRY
Reetha in Urdu and Hindi is known in English as the Soap Nut or Soap berry, which are apt names. It was native to China and Japan, but is now cultivated in Pakistan and northern India. It grows on a deciduous tree, and the fruit can be picked any time after October. It stays on the tree, hanging in distinctive clusters of brown and orange when the leaves of the tree have been shed.
It’s included here because of its novelty value rather than any serious intention. However, its good for your hair and skin and you can also wash clothes with it as the husk surrounding the seed contains saponin which is a natural soap.
So if you ignore the carbon footprint you would leave, here’s how to make your own liquid soap.

LIQUID SOAP
Ingredients
1 litre water
50 gr soap nuts (reetha) without seeds


Method
First buy your return ticket to China, Pakistan or northern India. Before you leave do some research into the exact location of Reetha (Soap Nut) production. Hire a jeep or SUV to get you there. Refuse all offers from taxi drivers who would like to rip you off wherever you want to go!
When you get to within sight of the Himalayas, it’s fair to assume you may find the Soap Nut tree (Sapindus Mukorossi). Get out of your chosen vehicle and ask around for the Reetha tree, or Ritha tree.
Having located several Soap Nut trees, gather the Soap nuts. Remember not to take them all from one tree, and apologize for taking them. Leave some of the seeds, as they might germinate and eventually produce little Reetha trees. This will help redress the damage you have already done to the environment by being adventurous enough to find a Reetha tree.
You now fill your sack and take it back to your vehicle. If you prefer, you could sit in the freezing temperatures and remove all the seeds from the husks, as what you need is the husk. The seeds are only used as fertilizer. You may, of course have already provided the area with some of your own, after eating some of the fiery food you encountered on your travels.
Now all you have to do is get your haul through customs. Very good luck to you!


Seriously folks! The ingredients are right, and you should boil the water and husks for about 30 mins. Leave to cool overnight strain and use as liquid soap. You can use it as an all-purpose cleaner, as shampoo- it’s great for your hair, and for pet shampoo. You can also put 6- 8 Soap Nuts in a muslin bag and throw in the washing machine instead of washing powder. It’s effective at temperatures of between 30-60 degrees C and is good for coloureds but not as good for whites as it doesn’t contain bleach.
So it really is good for the environment, and you can buy the Reetha or Soap Nuts from an Asian shop or a wholesaler.

This is a homemade Treat add vanilla oil to Taste.

GOOSEBERRIES or AMLA in URDU; USES and RECIPE - GOOSEBERRY CRUMBLE

GOOSEBERRIES or AMLA in URDU
Gooseberries are native to southwestern Asia and Europe. It’s believed that they grow right up to the foothills of the Himalayas. However the so-called Indian gooseberry, or Amla, is Emblica officinalis, but the gooseberry that we know is Ribes grossularia and the one that grows on the subcontinent, is Ribes uva. So they are closely related although not exactly the same. The wild variety is a straggly little thing compared to the cultivated variety. In northern England there have been huge gooseberry bushes. One was 12 feet in diameter, apparently.
In the Middle Ages, the gooseberry was referred to as the Feaberry or feverberry as it was believed to help cure fevers. It is rich in vitamins A and C, and so would be good to ward off colds and flu. It was first cultivated in Britain in the 16th century when physicians recommended it as a cure for the dreaded plague.
John Gerard, writing of the Feaberry said it was ‘greatly profitable to such as are troubled with a hot, burning ague.’ In Ayurvedic medicine the gooseberry has many uses and is often used in powder form. Traditional practitioners believe it has cooling properties, so agree with Gerard. However, they use the gooseberry for a whole host of cures. They say it’s good for diabetes, heart problems, illnesses related to old age, gastric problems and believe it gives a boost to the immune system. The gooseberry helps to balance the body’s nitrogen levels so can help those who need to gain weight, too. Basically if you eat Amla every day, you will ward off a number of illnesses.
If you make a paste with Amla by boiling 6 with a cup of milk, then removing the seeds and mashing them to a pulp, you should rub the paste onto your hair roots. Leave it on your scalp for 20 minutes, then wash your hair. This is supposed to prevent hair loss.
Acne sufferers should mix 20 grams of Amla powder with a little honey and ghee. The mixture should be taken internally to clear the blood and so rid the skin of unsightly spots.
In spring it is said that the gooseberry is more valuable in herbal medicine than rhubarb.
Gooseberries were extremely popular by the early 19th century in England. People grew bushes in their gardens and held fairs to celebrate the gooseberry. Fairs and gooseberry shows are still held in the Midlands and northern England, where people compete for the best gooseberry pie or tart and see who has produced the biggest gooseberry etc.
The phrase ‘to play gooseberry’ is believed to have originated in the 19th century, when young couples were carefully chaperoned. Often the chaperone would distract herself by picking gooseberries in the hedgerows. So a chaperone was known as a gooseberry. And as for the tale of babies being found under gooseberry bushes, perhaps this was because in Victorian times every coy middle class family had a gooseberry bush in their garden, so babies could be left under one. Who knows?



