Indian spice

Send

Many housewives use aromatic Indian curry in the preparation of dishes of rice, fish or hot vegetables. It consists of various components, including fenugreek, which gives the flavor bouquet a special color.

Fenugreek, or fenugreek (Trigonella coerulea), has a strong, persistent and peculiar aroma. It is widely used in Indian and Western European cuisine and is cultivated quite widely in these regions.

In our country, this unpretentious plant of the legume family is almost not found in summer cottages and household plots. But this is a very valuable plant. In addition to the ability to improve the quality of finished dishes, fenugreek also has healing properties. It contains up to 30% of mucus, which is used in the pharmaceutical industry for the manufacture of bactericidal plasters. Due to the emollient properties, fenugreek, as an expectorant and anti-inflammatory agent, helps in the treatment of colds. In addition, fenugreek, like all legumes, enriches the soil with nitrogen and improves its structure.

The appearance of fenugreek is quite simple. Shrubs about 60 cm high. Stems are hollow, soft. The flowers are inconspicuous, light yellow, solitary, located in the axils of the leaves. Fruits are bizarre-shaped beans, which is why fenugreek got another name - “goat horns”. Seeds are large, diamond-shaped, ribbed.

There is nothing complicated in cultivating this spicy culture. I sow the seeds right on the bed in the middle or at the end of April, planting them to a depth of 4-5 cm. Empirically I came to the conclusion that it is best to sow fenugreek solid with 15-cm row-spacings. Shoots appear in a week. From this time on, weed weeds regularly, loosened aisles. Watering as needed.

Fenugreek blooms from the first half of June for a month, emitting a wonderful smell, which is especially felt in the morning. Fenugreek does not lose its aroma even after drying.

For fancy bean shape, fenugreek is also called "goat horns"

When about 60% of the beans turn yellow, I mow the fenugreek at a height of 10-15 cm from the ground. I spread the mass on a canvas with a thin loose layer and dry it in a draft under a canopy (not in the sun). Drying, the beans begin to burst. I thresh them and put out the seeds to dry in the sun. I make sure that they do not dry out.

I cut off the tops of the plants and dry them again in the shade, after which I grind them in a coffee grinder and then use them for dressing dishes of potatoes, mushrooms, vegetable soups. I store seasoning in a sealed container. I add ground seeds to adjika or prepare a curry mixture.

Having tried once seasoning from fenugreek, I introduced it to the list of my mandatory garden crops.

Materials used: