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Adrak (Ginger), Aam Adrak (Mango Ginger), and Haldi (Turmeric)

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Ginger (Zingiber Officinale)

From the ginger plant family, Zingiberaceae, hail two plants which give us those well-known rhizomes so famous for their culinary and therapeutic properties – Ginger and Turmeric (did you know they’re related?).

Besides these, there is a third one, not as famous, but quite delicious in it’s own unique way, called Mango Ginger (or Aam Adrak), which looks deceptively like regular ginger, but is more closely related to its other cousin, Turmeric. It is, in fact, referred to as “White Turmeric” or “Mango Turmeric”  in some of the Indian dialects.

The family list is longer, with Galangal, Cardamom (the seeds in this case, not the rhizome) among other notables belonging to it as well, but more on those later.

Ginger is pretty much a common and everyday spice in our house. I can imagine nearly everyone would know its use in at least one home remedy or the other, besides as a spice in food or beverages.

The mature rhizomes tend to be a bit fibrous. It is usually scraped or peeled before use, then generally either chopped fine, julienned, grated, or ground into a paste, the last often along with other spices.

Sonth or dried ginger, pictured below, is also quite widely used.

Dried ginger tends to be somewhat light and cork-ish in texture.

In the picture below, the broken pieces and rough powder on the left side are what I made by pounding the above dried Sonth in a mortar and pestle. It will thereafter be ground fine in a mixie jar.
The powder on the right, is a readymade, commercial one.  It is quite easily available in the local markets.


Sonth can replace fresh ginger in many cases, (and will possess quite a few of the same medicinal properties as fresh), but the flavour is somewhat different.

Mango ginger, on the other hand, is not a good substitute for ginger, as it tastes very different.
Fresh rhizomes are usually available in season, but might need to be sought out.

Can you tell the difference between the two types of ginger below?

The one on the left is the regular ginger, and the one on the right is Mango Ginger, or Curcuma Amada.
Not quite as sharp-tasting as ginger, it has a distinct, though mild, flavour of raw mango.

It is also not as fibrous, nor as ‘claw-like’ in appearance as regular ginger. In fact, other than in colour and taste, looks more like turmeric.

Here they are, sliced CS, LS and all.

Mango Ginger, or Curcuma Amada
Ginger, or Zingiber Officinale

And here are some fresh rhizomes of Turmeric, pictured below. Another genus of the same plant family, also well known for its culinary and therapeutic properties.
Turmeric (Curcuma Longa)

Mostly used in dried, powdered form, as below, right .  Dried turmeric is quite hard, much harder than dried ginger.

Although the dried powder is the most common form of usage, if available, fresh turmeric can be used too (grated or chopped).

Expect yellow stains.

An easy way to get rid of unintended yellow smears on clothes or plastic-ware that won’t wash away,  is to expose it to the sun for a few hours, since it is fugitive to sunlight.

If you have any of these fabulously golden yellow rhizomes on hand,  try this delish relish with just grated turmeric, chopped green chillies, plenty of lemon juice and some salt. Pungent, loaded with medicinal and nutritional value.

A similar recipe is good with the two gingers as well. It will keep for several days in the refrigerator.

Aam Panna – Green Mango Cooler

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Liquid delight when the mercury shoots up!

Aam panna, a sweet-tart drink made with raw mangoes is not only delicious,  but drinking it has the added benefit of protecting  the consumer from heat stroke – a much valued quality in the land of mangoes and sizzling summers.  Yum good, I say.

Ingredients:

Raw mangoes – 2 – or, as required.
Sugar or Jaggery – to taste
Roasted cumin seed powder (Bhuna Jeera powder) – 1 tsp (or to taste) (for method see here)
Black Salt (sanchal) – 1/2 tsp
Salt – 1/4 tsp
Red chilly powder – (optional)  1/8 tsp or to taste

TIP: One average sized raw mango would provide upto four servings. This will vary depending on the consistency.

Procedure:

Wash the green (raw) mangoes).
Isn’t it easy to see how the “Paisley” or “Kairi” motif, that of a twisted tear drop,  were inspired by these beauties?

I always like to take off the tops first, because of having been brainwashed early on that the sap from the stems is not good to touch – it can cause skin irritation.

Not really required, they can just be washed thoroughly, – but I like to be on the safe side.

Place them in a saucepan (I’m using my favorite pressure cooker, of course) along with a cup or so of water to be cooked. The water used for boiling will be a part of the drink.
Traditionally, in some areas, the mangoes are roasted on coals or an open flame instead of being boiled, which is another option.

One could also peel, deseed, chop the raw mango and boil the pieces.
As a rough estimate, the whole mangoes will take as long to cook as small potatoes – which is fairly quick.

Hmmm – perhaps a saucepan would have been more gentle… (But mangoes do invariably split when boiled.)
No problem, all we need is the pulp. It should be soft.

Reserve the water from the cooker which has some of the mango pulp.

Also there will be quite a bit to scoop off from the skins.

A lot of the pulp will be still attached to the skin and seed, and can be scooped off using either a blunt knife, a spoon, or simply by hand. The seeds and skin can then be discarded.

I find it easier to do the seeds by hand.  Squelch it off.  Yes – that’s right.

So now we have the basic, cooked, green mango paste.

To this we will add roasted cumin powder (TIP: make it fresh for a real zing), some black salt (that lends a very characteristic flavour to this drink), a bit of regular rock salt, and a pinch of chilly powder, and…..

… about a ton of sugar!  This can also be jaggery if you like. Here I’ve used khandsari or unrefined sugar.
You might be surprised to find yourself mixing in much more sugar per glass than you would in lemonade (Shikanji). That’s because of the very intense flavours that aam panna contains – the tart mangoes, the earthy, slightly bitter, roasted cumin, the rather sulphuric black salt….

Put it all into the blender, and give it a good whizz.

The “concentrate” is ready.

This will even keep in the fridge for 2-3 days (perhaps longer – but I can’t say, – it’s always wiped out by the next day in my house!)

Fill up about a third or half of each glass with this and top up with water (and ice, if you like) a good stir and it’s ready.

Adjust the spices, salts, sugar and consistency to your liking  – thick or thin using more or less of the ‘concentrate’ in the proportion.

Have a great summer!

Tincture Plant (Hemigraphis alternata)

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A tincture according to Wikipedia, is typically an alcoholic extract of plant or animal material or solution of such or of a low volatility substance.
So this pretty, purple-leaved plant is just one of many that would qualify. 
Wikipedia link and Wikispecies link.

Basale, Bachalikura, or Malabar Spinach (Basella alba)

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“Basella alba is a fast-growing, soft-stemmed vine, reaching 10 metres (33 ft) in length. Its thick, semi-succulent, heart-shaped leaves have a mild flavour and mucilaginous texture. The stem of the cultivar Basella alba ‘Rubra’ is reddish-purple.”

source: Wikipedia link.

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Bhringraj (Eclipta prostrata)

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“The plant has traditional uses in Ayurveda. It is bitter, hot, sharp, dry in taste. In India it is known as bhangra, bhringaraj, and bhringraja. Widelia calendulacea is known by the same names, so the white-flowered E. alba is called white bhangra and the yellow-flowered W. calendulacea is called yellow bhangra.”
source: Wikipedia.

Wikipedia link.

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