Be it a steaming hot list of soup
recipes, or a dish of luscious noodles, or a handsome serving of dumplings,
or maybe just plain rice; a little bit of coriander just adds that right amount
of delight. Mainly used in Indian and Indonesian dishes, coriander or cilantro
is used widely as an enhancement to flavor and garnish. Its fresh citrus essence
also makes it a good appetizer.
Indian dishes make the most out
of this herb. Right from naan breads to chicken korma they are a prominent ingredient
in these healthy gourmet recipes. Furthermore one of the many varieties of
chutney utilizes the minty leaves as the main component. The street food of
India which display a great range of crunchy snacks like alu-muri, bhelpuri,
pav bhaji, papri chat and so on, often make it a point to exploit the fragrance
of coriander. The leaves make a pretty nice addition to many soup preparations
as well. It works wonders with lentil or carrots even.
Just like many spices, coriander
acts as a good anti-oxidant. Fried foodstuffs or curries can be preserved for a
longer time with a generous helping of coriander. Although this property is
mainly possessed by the leaves, but the seeds also have a pretty good anti-oxidizing
effect.
Moreover, coriander has been
known to display anti- bacterial characteristics as well. What more, even folk
medicine has records of this herb being used as a curative for insomnia and
anxiety. Well, actually coriander as a medicinal herb as countless instances.
The fresh mint which makes a lot
of delicious dishes is also used as an evergreen sauce. Coriander leaves can be
made into a paste, mixed with a thickener and refrigerated, and regularly
served with fries, bread and any basic meal; a pretty good trick for the busy
bees who cannot afford the time to prepare delectable dishes in the working
days. Powdered coriander seeds, commonly known in India as dhaniya powder, are
a compulsory additive to numerous gravy preparations.
The essence of coriander extends
over to dessert preparations as well. It is not only used to garnish curd and
other creamy stuff, but it also finds a place in pastries, if you move over to
western cuisine. Basically, you go munching snacks or stuffing a heavy laden
meal, or slowly licking around that dessert, coriander can invoke the magic
everywhere.
For bringing the vegetable stock
alive, for sticking to the juicy chicken leg and making it caress the taste
buds, for complementing the roasted brinjal and even for appearing to top up
the pastries, here goes a salute to cilantro!
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