This spicy plant is cultivated mainly in the south of Russia. In the middle lane, few have heard of him. The plant is also present in the wild. It is readily eaten by pets. Mushroom grass will add an unusual aroma to your dishes.
Description
Fenugreek, or trigonella, is a plant
in the legume family. It is an annual green stem with branches, covered with elongated leaves. The height of the plant is about thirty centimeters. The leaf is small, has serrated edges. Inflorescences are bluish-lilac, arranged vertically. Fenugreek blooms in June and July. The plant is an excellent honey plant. Mushroom grass is also used as a decorative garden plant.
Origin
The plant came to us from India. His other name is Shambhala. It grows in the foothills of Iraq, Turkey, Iran, to the Himalayas in the east, and is also found in Ethiopia and Egypt. The spice is also popularly called: fenigrek grass, fenugreek, fenumgreek, Greek goat shamrock, Greek hay, Greek fenugreek, Greek nomad, cocked hat, camel, mushroom grass.
Fenugreek is bred as a feed crop. Its special kind of blue fenugreek is used as seasoning. This is facilitated by the high content in the seeds of aromatic essential oils, the trigonelline alkaloid, bitter and tannins, saponin, starch, mineral salts, sugar, vitamins P, PP.
Using
For food use not only the stems and leaves, but also the seeds of blue fenugreek. In the Caucasian cuisine you can find utsho suneli - dry shredded tops of blue fenugreek stems. The rich taste of trigonella is ideal for meat, fish dishes and mushrooms. It enhances the meat aroma of roast, broths, sauces and gravy. The specific shade of fenugreek essential oils resembles nuts.
Fenugreek seeds are also used in oriental cuisine, calling it a hulba. They are used to thicken dishes. The high protein content in the seeds helps to retain moisture. In the Middle Ages, this seasoning from the Arabs passed to the Spaniards. However, over time, the tradition was forgotten, now fenugreek can be met very rarely in the markets. Perhaps this is due to the appearance of overseas spices, as well as the difficulty of collecting and preparing fenugreek. Preserved grass in the walls of the monasteries as a medicine. Mushroom grass enhances the appetite with a pleasant aroma, and the seeds contain the necessary amino acids.
Seasoning is very loved in Bulgaria. Trigonella, or mushroom grass, is used for hot dishes. She is seasoned with thick chorb meat soups, added to the cucumber and mixed seasonings are made on its basis. The famous Georgian spice hops-suneli is bitter precisely because of fenugreek.
Cooking
Seasoning is prepared in advance. Fenugreek seeds are very hard. First, they are filled with water, and then grinded, then dried again, used as seasoning. Soaking is necessary to remove bitterness. The stems are used predominantly young, sometimes with inflorescences. They are collected, dried, and then thoroughly ground. It is believed that the taste of young herbs resembles mushrooms. So they say, selling fenugreek seeds for planting. This is just a common misconception. If you meet fresh fenugreek in the eastern bazaar, it will most likely not smell of anything. To taste, green trigonella is similar to spinach. Dried grass resembles a lovage, but with a more delicate aroma.
Growing
Trigonella is bred with seeds. Sown in open ground at the end of April. Planting depth - 1.5-2 centimeters, row spacing - from 20 to 30 centimeters. Seedlings are visible on the 7-10th day. After the appearance of 2-3 true leaflets, the young crops are thinned out, leaving 5-6 centimeters between the plants.
Like all legumes, trigonella enriches the soil with nitrogen compounds and is a good precursor for absolutely all plants. Diseases and pests of fenugreek do not affect. By the second half of June, bushes of mushroom grass grow by 40-60 cm. Elongated pods with seeds form on them. By the end of August, they ripen - become yellow, and seeds - yellow-brown.
To obtain seasoning, cut off the tops with seeds in the stage of milk-wax ripeness. To get seeds for sowing, the tops are harvested when the beans turn brown. They are dried, threshed, cleaned of debris. Again dried and stored in paper bags at room temperature. Fenugreek propagates and self-sowing.