Tag: herbs and spices
-
Black Mustard Seeds
These tiny little seeds come in a range of colours from very dark brown to yellow depending on the climate where they were grown. They taste like yellow mustard seeds but slightly more intense and aromatic.
Their taste reminds me of a green pea but earthier and with a pronounced but very pleasant warmth. They have a similar aroma.
I use them to make mustard pastes, spice blends and Indian curries and soups.
I have some serving suggestions for you and recipes using this spice in the links below.
This particular cooking ingredient is in PK’s Essential Pantry Cupboard Contents.
Dietary Info: Is an allergen for some people.
Enjoy,
PK
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
USING MUSTARD SEEDS OR POWDER
THE FULL GICICI INGREDIENTS LIST
Please consider subscribing to a weekly email summary of our posts or check us out on Facebook @growitcatchitcookit.
[mc4wp_form id=”15771″]
Written by
·
-
Mukhwas, Indian Breath Freshener And Digestive
Mukhwas is an Indian mix of fennel and other spices, served after dinner as a breath freshener and digestive.
The aniseed flavour of the fennel seeds, the addition of mint essences and added sugar leaves the mouth feeling clean and smelling great.
This is what I used:
- 1 tsp Fennel seeds
- 1/2 tsp Dhanna Dal
- 1/2 tsp Seasame seeds
- 1 tsp rock candy (with peppermint essence), crushed
I strongly recommend you dry roast the seeds until their colour changes and their aromas are noticeable. I have made Mukhwa with and without dry roasting the seeds and the toasted version is much better. The fennel and sesame seeds especially become much improved in texture and taste.
Making the rock candy yourself is lots of fun and if you infuse it with peppermint oil you don’t have to add it separately to the Mukhwa.
Happy munching. 🙂
Enjoy,
PK
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
MORE INDIAN CUISINE
Please consider subscribing to a weekly email summary of our posts or check us out on Facebook @growitcatchitcookit.
[mc4wp_form id=”15771″]
Written by
·
-
Cumin
Cumin is the seed of a small annual herbaceous plant that is native to the Middle East and is in the same family as parsley and coriander.
It has a most wonderful warm earthy flavour and smell. You can use them whole, as an ingredient or garnish in their own right or grind them for use in your favourite garam masala or spice pastes.
Cumin pairs well with almost everything and it turns up worldwide in everything from drinks to snacks to main meals and desserts.
I have some recipes using cumin below for you. 🙂
Dietary Info: Great for vegetarians, vegans and is gluten free.
This particular cooking ingredient is in PK’s Essential Pantry Cupboard Contents.
Enjoy,
PK
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
MORE ON USING CUMIN
INDIAN CUISINE
THE FULL GICICI INGREDIENTS LIST
GICICI’S WHAT TO GROW IN PERTH GUIDE
Please consider subscribing to a weekly email summary of our posts or check us out on Facebook @growitcatchitcookit.
[mc4wp_form id=”15771″]
Written by
·
-
Bay Leaf Tree: Grow and Eat
The humble Bay Leaf tree is a must have in a kitchen garden. Once you try fresh or freshly dried bay leaves in your cooking you won’t go back to the store bought version. Like many herbs, they lose their fullest, layer rich aroma and taste as they wait in transport and store shelves.
I normally use one or two small leaves fresh from the tree. I haven’t found them to be overpowering like some websites suggest.
I use them whole in stews, casseroles, curries, the list goes on. I always remove them post cooking (bouquet garni bags make this easier). They give the liquid in said dishes a earthy almost bitter tang. By itself this might not sound tasty but it works with the other ingredients to make a dish tastier than the sum of its parts.
I also recently got into bay leaf tea. It is a refreshing change despite it being reminiscant of a cup of mild green tea. It is like drinking the Aussie bush. 🙂
Dietary Info: Great for vegetarians, vegans and is gluten free.
This particular cooking ingredient is in PK’s Essential Pantry Cupboard Contents.
Enjoy,
PK
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
MORE RECIPES USING BAY LEAVES
THE FULL GICICI INGREDIENTS LIST
MORE VEGAN , VEGETARIAN , GLUTEN-FREE INGREDIENTS AND MEALS
GICICI’S WHAT’S GROWING IN PERTH?
Follow these links to see what to plant in a given month or read my monthly journal where I talk about what I am doing, have learned and have harvested.