GOOSEBERRY CRUMBLE
Ingredients
500 gr gooseberries, topped and tailed
2 tbsps sugar
water
125 gr butter
250 gr plain flour
2 tbsps sugar


Method
Put the gooseberries in a saucepan with a little water and 2 tbsps sugar, bring to the boil then simmer for 20 mins.
Make the topping. Rub the flour into the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the sugar and mix well
Preheat the oven to a medium heat.
Put the gooseberries in an ovenproof dish, you don’t need to thicken the mixture as gooseberries contain pectin, a thickening agent. Pour the crumble topping over the gooseberries. Dot here and there with butter and place in the preheated oven
Cool for 20-30 mins until the topping is golden brown, but not burnt.
Serve with custard or cream.
This has Taste and is a Treat.

BLACK MUSTARD SEEDS (RAI) HISTORY and USES:RECIPE CHICKEN SALAD MOULD

BLACK MUSTARD SEEDS
There are at least 40 different varieties of mustards, but we use black, white and brown. Black mustard seeds originated in the Middle East and the southern Mediterranean region. The Latin name for the plant they come from is Brassica nigra so they are related to other brassicas, broccoli, brussel sprouts and cabbage for example. The plants have very distinctive yellow flowers and are cultivated in fields across Britain, the rest of Europe, the Americas, the subcontinent as well as many other places. The brown seeds come from the foothills of the Himalayas.
The seeds might be small, but they are packed full of minerals and trace elements. They contain Omega-3 fatty acids, iron, selenium and magnesium among other things. They can help in the treatment of asthma and more research might show that they can help prevent cancer.
We know that the mustard seeds were used in Greece, and their discovery was attributed to Aesculpius The Romans invented the forerunner of modern mustards by pounding white seeds into a paste. The leaves are also edible and were used as a vegetable in ancient times. In Pakistan and India they are made into saag, a vegetable side dish, or a vegetarian meal on its own with roti (chapatti).
The mustard seeds used to grow mustard and cress, so often found in egg sandwiches, is white mustard, and these young mustard sprouts are good in salads.
In his Herball of 1623 John Gerard wrote that mustard ‘Doth help digestion, warmeth the stomach and provoketh the appetite’. The English town of Tewkesbury was famous for its mustard seed balls, which were black mustard seeds, mixed with honey, vinegar and a little cinnamon. Shakespeare mentions Tewkesbury mustard in ‘Henry V’ and one of the fairies in ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ is called Mustard-seed. In his ‘Acetaria’ of 1699, John Evelyn refers to the Italian way of making a mustard paste to which they added orange or lemon peel. Culpeper thought it was good to take the poison out of snake bites, and said that mustard powder and honey rolled into balls would clear the voice and help sufferers with cold symptoms. He also believed that if mixed with wax or honey and applied to a black and blue bruise, it would remove the colouration, and also get rid of a ‘crick in the neck’.
Mustard seeds are stimulants and a diuretic; they are used in poultices to relieve swelling and muscle pains. If you bruise the black mustard seeds, and pour boiling water over them and leave until hot, this makes an excellent footbath for tired feet. If you drink a tisane prepared in the same way, you will reduce cold and flu symptoms.
In Pakistan mustard oil from the black seeds is sold from door to door by street sellers, and is bought not for culinary purposes, but to condition hair and leave it shiny. People here are embarrassed to use it for cooking as it’s so cheap, they prefer to be seen to use more expensive items such as top quality ghee, or clarified butter. However it’s good to cook with! And probably expensive where you come from!
When you use mustard seeds, you should bruise them a little and fry them in oil until they start to sputter, to release their flavour and also flavour the oil. They are used in pickles and sauces. Below is a different type of recipe for them.


