{"id":92,"date":"2007-09-06T02:49:34","date_gmt":"2007-09-06T00:49:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dev.radioislam.org.za\/wordpress\/2007\/09\/06\/the-kitchen-pharmacy\/"},"modified":"2007-09-06T02:49:34","modified_gmt":"2007-09-06T00:49:34","slug":"the-kitchen-pharmacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/the-kitchen-pharmacy\/","title":{"rendered":"The kitchen pharmacy"},"content":{"rendered":"
AJWAIN –BISHOPS WEED.
Discovering the tang of ajwain (bishop’s weed) opens a new vista in aromatic cooking. The amateur quite often confuses ajwain with jeera (cumin), as I did in my salad days as a cook. I bought ajwain mistaking it to be an emaciated poor cousin of the jeera. On using it, I found the aromatic tang different—sharp, yet pleasing to the palate. Ajwain has never left my kitchen since then. Bishop’s weed, as it is called in English, belongs to the Apiaceae family along with coriander (dhania), cumin (jeera), and fennel (saunf). No wonder the amateur gets confused, since a botanical similarity exists. It is called ajwain in Hindi.<\/p>\n

GET-WELL REMEDIES
Ajwain is a home remedy for many gastro-intestinal conditions like diarrhoea, dysentery, dyspepsia, and indigestion. For relieving flatulence and dyspepsia, a pinch of ajwain can be eaten with betel leaves (pan). A glass of water with a tablespoon of ajwain seeds, boiled till the water becomes half, can be drunk to relieve flatulence and colic pain. For acute colic pains, ajwain, dry ginger, and salt in the proportion of 4:2:1 should be ground together and taken in doses of 1 teaspoon with warm water. Equal quantities of ajwain and dry ginger soaked in two-and-a-half times limejuice dried and powdered with a little salt is an excellent remedy for flatulence. Half-a-teaspoon of the same power should be taken with a little warm water thrice a day. Chewing a pinch of ajwain and salt together can relieve indigestion, particularly in children.<\/div>\n

A mixture of ajwain seeds with buttermilk drunk twice a day relieves difficult expectoration caused by dried phlegm. For acute pharyngitis a pinch of ajwain can be chewed with salt and cloves. A hot fomentation of the seeds on the chest tied in a thin piece of cloth relieves asthmatic discomfort. A tablespoon of the seeds put into boiling water and steam-inhaled can cause clogged nose and bronchial passages to open. Similarly, the common cold can be relieved considerably by placing a pouch of the seeds on the pillow. Sore throats can be counteracted by gargling with water containing salt and a pinch of ajwain. Snuffing of the aromatic seeds relieves migraine.<\/div>\n
Ajwain oil, applied on affected parts reduces rheumatic and neurological pains.Ajwain is considered to be an excellent aphrodisiac! Equal quantities of ajwain and tamarind seeds fried in ghee (clarified butter) should be powdered and stored in an airtight container. A tablespoon of this powder mixed with a tablespoon of honey taken with milk before bedtime increases male virility!<\/div>\n
Do keep in mind that these are household remedies that have come down the ages through the proverbial grandmothers. Effectiveness may vary from person to person, time to time, and place to place. In the event of any discomfort or adverse reactions, stop taking the treatment and consult a physician immediately.<\/p>\n

Culinary Uses
In the kitchen, ajwain seeds are almost exclusively used in Indian cuisine. They are mainly found in pulse dishes such as dhal, as well as vegetable dishes and pickles. The sharp flavour of ajwain has the ability to cut through rich flavours and densely spiced foods.<\/div>\n

Mix crushed Ajwain with other spices such as Cumin and Coriander to season chicken and fish. It also goes well with lentils, beans, and root vegetables. Roasting or frying in combination with potatoes or fish enhances the strong aroma of Bishop's Weed. Legumes (lentils, beans) are however the most important field of application; in India.<\/div>\n
Ajwain goes well with fish and curries. It has a strong aroma when crushed. Otherwise, the seeds have little aroma. It has hot taste and burning feeling on the tongue. Ajwain is a good digestive. Mixed with buttermilk it is a good anti-acidic agent. Add a pinch to rice as it is cooking, for aroma and flavour. Ajwain can be combined with other spices such as turmeric, paprika, cumin, black pepper, fennel and coriander.<\/p>\n

BY SISTER AMMARAH
SISTER AMMARAH @ RADIO ISLAM.CO.ZA.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

AJWAIN –BISHOPS WEED.Discovering the tang of ajwain (bishop’s weed) opens a new vista in aromatic cooking. The amateur quite often confuses ajwain with jeera (cumin), as I did in my salad days as a cook. I bought ajwain mistaking it to be an emaciated poor cousin of the jeera. On using it, I found the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":36475,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[252,328,337],"class_list":["post-92","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kitchen-tips","tag-handy-hints","tag-kitchen-tips","tag-the-kitchen-pharmacy"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/REMEDIES.png?fit=400%2C200&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0QIf-1u","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-19 17:03:16","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=92"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}