Event Announcement - Herbs & Flowers : Curry Leaves
Someone said you cannot have your cake and eat it too. But I can very well say that we bloggers are lucky enough to do both. And we eat the cherry on the cake too. After all we get to indulge in our hobby of cooking, feed our loved ones some great delicacies. And in the process we get to make some great friends and above all, we get to learn. Learn about different cultures, different cuisines, different techniques and sometimes we get to learn about the significance of age old practices.
I'm so glad to get a chance to host this month's "Herbs and Flowers" event. And I have chosen a very popular and a great flavour enhancer - Curry leaves. So all you need to do is to cook a vegetrain dish, any course of the meal, that has curry leaves. And share it with all of us. Well I can see the smiles on all your faces, as you can imagine the endless possibilities out here. And to make it more of a learning experience, I would love to hear/ get an entry on the non cooking uses of curry leaves, storage tips, flavour combinations, medicinal properties or even how to help them grown in your kitchen garden...Isn't that fun?
Yes as we know cooking is as much a science, as its a an art. And why our dadima (grand mom) insisted on having 'haldi wala dodh' (milk with turmeric) when hurt or why she used to have mint when suffering from indigestion - all of it had a scientific reason. The reason lies in the medicinal or beneficial properties of these ingredients.
Sadly we slowly forget these facts while whipping a quick meal with new types of tastemakers. But thanks to PJ of Seduce your tastebuds, for starting a whole series of event on "herbs and flowers, which introduces and educates us to both the healthy and tasty side of a herb or flower.
I'm so glad to get a chance to host this month's "Herbs and Flowers" event. And I have chosen a very popular and a great flavour enhancer - Curry leaves. So all you need to do is to cook a vegetrain dish, any course of the meal, that has curry leaves. And share it with all of us. Well I can see the smiles on all your faces, as you can imagine the endless possibilities out here. And to make it more of a learning experience, I would love to hear/ get an entry on the non cooking uses of curry leaves, storage tips, flavour combinations, medicinal properties or even how to help them grown in your kitchen garden...Isn't that fun?
Now let's know these aromatic leaves a bit better. Curry leaves are the shiny, dark green leaves of a tree from the citrus fruit family. It releases a nutty aroma when tempered in hot oil and is generously used in South Indian and South East Asian cooking. It's high in calcium and folic acid and aids digestion, increases immunity and also prevents premature greying of hair.
Some of the great uses of curry leaves are ( Source: here)
And do I need to tell you how great it makes a food taste :) So join this month's Herbs and Flowers event, by simply following these rules:
Some of the great uses of curry leaves are ( Source: here)
- Mix lime juice, honey or sugar crystals to the juice of curry leaf and drink it. This prevents nausea and dry vomiting.
- For Hair: Heat oil and add some curry leaves. When the curry leaves turns dark black remove the oil from heat and let it cool down. Store in a glass container. Apply this oil on your head and leave it overnight. This helps prevent premature aging of grey hair and also nourishes the hair roots. This oil also acts as a very good stimulant and helps in hair growth.
- Mix curry leaf with finely chopped ginger. Mix it with rice and take it early in the morning instead of water which will reduce dizziness, stomach disorders and constipation.
- Grind Curry leaf, black pepper corns, dried ginger, little cumin seeds and salt to a fine powder . Mix it with rice, make two small balls and eat it.
And do I need to tell you how great it makes a food taste :) So join this month's Herbs and Flowers event, by simply following these rules:
Rules for the event
- Cook and blog about a Vegan or Vegetarian dish which features Curry leaves
- Though this series is based on the culinary uses, you can also share the following - tips on preparing, freezing or storing them, non culinary uses that have been tried and tested by you like cosmetic uses, home remedies, crafts etc. You can also write about some interesting facts on Curry leaves.
- Please add this announcement link, and link to PJ’s announcement page and to this post
- Adding the logo to your post will help spread the word
- Send in as many entries as you wish. Archives entries are also accepted but do make a link to the post with both the announcements.
- Non bloggers are also welcome to participate
- The last date for the entries is October 15th 2011.
- Drop a mail to mytastejunction@gmail.com with these details
- Your name and name of your blog
- Recipe name and recipe URL
- Picture of your dish
So lets have some nutty aroma wafting in our blogosphere!!
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