CHICKEN SALAD MOULD
Ingredients
250 gr chicken, boiled and cut into small cubes
½ cup raisins
½ cup mayonnaise
½ tbsp black mustard seeds
½ tsp white pepper, ground
1 tbsp aspic
1½ cups chicken stock (see recipe in our Bay Leaf post) hot
½ bunch of fresh coriander, shredded
salt to taste
oil for greasing mould


Method
Grease a 1½ pint mould with the oil.
Pour a little of the stock into the aspic powder and stir to mix until it dissolves. Use a cup to do this.
Put the rest of the stock in a large bowl and add the mustard seeds and mayonnaise and mix well. Then add the aspic and the stock mix the raisins, white pepper and salt and mix well.
Add the chicken pieces and coriander leaves and stir in well.    Pour the whole mixture into the mould.
Put the mould in the fridge and leave until set.
To get it out of the mould in one piece, put the mould briefly in warm water, and then turn it out onto a large plate.
Garnish with fresh mint leaves and slivers of root ginger, or green chillies.
                                       This has Taste and is a Treat.

PAAN and the BETEL or ARECA NUT or SUPARI

PAAN and the BETEL or ARECA NUT or SUPARI
If you’ve ever been to the subcontinent, you will have noticed paan (or sometimes, pan) shops everywhere. People will tell you different paan stories of their own, a friend of a friend… You know the sort. Anyway, I’m told that a seasoned paan eater doesn’t actually swallow all the paan, but only the fillings, in sweet paan. The rest gets spat on the pavement, or wherever the chewers might be. At home, of course, they will have spittoons for the messy pink liquid.
Paan has been used for centuries to sweeten the breath, particularly of lovers and royalty, which is why so many illustrations of paan accessories are set in bedrooms. Paan was one of the 8 delights enjoyed by royals in ancient times. In other classes, only married couples were allowed to use it as it was believed to be an aphrodisiac.
It has had poems written about it, such as this translation of one by Murkhya Charan Bhattacharya, a poet from Bengal.
She lives indoors, but is not a woman,
Not sought by the young but adored by the old.
She is a temptress like a fire-fly
Fools will not interpret this and will remain confused.
It is given as an offering to Hindu gods, and it is believed that Vishnu is particularly pleased when given 32 betel pepper vine leaves, no more or less. There is a superstition that if you eat a dry paan leaf, your life will end rather suddenly.
Paan is a part of the culture in India, and in Bengali wedding ceremonies, the bride and groom are given traditional brass containers topped with betel leaves and condiments in the hope that their future life as a married couple will be a happy one. As their love grows, the woman will not only roll paan for her husband, but also feed him with her own hands.
Those who enjoy paan believe it is a good stimulant, and antidepressant which relieves stress.
It’s said that Krishna himself used to chew it and we know from texts that it was chewed on a wide scale by the 5th century AD. The betel palm, which the betel nut grows on, is thought to have originated in Malaysia and Sumatra. It spread to the subcontinent where it is now cultivated.
The betel nut, or areca nut, grows on the betel palm tree, and the leaves which are the outer layer of paan come from the betel pepper vine.
There are 2 basic types of paan. One is tobacco paan, in which quids of tobacco are rolled into paan with a betel nut, or slivers of it. The other is sweet paan which includes the betel nut as well as some or all of the following ingredients: betel or areca nut, anise, cinnamon, cloves, green cardamom seeds, roasted fennel seeds, sweetened desiccated coconut, almonds, pistachios, rose petals or rose petal preserve, and preserved fruits as well as sugar syrup and dried dates. In special paan, edible silver leaf is included too. The leaves from the betel pepper vine are coated with a paste made from lime, not the fruit, but calcium hydroxide, and a pink substance called catechu which is a vegetable extract from the wood of the acacia tree.
The customer can choose what goes into the sweet paan and this depends not only on personal taste but on the reasons for buying the paan. For example, someone suffering with a sore throat might ask for paan with mahlati (dried ginger root) with betel nut and green cardamom seeds.
You can eat all of the sweet paan, if you wish, but you have to spit out the tobacco paan as tobacco is harmful for the stomach.
Modern research has shown that betel nut chewers risk the onset of diabetes, asthma and cardiovascular diseases.It might also be responsible for starting oral cancers. Its availability is restricted in the USA. However other research has shown that it could be useful for Alzheimer’s sufferers as it increases glucose absorption in the brain. There is also a school of thought that suggests it might be useful in the treatment of schizophrenia. In traditional Ayurvedic medicine it is used as a laxative and a digestive aid, while in Unanai medicine it is used to combat diarrheoa and urinary disorders.
The betel nut or areca nut is also used as beads in some jewellery, and boxes to keep betel nuts in have been around for centuries. The leaves and stalks of the betel pepper vine can be woven to make cups, fans, umbrellas etc.
A word of caution: first time chewers of paan often suffer from nausea, giddiness and feel as though they are in the initial stages of poisoning.

