Fenugreek seeds and their main composition. Useful properties of the product and warnings for inclusion in the menu. The use of shambhala seeds in cooking for the preparation of various national dishes.
The beneficial properties of fenugreek seeds
This amazing product helps a person to solve many existing problems. The benefit of fenugreek seeds lies in its ability to normalize the general condition of people with minimal financial costs on their part:
- Improving the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract … With the systematic use of this food supplement, the following health problems disappear: constipation, ulcerative colitis and chronic inflammation of the intestines.
- Antibacterial action … For pathologies that are associated with dysfunction of the respiratory tract, fenugreek seeds are used. They also help relieve inflammation of the kidneys and oral cavity.
- Lower cholesterol levels … The content of shambhala beans allows you to control the production of this substance by the liver. The polysaccharides that are present in these seeds also help lower cholesterol levels in the body.
- Increased endurance … This product should be of particular interest to athletes and people with an active lifestyle. The effects of fenugreek seeds are enhanced when used in conjunction with creatine.
- Increase libido … This spice especially affects the occurrence of sexual desire in men (with impotence). It is also called "Viagra" on a plant basis. However, women should not neglect fenugreek seeds either.
- Improving skin condition … Eliminating the foci of inflammation, the component of the helba fruits simultaneously removes toxins from the body. Quite often, the cause of acne should be sought not in external stimuli, but in internal factors-provocateurs of malfunctioning of the body.
- Increased lactation … Shambhala seeds are in no way inferior to the advertised fennel. They contribute to an increase in the amount of breast milk in mothers, which is absolutely safe for their babies.
- Help with PMS and menopause … During this period, women feel rather bad, sometimes experiencing not only discomfort, but also painful sensations. The sounded spice relieves spasms and eliminates the so-called "ebb and flow" during menopause.
- Elimination of female diseases … Doctors recommend that their patients include this miracle drug in their diet for infertility and polycystic ovaries.
- Weightloss remedy … When fenugreek seeds are consumed, the fats entering the body are easily broken down, and the impressive amount of fiber in them helps to speed up the digestion process.
It is necessary to use the sounded gift of nature in small quantities. It is recommended that you consult your doctor before using it. In the case of serious chronic diseases, the addition of such a product to your diet is allowed only during the period of remission.
Harm and contraindications to fenugreek seeds
With a rather high content of fiber in shambhala seeds, one can expect an unpleasant surprise from the gastrointestinal tract in those people who have previously consumed it in small quantities. Doctors insist on the fact that it is necessary to completely abandon them to a person under the following circumstances:
- Allergic reaction to food … This is especially true for those sensitive people who do not tolerate any legumes.
- Pregnancy … Fenugreek seeds are useful exclusively for nursing mothers. In women who are carrying a child, due to the estrogenic effect, they are able to induce childbirth ahead of schedule.
- Postoperative period … A similar warning also applies to new mothers who have just given birth to a child.
- Insulin dependent people … Fenugreek seeds can help lower blood sugar. Therefore, it is quite risky to use them together with antidiabetic drugs.
- Thyroid disease … People with hormonal disorders are advised to exclude this product from their diet.
There are few serious contraindications to fenugreek seeds compared to its excellent recommendations. However, in everything it is necessary to adhere to measures so as not to reap the fruits of your unwillingness to heed the advice of experts in the future.
Fenugreek Seed Recipes
It is necessary to distinguish between the voiced spice in its pure form and its presence in the composition of known seasonings such as hops-suneli. Ground and whole fenugreek seeds can be used to prepare the following dishes:
- Helba tea … Such a drink has not only a piquant taste and aroma, but is also used for medicinal purposes. 1 tbsp crushed fenugreek seeds must be poured with a glass of boiling water. The tea should be boiled over medium heat for 5 minutes. If desired, you can add milk, sugar, honey or lemon to it. This drink helps not only to cheer up, but also to get rid of bad breath.
- Dhal … To prepare this Indian soup, one glass of red lentils should be peeled and rinsed thoroughly. In a frying pan preheated with vegetable oil (4 tablespoons), add chopped onion, 2 cloves of garlic, 8 g of pickled ginger, and spices (0.5 tsp ground chili, 1 tsp cinnamon, 3 tablespoons coriander and 1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds). The processing time for the sounded ingredients is 5 minutes. The washed red lentils should be poured into a saucepan along with the frying. Then you need to send 2 tablespoons there. coconut flakes, a glass of water and coconut milk. Cooking time is 20-30 minutes. Already prepared dhal should be seasoned with 1 tsp. garam masala and sprinkle with finely chopped cilantro.
