Turmeric…a great antioxidant…
The golden years
Turmeric: An antioxidant to add to the power-food list
Common in Indian and Pakistani cusine, turmeric possesses beneficial medical properties.
Have you had your turmeric today? You might want to think about getting more of the pungent yellow spice into your diet.
Golden Gazpacho from Cherry Hill Market & Cafe.
An increasing body of research shows curcumin, the main active ingredient in turmeric root, is a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory that could fight or help prevent cancer and ease other human ailments, from arthritis to Alzheimer’s disease.
One of the most recent studies at the University of Missouri found that curcumin could reduce the cancer risk for post-menopausal women who have undergone hormone treatment.
Women who take estrogen and progestin hormone therapy have an increased risk of developing tumors. The MU study found that the spice delayed, decreased and reduced the frequency of tumors. The results show that women “could potentially take curcumin to protect themselves from developing progestin-accelerated tumors,” said Salman Hyder, Zalk Missouri Professor of Tumor Angiogenesis.
About 6 million women in the United States are using hormone replacement therapy, said Hyder, a professor of biomedical sciences in the College of Veterinary Medicine and the Dalton Cardiovascular Research Center.
Previous studies have shown that curcumin appears to slow the spread of cancerous tumors in animals. Curcumin also is being studied as a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, Hyder said. “It is already known that” turmeric “has properties that can prevent cancer,” he added. Turmeric also is used in the East and the West to ease arthritis and joint pain.
Turmeric, the spice that gives curry powder its golden hue, has been used for centuries in Chinese and Indian medicine; it is derived from a ginger-like root and has been used treat a wide range of ailments, from arthritis to depression. Western scientists have begun to acknowledge the healing possibilities and purifying effects of the spice, a staple in Indian and Pakistani kitchens.
Hyder thinks Westerners would certainly benefit from eating more of the foods and spices that are prevalent in Asian diets. “One in eight women gets breast cancer in America,” he said. That number drops significantly in places such as Japan and India, he said.
The American diet has strayed from natural, unprocessed foods and compounds, said Hyder, a native of Pakistan. He noted that human clinical trials will determine how much turmeric we need in our diets for it to be beneficial, but he recommends adding it to our diets as a preventative.
“Since turmeric is already consumed in South Asia and in the eastern countries and there is evidence for reduced incidence of certain types of cancers in that part of the world, it is possible that one is already consuming enough curcumin that is protective. Turmeric is consumed almost every day, so the blood levels are likely constant in Southeastern countries.”
Hyder and his wife, Rakhshan, often cook with turmeric. Rakhshan, the main cook for the family of four, frequently uses the sharp, earthy spice.
“We try to keep a healthy diet with lots of vegetables,” she said. Among her family’s favorite curry and turmeric dishes are a potato-tomato dish, “Aloo Bhujia” and a meat-potato curry called “Aloo Gosht.” She shops for her curry and Indian ingredients at World Harvest International and Gourmet Foods and at Campus Eastern Foods.
Cookbook author Bal Arneson slims down Indian recipes in “Everyday Indian: 100 Fast, Fresh, and Healthy Recipes” (Whitecap Books, 2009). Her recipes focus on flavor but cut the preparation and cooking time as well as the butter and cream. She offers her kidney bean and yam stew with cubed oranges as a favorite dish that utilizes turmeric.
One need not seek out exotic recipes to get turmeric into the diet. Remember, turmeric is what makes mustard yellow. Add a bit of turmeric to tofu scrambles, eggs, omelets, egg salad or potato salad or soups, or as a substitute for saffron in paella. Add it to a creamy corn chowder or try it in a Mexican-styled black bean stew — we’ve included the recipe, an invention of local poet Jeff Pethybridge.
This summer, Michael Kettler adds it to his curried salads with golden raisins and soups at Cherry Hill Market & Café, located at the Village of Cherry Hill. Last week, the café chef made a delicious yellow tomato gazpacho, spiced with turmeric, made from home-grown products — and he is sharing the recipe.
Try some of these recipes or simply sprinkle a little gold on your rice and vegetables and live long into the golden years.
BLACK BEANS SUPREME
2 cups dried black beans
1 whole yellow onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
Olive oil
Butter
1 or 2 jalapeño or serrano peppers, chopped
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1/8 teaspoon sweet paprika
Salt and pepper to taste
Soak the beans overnight (or 1/2 hour if using a pressure cooker). When the beans are ready, sauté onion, red pepper and garlic in a blend of butter and olive oil. Add the jalapeno or serrano. After the onions begin to color, deglaze the pan with a little water. Transfer the mix to a food processor and puree. As vegetables are pureed add cumin, turmeric, cayenne and sweet paprika. Add salt and pepper.
Rinse soaked beans, bring to a boil in 4 cups of water. Add pureed mixture to beans and simmer on the stove a couple of hours. A pressure cooker will cut the time in half. Serve with chopped cilantro and a wedge of lime. Or mix salsa, chopped serrano, cilantro and live juice and serve over each bowl with a dollop of yogurt. Serve with brown or white rice.
Servings: 6-8
— Jeff Pethybridge, Columbia
ALOO GOSHT (MEAT AND POTATO CURRY)
1/2 pound potatoes (peeled, cut into 1- to 2-inch pieces)
1 pound beef, chicken, lamb mutton
1 medium onion (chopped)
4 Roma tomatoes (puree in the blender)
1 teaspoon garam masala Powder
1 cup fresh parsley leaves
2 tablespoons coriander powder (cumin)
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 tablespoon ginger paste
1 tablespoon garlic paste
1 teaspoon chili powder 1 to 1-1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup oil
Heat the oil in a pan and fry the onions till transparent.
Add turmeric powder, coriander powder, chili powder, garlic, ginger and salt in the oil with little water and fry till water evaporates.