MOUSSAKA RECIPE

This is a traditional dish claimed by both the Greeks and the Turks. Whatever its origins, it’s well worth the effort you have to put in to making it. Like our Pastitsio recipe it takes a while to prepare and then ¾ of an hour in a preheated medium oven.
If you’re not a fan of aubergines (eggplants) you can substitute them with courgettes (zucchini), and if you are a vegetarian you can use both and leave out the meat. You just need to fry the courgettes lightly so that they start to become translucent.
Because the sauce is rather like a soufflé, you need to put the whole thing in a greased oven proof dish which has a lot of room at the top (leave 3 inches to be on the safe side) as the sauce will rise like a soufflé. You can omit the eggs if you’d prefer, and just settle for a cheese sauce.

Ingredients
300 gr minced beef
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 or 4 cloves garlic
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 tsp oregano (dried)
2 tsps Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp flour
oil
1 large aubergine, sliced, salted, washed thoroughly and dried
4-5 tomatoes, sliced
3-4 medium sized potatoes
50 gr butter
50 gr plain flour
250 gr grated cheese (cheddar for flavour)
750 ml milk
2 eggs separated and whites whisked to stiff peaks
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.



Method
Heat some oil in a frying pan and fry the onions and garlic until the onions start to turn translucent, then add the minced beef, and fry until it is cooked. Add a tbsp flour and the tomato puree to soak up the fatty juices, stirring well. Then add the oregano and Worcestershire sauce.
Remove from the heat and put in the oven proof dish you have greased.
Now add more oil to the frying pan and fry the aubergines, for about 5-10 mins. While you are doing this, place a layer of tomato slices over the meat mixture.
When the slices of aubergine are cooked, remove from the pan and get rid of the excess oil by drying them on absorbent paper. Then layer them over the tomatoes.
Fry the potato slices for about 10 mins, 5 mins for each side, dry as you did the aubergines and put them over the aubergine layer.
You can now make the cheese sauce.
Melt the butter over a low heat, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the flour so that it becomes a smooth paste. Slowly pour in a little milk and stir. Now put the pan back on the low heat, and add the milk gradually, stirring all the while so that it doesn’t become lumpy. Bring to the boil, add half the grated cheese, and simmer for a few minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the egg yolks with a wooden spoon. When they are well integrated into the sauce, add the stiff egg whites and fold into the sauce using a metal spoon. Add the salt and pepper. When the whites are well mixed into the sauce, pour it over the potatoes. Top with the rest of the grated cheese, and place it in the oven which has been preheated to a medium heat. Leave for 45 mins.
Remove from the oven and serve hot with a salad.
This has Taste and is a Treat.