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Time to go nutty!
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Just a dash of the spice can transform the flavour of vegetables
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SMELLS GOOD Nutmeg
Nutmegs (Myristica) are a genus of evergreen trees indigenous to tropical Southeast Asia and Australasia. They are important for two spices derived from the fruit, nutmeg and mace. Nutmeg is the actual seed of the tree, roughly egg-shaped. The most i
mportant species commercially is the Common or Fragrant Nutmeg Myristica fragrans, native to the Banda Islands of Indonesia; it is also grown in the Caribbean, especially in Grenada.
The fruit of the nutmeg tree is fleshy like an apricot and about 2-4 inches in length. Upon ripening, it splits in half, exposing a bright-red, netlike aril wrapped around a dark reddish-brown and brittle shell within which lies a single seed. The net-like aril is mace, which on drying turns from red to yellowish or orange brown. The dried brown seed, after the shell is broken and discarded, is nutmeg.
Medicinal uses
The oil is used for rheumatic pain and, like clove oil, can be applied as an emergency treatment to dull toothache. In France, it is given in drop doses in honey for digestive upsets and used for bad breath. Oil mixed with sugar and honey is used to control chronic diarrohea. It is used to treat gas, indigestion, nausea, vomiting and other stomach as well as kidney problems. In China, nutmeg is used specifically for diarrhoea, helping to bind and warm the intestines and relieve abdominal pain and distension due to “cold.”
Culinary uses
In Indian cuisine, nutmeg is used almost exclusively in sweets. It is known as jaiphal in most parts of India. It is also used in small quantities in garam masala. In European cuisine, nutmeg and mace are used especially in potato dishes and in processed meat products; they are also used in soups, sauces and baked goods. Japanese varieties of curry powder include nutmeg as an ingredient. Nutmeg is a traditional ingredient in mulled cider, mulled wine, and eggnog. In Indonesia, the fruit is sliced finely, cooked and crystallised to make a fragrant candy called manisan pala (“nutmeg sweets”). Nutmeg butter is obtained from the nut by expression. It is semi solid and reddish brown in colour and tastes and smells of nutmeg.
Now, for a recipe.
Sautéed vegetables with nutmeg and tomato
Ingredients
Peppers: 25 gm
Zuccuni: 25 gm
Broccoli: 25 gm
Baby corn: 25 gm
Asparagus: 25 gm
Roasted nutmeg powder: 50 gm
Tomato, chopped: 100gm
Salt to taste
Pepper powder to taste
Dry gin: 25 ml
Shallots: 25 gm
Chopped garlic: 20 gm
Butter/Olive oil: 25 ml
Method: Parboil the vegetables with a pinch of salt. In a pan, heat butter/olive oil and add the chopped garlic and shallots. Sauté them well and add the vegetables. Toss the vegetables and add gin. Add chopped tomatoes without seeds and mix them with the vegetables. Check for seasoning by adding salt and pepper. Finish with nutmeg powder and butter.
RISHI MANUCHA
Sous chef,
Taj Connemara
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