JANUARY’S PLANTS OR PK’s Journal
FEBRUARY’S PLANTS OR PK’s Journal
MARCH’S PLANTS OR PK’s Journal
APRIL’S PLANTS OR PK’s Journal
MAY’S PLANTS OR PK’s Journal
JUNE’S PLANTS OR PK’s Journal
JULY’S PLANTS OR PK’s Journal
AUGUST’S PLANTS OR PK’s Journal
SEPTEMBER’S PLANTS OR PK’s Journal
OCTOBER’S PLANTS OR PK’s Journal
NOVEMBER’S PLANTS OR PK’s Journal
DECEMBER’S PLANTS OR PK’s Journal
Please consider subscribing to a weekly email summary of our posts or check us out on Facebook @growitcatchitcookit.
[mc4wp_form id=”15771″]
Written by
·
-
PK’s Bouquet Garni
One of the perks of having a kitchen garden is that you always have fresh herbs and spices at your finger tips. This is great if you want to make a fresh homemade bouquet garni.
A bouquet garni is a bundle of herbs that were traditionally woven together (I tend to use little cloth bags for convenience however). They are used to flavour soups, stews, stocks, casseroles etc etc without having to fish the herbs out one by one at cooking’s end.
There are millions of combinations but I tend to use bay leaves, thyme, savoury and parsley the most.
When you have finished cooking the dish, simply remove the bag and chuck it in your compost or worm farm.
You can buy premade dried bouquet garni sachets but I encourage you to try making one using fresh herbs. You will never look back. 🙂
Dietary Info: Great for vegetarians, vegans and is gluten free.
Enjoy,
PK
P.S. I get my bags on ebay.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
FRENCH CUISINE
OUR SLOWCOOKER RECIPES
VEGAN, VEGETARIAN AND GLUTEN FREE INGREDIENTS
Please consider subscribing to a weekly email summary of our posts or check us out on Facebook @growitcatchitcookit.
[mc4wp_form id=”15771″]
Written by
·
-
Turmeric
Turmeric is one of my essential cooking ingredients. You will see it peppered throughout the blog as it forms the basis for many masalas and marinades. It is reputed to be very good for your digestion and helping to reduce inflammation.
Fresh turmeric is becoming more available in Perth. You can use it as you would ginger, either leaving it in large chunks to be removed later or finely dicing it for consumption. Growing up my mum would add slices to to the water when boiling rice to impart a lovely yellow colour.
Dried and ground, I find it has a earthy grassy flavour that is at once bitter and slightly metallic. It simply has the most amazing pungent aroma and makes me smile like a little kid. I mostly use it in its dried form and find it stores well.
Enjoy,
PK
Related Links:
- see more cooking with turmeric posts here
- go to all meal ingredients here
- see a work in progress map of edible plant species here
Please consider subscribing to get a weekly email summary of our posts.
[mc4wp_form id=”15771″]
Written by
·
-
Chili Pepper: Hoa Lat
Hoa Lat is a bushy, heavy producer of medium sized, long tapered fruit. It is another of my mild heat range favourites and is so easy to grow.
The fruit starts of yellow-green and ripens to a bright glossy red.
Taste:
I have only eaten this raw in salads and haven’t cooked with it. It has a fruity almost tangy taste that swirls around your cheeks and then settles on the tip of your tongue. The initial punch can be severe but it dissipates quickly leaving a nice taste in your mouth.
The guys at the Western Australia Chilli Seed Exchange have the seeds for sale here http://wacse.org/product/hoa-lat/ and the lads there put it at 20,000 Scoville Heat Units.
Flower:
Fruit:
Plant:
Perth Fruiting Months:
November to June
Planting/Care:
I use a mid range nitrogen and high potassium fertiliser regime during the summer months. Soil is improved with compost and manure and has a ~5-10% by weight of clay to sand ratio. Drainage is good.
I usually spray my chili plants with Dipel and pyrethrum (my go to natural insecticide spray) if I notice grub damage to the pods. The tomato grub in particular likes the larger fleshier chilis like the Trinidad Scorpion.
Enjoy,
PK
GICICI Chili Plants
[table id=chilis /]
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
GROWING CHILIS 101
THE FULL GICICI INGREDIENTS LIST
GICICI’S WHAT’S GROWING IN PERTH?
Follow these links to see what to plant in a given month or read my monthly journal where I talk about what I am doing, have learned and have harvested.