Add mutton to the above and cook till water dries.
Add tomato puree and enough water to cover the contents and cook till the meat tenderizes. If using pressure cooker put pressure for 10 minutes on medium heat.
When meat is almost done; add potatoes and cook till the potatoes are cooked and the required gravy is left. Cook throughout on low to medium heat.
Sprinkle fresh parsley and garam masala cover and simmer for five minutes.
Serve with naan, pita bread or rice.
Note: Garam masala is a blend of spices. It is available at World Harvest and Gourmet Foods and Campus Eastern Foods. Also find ginger and garlic paste at these specialty markets.
Servings: 4
— Rakhshan Hyder, Columbia
ALOO BHUJIA (PLAIN POTATOES)
6 potatoes, cut into very small cubes
3 Roma tomatoes, cut into very small cubes
1 teaspoon black cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder 2 dry red chilies
4 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon salt, or to taste
Heat oil in a pan and add red chilies after breaking them in smaller pieces.
Sauté for a few seconds. Add cumin seeds and allow to sauté for a few seconds more.
Add potatoes and turmeric powder and sauté for 20 seconds.
Add tomatoes and sauté for another 20 seconds.
Add salt and 1/4 cup water. Cover and cook on low to medium heat till potatoes are done. Serve with naan.
Note: Look for Indian spices and frozen naan — a soft, Indian flatbread — at World Harvest International and Gourmet Foods, 3700 Monterey Drive, or Campus Eastern Foods, 408 Locust St. Warm pita bread also is a good substitute.
Servings: 4
Rakhshan Hyder, Columbia
KIDNEY BEAN AND YAM STEW WITH CUBED ORANGES
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
2 tablespoons finely chopped ginger
2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
2 tablespoons cumin seeds
1 tablespoon garam masala
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon rosemary
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
1 14-ounce can crushed tomatoes
2 cups cubed yams
1 cup water
1 14-ounce can kidney beans, drained
2 cups cubed oranges
Place the oil, ginger, garlic, and fenugreek seeds in a big pot over medium-high heat and cook for two minutes. Add the cumin, garam masala, bay leaves, oregano, rosemary, turmeric, and salt, and cook for two minutes.
Add the tomatoes, yams, and water; increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for seven to nine minutes. Add the kidney beans and oranges and cook for one minute. Turn the heat off and cover with a lid for 10 minutes before serving.
Servings: 4
Everyday Indian: 100 Fast, Fresh, and Healthy Recipes by Bal Arneson (Whitecap Books, 2009)
CORN CHOWDER
6 strips bacon sautéed until crispy
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 cup canned chicken broth
1 cup milk (do not use low-fat or nonfat)
1 16- to 17-ounce can whole-kernel corn, drained, liquid reserved
Or
6 ears of corn, cooked, kernels removed from cobs (reserve 1/2 cup corn water)
Minced fresh cilantro (optional)
preparation
Sauté bacon. Remove and leave bacon fat to sauté onion, red and green bell peppers, cumin and cayenne, turmeric until vegetables are tender, about 8 minutes. Add flour and stir one minute. Gradually mix in broth, milk and reserved corn liquid. Bring mixture to boil, whisking until smooth. Mix in corn and stir until corn is just heated through. Ladle soup into bowls. Garnish with cilantro if desired and serve.
Note: Add chicken and potatoes for heartier chowder.
Jeff Pethybridge, Columbia
HALDI CHAVAL (RICE WITH TURMERIC AND GREEN ONIONS)
2 tablespoons oil
8 green onions, thinly sliced (separate green and white parts)
2 cups basmati rice
4 cups water
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1-12 teaspoons salt, or to taste
Heat the oil in a 6- to 8- quart saucepot. Add the white parts of the onions and sauté for three to four minutes. Add rice and sauté over medium-high heat until rice begins to turn opaque, about three to five minutes, stirring frequently. This step will seal in the starch so the rice will not stick together when it is cooked.
Add water, turmeric and salt. Brian to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer until all the moisture is absorbed, about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from heat. Fluff rice with a fork and sprinkle green parts of the onions on top. The cooked rice should have a very pleasant light-yellow color, dotted with bright green onions.
Servings: 6
Ajanta: Regional Feasts of India, by Lachu Moorjani
CHICKEN CURRY
All of the flavors work together here: no spice is obvious, yet all are essential to the balance of this true Indian chicken curry.
Remove the skin from:
3-1/2 pounds chicken parts
Separate the legs into thighs and drumsticks; cut each breast half diagonally in half through the bone. Rinse the chicken and pat dry. Heat in a heavy, wide skillet over medium-high heat until shimmery:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Add and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, seven to 10 minutes:
2 teaspoons very finely minced garlic
2 teaspoons very finely minced peeled fresh ginger
1 ½ teaspoons garam masala
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
Add the chicken and cook, stirring, until the chicken loses its raw color, two to three minutes.
Stir in:
1/2 cup low-fat yogurt
Cook, stirring occasionally, over high heat until the liquid has reduced and thickened and the oil separates and pools, three to five minutes. Stir in:
1 cup water
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 fresh serrano or jalapeno pepper, quartered lengthwise
3/4 teaspoon salt
Reduce the heat so that the liquid bubbles gently, cover, and cook until the dark meat pieces release clear juices when pierced with a fork, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove the chicken to a platter or wide bowl and cover to keep warm. If the sauce is thin and runny, uncover the pot and boil over high heat to reduce and thicken it. Pour over the chicken.
Source: Joy of Cooking, Irma S. Rombauer
Reach Marcia Vanderlip at 573-815-1704 or e-mail mvanderlip@columbiatribune.com.
http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2009/jul/22/the-golden-years/?food
This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009 at 5:18 PM and is filed under All About Spices, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
