LOVE YOUR GREENS.... :)

Just a walkthrough on some useful leaves/herbs that's considered a must have in my pantry. I love and enjoy cooking very much whenever i have time to do it. OK! Let's rephrase it. I love food. That's the fact. But, who doesnt, right?  :P

Screwpine Leaves /Pandan Leaves 

~are used in Southeast Asian cooking to add a distinct aroma to rice and curry dishes such as nasi lemak, kaya ('jam') preserves, and desserts such as pandan cake. Pandan leaf can be used as a complement to chocolate in many dishes, such as ice cream. They are known as daun pandan in Indonesian and Malay; and 斑蘭 (bān lán) in Mandarin. Fresh leaves are typically torn into strips, tied in a knot to facilitate removal, placed in the cooking liquid, then removed at the end of cooking. Dried leaves and bottled extract may be bought in some places. I'm growing this especially for making traditional Malay cakes & for some rice & curry dish :)

Mint Leaves

~ The leaf, fresh or dried, is the culinary source of mint. Fresh mint is usually preferred over dried mint when storage of the mint is not a problem. The leaves have a pleasant warm, fresh, aromatic, sweet flavor with a cool aftertaste. Mint leaves are used in teas, beverages, jellies, syrups, candies, and ice creams. In Middle Eastern cuisine, mint is used on lamb dishes, while in British cuisine and American cuisine, mint sauce and mint jelly are used, respectively. I'm growing this for laksa dish,mint tea & Briyani rice dish (Biryani, biriani, or beriani is a set of rice-based foods made with spices, rice (usually basmati) and meat, fish,eggs or vegetables.Biryani was originated in Iran (Persia) and it was brought to South Asia by Iranian travelers and merchants. Local variants of this dish are popular not only in South Asia but also in Arabia and within various South Asian communities in Western countries.) :)

Turmeric 

~ Turmeric grows wild in the forests of South and Southeast Asia. It is one of the key ingredient for many Indian, Persian and Thai dishes such as in curry and many more..In Indonesia, the turmeric leaves are used for Minangese or Padangese curry base of Sumatra, such as rendang, sate padang and many other varieties. When i started growing turmeric, i was thinking of growing it for its leaves only...but since it's doing quite well i've decided to use it for its roots as well...fyi, we use both its root & its leaves in our cooking..now i need to transfer them to a bigger pot to ensure there's enough space for their growth. I'm growing this to be used in rendang & other indonesian dish especially Padang cuisines :) 

Flat Parsley

~ Parsley is widely used in Middle Eastern, European, and American cooking. Curly leaf parsley is often used as a garnish. In central and eastern Europe and in western Asia, many dishes are served with fresh green chopped parsley sprinkled on top. Green parsley is often used as a garnish on potato dishes (boiled or mashed potatoes), on rice dishes (risotto orpilaf), on fish, fried chicken, lamb or goose, steaks, meat or vegetable stews (like beef bourguignon,goulash or chicken paprikash). I'm growing this for garnishing my western cuisines :)

Vietnamese Mint

~In Singapore and Malaysia, the shredded leaf is an essential ingredient of laksa, a spicy soup, so much so that the Malay name daun laksa means "laksa leaf." We also use it in another dish called asam pedas. I love laksa & asam pedas.  :)

Curry

~The leaves are highly valued as seasoning in southern and west-coast Indian cooking, and Sri Lankan cooking, especially in curries, usually fried along with the chopped onion in the first stage of the preparation. I'm growing this for curries & did u know that we could use the curry shoots as salad? It's good with sambal belacan (a chili based sauce which is normally used as a condiment, typically made from a variety of chili peppers pounded with shrimp paste ) :)

p/s : all infos are copied from wiki :)


I've tried to grow coriander for its leaves but those seeds failed to germinate during my first attempt. I'll definately try it again next time.. :)

"It pleases me to take amateur photographs of my garden, and it pleases my garden to make my photographs look professional. " ~Robert Brault