SR December-15 issue pdf

SPICE TALK ||||| FENUGREEK
EACH SPICEJET AIRCRAFT HAS BEEN NAMED AFTER
A PARTICULAR SPICE. IN THIS ISSUE WE TALK ABOUT
THE BENEFITS AND USAGE OF FENUGREEK
Egyptians of yore used fenugreek paste
to embalm mummies while their famed
queen, Cleopatra, used the seeds
warmed in oil or milk to keep her locks
long and lustrous. One of the oldest
spices known to civilisation, the
Mesopotamians are said to have first
used fenugreek in pickle form – those
days, vegetables were simply soaked in
brine and vinegar.
Back home, one of the most common
uses of methi is where its bitter, hard-tobite
seeds are used in tempering.
Dharmesh Karmokar, owner of Hotel
Aureole, uses roasted methi seeds to
temper khichdi but is equally fond of
methi greens. “The beauty is the flavour
play that tempered seeds and fresh
greens add to the dish. While the seeds,
once roasted as part of paanch phoran
[all-seed spice-mix of East India], lend
sweetness to the dish, the greens,
though slightly bitter, cleanse the palate
for a second bite,” he says.
Speaking of seeds, culinary director
Aloo methi
Paul Kinny says, “Fenugreek seeds have
this amazing quality of combining with
NOTHING GREEK
ABOUT IT
COUNTED AMONG THE WORLD’S
IT IS HARD TO IMAGINE an Indian
kitchen without fenugreek (methi) and
harder still to imagine the
quintessential Indian pickle without
this spice. Fenugreek forms a staple in
South Asian cuisine, and to a certain
other spices when treated slightly to
work new flavours into a dish, which
does not taste bitter.” Indeed, kadhi or
yoghurt-based gravy is a case in point.
In fact, even the raan prepared by
Zaffran, owned by Chef Chetan Sethi,
extent, even Mediterranean and
uses slightly toasted fenugreek seeds to
OLDEST SPICES, FENUGREEK HAS
African cuisines. For long now, methi
give meat that distinct flavour.
FOUND USE OVER THE YEARS AS A
has been the bedrock of Indian cooking
“Fenugreek’s ability to create
MEDICINE, BEAUTY AID,
– used fresh or dried, as leaves, seeds or
interesting spice weddings makes it a
PRESERVATIVE AND CULINARY AGENT.
BY MADHULIKA DASH
in powdered form.
Charak Samhita, the ancient Indian
text on medicine, hails fenugreek as an
effective cure for heartburn, ulcer and
gastrointestinal inflammation. The
key ingredient in differentiating one
kebab from the other,” says Sethi.
Chef Sabyasachi Gorai, Lavaash by
Saby, is unapologetic about his bias
towards methi in paanch phoran. “It is
ALAMY; SHUTTERSTOCK
114 ||||| DECEMBER 2016