- Satsivi … 1 kg of chicken (you can replace it with a turkey) must be divided into portions and boiled in salted water. Using a blender, chop 400 g of walnuts, add a raw egg, parsley, 2 cloves of garlic, an onion fried in vegetable oil and chicken broth (500 ml). It is recommended to add a pinch of salt, 1 tsp to the resulting whipped mass. saffron, 2 tsp blue fenugreek seeds (can be replaced with suneli hop seasoning), black pepper and ground coriander (to taste). Boiled chicken should be put in a saucepan and covered with sauce, bringing the satsivi to a boil over low heat. The dish is ready in 3-4 hours until it is completely infused and cooled.
- Chakhokhbili with potatoes … Despite the fact that in the classic version this vegetable is absent, you still cannot spoil the porridge with butter. 4 potatoes must be coarsely chopped and cooked for 20 minutes until cooked. The water is then drained into a separate container for use in the next cooking step. In a blender, grind two large peeled tomatoes. The chicken is cut into pieces of medium size (you can either remove bones from it or leave them if you wish) and fried in butter on both sides. Semi-cooked meat should be placed in a heavy-bottomed saucepan with some of the fat it released and simmer under the lid for 15 minutes. Add 5 chopped onions, tomato mass, 1 tbsp to the remaining oil in a pan. coriander, 1 tsp. fenugreek seeds, 0.5 tsp ground red pepper, 1, 5 tsp. paprika and a pinch of salt. The sauce is cooked for 15 minutes, after which it is poured along with the remaining vegetable broth into a saucepan with chicken. Before the dish is completely ready (in 5 minutes), a chopped bunch of cilantro and potatoes are added to it.
- Basturma … 2 kg of beef pulp must be thoroughly washed and dried. Having pricked it from all sides with a fork, place the meat in a suitable container and rub it on both sides with salt. Two days in the refrigerator is enough for the beef to be completely saturated with the voiced substance. After that, it must be rinsed again and dried with a paper towel. The next two days will be spent for the future basturma to lie between two pieces of cloth and under a heavy load. After the expiration of the announced period, a rope is passed from one edge of the beef, on which it should hang for 4 days in a ventilated place. During such drying of meat, the base for the marinade is prepared - chaman. To create it, fenugreek seeds are crushed, dissolved in warm water and sent to a cold place for a day. Then black pepper, 40 mg of paprika, 8 chutes of grated garlic and a pinch of salt are added to the liquid soaked in this way. The beef must be further placed in the prepared marinade for 8-10 days. The final touch is drying the basturma for 4 days.
Fenugreek seed recipes provide some nuances. If they are used in a crushed form, then it is advisable to add the powder immediately before eating. An exception is the dishes in which this seasoning is used in the manufacture of the marinade.
Interesting Fenugreek Seed Facts
Even in Ancient Egypt, they paid attention to the properties of the sounded product. It was used not only for food and in the treatment of various diseases, but also during the embalming ceremony. There are two types of fenugreek: Greek (hay) and blue. It should be noted that these analogs are not identical seasonings in the cuisine of many nations.
Blue fenugreek is quite similar to the well-known clover. The spice from it, with a sweet taste, still gives off bitterness. It can be found especially often in Georgian cuisine, because locals cannot imagine cooking satsivi without a voiced ingredient. It is this type of shambhala that is often included in the khmeli-suneli. However, in the cooking of Eastern countries, they prefer to use not the seeds of blue fenugreek, but its greens. Alpine green cheese, which is prepared on the basis of the leaves of a sonicated plant, has proven itself especially well.
Greek fenugreek is often used as a thickener in sauces, gravies, and pureed soups. It is included in the Bulgarian seasoning Sharena Sol, the Indian curry spice and the already voiced Georgian spice khmeli-suneli.
Derivatives of both varieties of the plant have some bitter taste. To get rid of it, you need to fry the seeds in a dry frying pan, without fear that the beneficial properties of the product will disappear. If time permits, then they must be soaked for 24 hours in water, to which you need to add a pinch of soda.
Some features of this gift of nature are simply amazing. Urine and sweat, which have an extremely unpleasant odor, stop repelling people after eating fenugreek seeds on a regular basis. Such secretions from the human body take on a scent similar to maple syrup.
Watch a video about fenugreek seeds:
Fenugreek seeds are a valuable product, if you do not get carried away with its use. Not in every case, the seasoning not only enriches the dish with an exquisite taste, but is also able to help a person improve his health.
