almond milk tea recipe

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nigella:

Phyllis from Pennsylvania wrote me today:"Have you any information about Nigella seed and its uses in your recipes? I have used your cookbook for years and years and it simply changed my approach to cooking. Every now and then I come across a new spice and wonder how to use it in your recipes."

My reply to Phyllis:Yes Phyllis, I do have information. I am reproducing a posting from an earlier blog that amply covers the subject. Neeru Salwan wrote me and asked "I am a vegetarian and also do not eat onion and garlic. Is kalonji considered as onion seeds? And can we eat nigella seeds? What are they?"

My earlier reply to Neeru: Hello Neeru! You are not alone in your confusion. Kalonji seeds, also correctly named Nigella seeds(Nigella sativa)(pictured above) are not seeds of the onion plant. There is no connection. It is a colloquial term only, because they look like onion seeds.

They are also sometimes called black cumin, but this is also a mistake. Black cumin (Cuminum nigrum){it is also sometimes ascribed to Bunium persicum}, is a totally different seed. It is even sometimes called black sesame, which is also a totally different plant, although their seeds are quite similar.

Nigella sativa is an annual flowering plant, native to southwest Asia. It grows to 20-30 cm tall, with finely divided, linear leaves. The flowers are delicate, and usually coloured pale blue and white, with 5-10 petals. The fruit is a large and inflated capsule composed of 3-7 united follicles, each containing numerous seeds. The seed is used as a spice.Nigella sativa seed is known variously as kalonji(Hindi), kezah(Hebrew), habbah elbarakah (literally seeds of blessing, Arabic) or siyah daneh (Persian).

In English it is called fennel flower, black caraway, nutmeg flower or Roman coriander. It is related to, looks like, and sometimes mistaken for the beautiful flowering plant Love-in-a-Mist. It is also sometimes just referred to as nigella or black seed. It was even used in very old English cookery, and called gith.

This potpourri of vernacular names for this plant reflects that its widespread use as a spice is relatively new in the English speaking world, and largely associated with immigrants from areas where it is well known. Increasing use is likely to result in one of the names winning out, hopefully one which is unambiguous.

pide:

They are also sprinkled over soft Tandoor-baked breads such as Naan, as is done in Northern India, and also on Turkish Pide breads (pictured, above). In India's medical tradition, Ayurveda, kalonji seeds are recommended for cleansing of toxins in the blood, helping to stimulate the liver, and used as a paste to clear skin blemishes.

In western herbal medicine, Nigella sativa is described as having hypertensive, carminative, and anthelminthic properties.

Nigella is also used in Bengali Panch Porum (5-spice). I love using it in the batter for pakoras, assorted vegies dipped in spiced chickpea flour batter and fried to crispy magnificence. Yum!!

pakoras:

  • fenugreek:
    seeds in this photo may appear larger than they actually are

    William from Seattle wrote me asking about fenugreek, and how to use it.

    My reply:

    An erect annual herb of the bean family, indigenous to western Asia and south-eastern Europe, Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum) is cultivated for its seeds, which, although legumes, are used as a spice.

    The seeds are small, hard, yellowish-brown, smooth and oblong, about 3mm (1/8th inch) with a deep furrow across one corner. Fenugreek has a warm, slightly bitter taste, reminiscent of burnt sugar and maple.

    The seeds are used in Greece and Egypt and especially India, where they are lightly dry-roasted or fried to extract their characteristic flavour. One should note, however, that over-roasting or over-frying fenugreek results in an excessive bitter taste.

    Whn soaked overnight the seed coat beomes soft and jelly-like, and in this state it is one of the chief ingredients of a paste of bitter herbs called halba or hilbe, popular with people of middle-eastern origin.

    The leaves of the fenugreek plant are also popular in Indian cuisine. Known as methi, they are used in vegetable dishes, breads and savories. Easily home-grown, fresh young fenugreek leaves are wonderful in salads, dressed with oil and lemon.

    The young plants are used as a vegetable, being harvested when they are about 20cm (8 inches) high and tied in bundles like mint or parsley. Fenugreek can be sprouted, and the sprouts lend a pungent favour to salads.

    Fenugreek is famous as an ancient medicinal herb. American Indian women took the soaked seeds after childbirth to expedite healing. It was also renowned as a useful cure for constipation, as a powerful expectorant, and is today used in Europe as an herbal infusion to break up respiratory congestion.

    The seeds are a carminative (they relieve flatulence), and they are a useful treatment for diabetes.

    Modern research shows that fenugreek seeds lowers blood cholesterol and blood sugar levels. Externally, the seeds are useful as a poultice for abscesses, boils and carbuncles. It is also great as a cure for dandruff - soak some seeds in water overnight, grind up into a paste, apply in the scalp and hair, and rinse. You will be dandruff free, although you will smell a little of curry! A small price to pay...

    Fenugreek seeds are available at Indian or Middle Eastern grocers. The fresh leaves (if you are shopping outside India), can occasionally be found in markets or can be home-grown.

  • mothers:

    May from Leicestershire, UK writes:

    "Dear Kurma,
    Thanks for a great blog - I am an avid reader. Thank you very much for your informative article on the pasteurization of milk (Tuesday, March 6, 2007) highlighting the dangers of this process. You wrote "pasteurization is a destructive process that changes the physical structure of the fragile proteins in milk (especially casein) and converts them into proteins your body was never designed to handle - and that can actually harm you". vrindavan cow:

    My reply:

    Dear May,

    Thanks so much for your thoughtful letter. Excuse the delay in reply. Glad to hear you are enjoying the blogs.

    You ask 'given that unprocessed milk directly from the cow is not available to buy in the UK, would you recommend avoiding milk entirely rather than drinking pasteurized milk?'

    There are still benefits from drinking milk under any circumstances, in my opinion. And whereas un-pasteurized milk is not legally sold, some farmers are happy to sell it to you 'under the counter'. But don't quote me on that one. If that is impossible, try to buy unhomogenized whole milk. That should be easy enough to find. Here in Australia it's available in all the supermarkets.

    Organic, biodyna