JANUARY’S PLANTS OR PK’s Journal
FEBRUARY’S PLANTS OR PK’s Journal
MARCH’S PLANTS OR PK’s Journal
APRIL’S PLANTS OR PK’s Journal
MAY’S PLANTS OR PK’s Journal
JUNE’S PLANTS OR PK’s Journal
JULY’S PLANTS OR PK’s Journal
AUGUST’S PLANTS OR PK’s Journal
SEPTEMBER’S PLANTS OR PK’s Journal
OCTOBER’S PLANTS OR PK’s Journal
NOVEMBER’S PLANTS OR PK’s Journal
DECEMBER’S PLANTS OR PK’s Journal
Please consider subscribing to a weekly email summary of our posts or check us out on Facebook @growitcatchitcookit.
[mc4wp_form id=”15771″]
Written by
·
-
Gotu Kola
Gotu Kola is a herbaceous perennial native to Asia that can be grown as a ground cover or in a pot. It is often used in cooking as you would a leafy green in curries or soups. It can be eaten raw by itself or in a salad for that bit of zing.
It also has a reputation for its health benefits, especially aiding memory and relieving arthritis symptoms (hence one of its other common names, ‘arthritis herb’).
Taste/Aroma:
Gotu Kola is slightly bitter at first and then you quickly notice the astringent qualities. Eaten raw it leaves you with a pleasant tingle for several hour. It reminds me of Sichaun peppercorns in that respect.
Plant:
Planting/Care:
Please see the link at the bottom of the page for when to grow this plant in my Grow It Perth calendar.
Find a semi-shaded position in your garden with draining soil. The soil doesn’t need to be rich either.
In Perth the full sun tends to kill the leaves off and I suspect it will appear to die off in the coldest part of winter but will regrow when spring returns.
Related Links:
- go to all meal ingredients here
- go the Grow It Perth calendar
- see a work in progress map of edible plant species here
Please consider subscribing to get a weekly email summary of our posts.
[mc4wp_form id=”15771″]
Written by
·
-
Sage
This essential herb can be grown in Perth as a perennial or an annual. I keep it trimmed down to a small clump to encourage growth. It was missing from my herb garden but no more 🙂
Next time you do a roast leg of lamb, season with salt, rosemary and sage for that most English of meals.
Taste/Aroma:
Rolling the leaves on your hand releases a pleasant smell that reminds me of eucalyptus oil. It has a slight peppery savoury flavour that pairs well with beef, pork, lamb, fish and pasta.
Flower:
Seeds:
Plant:
Planting/Care:
Please see the link at the bottom of the page for when to grow this plant in my Grow It Perth calendar.
Regular NPK in the ratios for vegetables every now and again and find a nice sunny well draining position. It will grow all year in Perth but prefers summer.
Related Links:
- see more sage posts here
- go to all meal ingredients here
- go the Grow It Perth calendar
- see a work in progress map of edible plant species here
Written by
·
-
Basil And How To Store It
This ‘king of herbs’ is an amazingly aromatic cooking annual. It grows to about 15cm tall and although it does better in summer sun it will provide all year. It dries well but I would avoid freezing it as it doesn’t hold up well.
I use it in salads, pasta, pizzas, pesto, soups and stocks. See the links at the bottom of the page for some yummy recipe suggestions.
Taste/Aroma:
It has a mild white pepper taste at first and then bursts into a powerful grassy flavour. You know when you are smelling basil it is so unique (it is grassy, savoury with hints of citrus). Rub the leaves and the oils easily impart this smell that lasts for ages 🙂 .
Flower:
Plant:
Planting/Care:
Please see the link at the bottom of the page for when to grow this plant in my Grow It Perth calendar.
This herb can be tricky to grow during a cold Perth winter. Try and find a position that gets long periods of direct sun and well drained soil.
Storage:
You can of course dry the leaves and basil actually freezes well.
I tried a method recently that I found on the internet. You put a large sprig of basil in a glass or vase of water and then cover with a plastic bag. It kept well for a week and could have gone longer.
It really works and I trimmed a few peices here or there as they drooped but got none of the drastic wilting and colour change I get leaving it in the fridge. On day 7 I cooked lasagna and broccoli pasta with it.Note: I put the bag back on after I photographed it each morning.
Enjoy,
PK
Check out some of the dishes I use them in and some more herbs and spices:
Written by
·