Treading Gingerly

The rains bring their share of health problems. When a stomach ailment, or that dreadful feeling in the throat that tells me a virulent cold is on its way troubles me, I turn to an old friend from my kitchen for help. The little ingredients battles all germs with its sweet, if pungent, flavour. And miraculously, for me at least, the monsters retreat sheepishly.

I am, of course, talking about ginger, which is there in almost every kitchen in every Indian home. It’s a root that I am greatly fond of ---- and not only because its helps brave indigestion and colds. I like it more for what it does to food.

Ginger is traditionally been seen as an also- ran in the hierarchy of kitchen ingredients. But I have always believed that you can do wonder with ginger. I often cook something like chicken or mutton mainly with ginger. And I find that it’s a flavour you just can’t go with wrong.

I think I first learn the importance of ginger; it has all kinds of beneficial qualities. Ginger, many believe, helps tackle headaches, sore throats, sniffles, pains and stomach problems.

After every meal, or whenever I felt a bit heavy, I would go and eat a bit of ginger. I use to finely slice some ginger and keep it in cool place. In medicine, it is used as carminative and stimulant. It has wider applications in indigenous medicines. The ginger oil is used as food flavourant in soft drinks.

The other good thing about ginger is its piquant flavour. You can prepare all kinds of dishes with ginger as the main flavouring agent. Ginger is often used in Indian dishes along with onions and garlic, which have more overwhelming flavours and tend to suppress the taste of ginger.But there are great many recipes that rely primarily on ginger for its taste and flavour. You can cook chicken with ginger in different styles ------- Continental, Chinese, Southeast Asia or Indian.Actually, ginger can be used innovatively in all kinds of drinks and dishes.