When asked what is the most popular food in the summer, people will unanimously answer that it is kebabs. It is also true that when you look at the streets today, kebabs are the most popular flavored fast food. A meat oven, a little salt, cumin powder, you can roast a delicious lamb. The oily meat skewers, the aroma of cumin, and the shouts of the grilled meat chefs become vivid street scenes. Three or five friends, around a barbecue grill, drinking real estate beer, chatting in the sea and the sky, are not happy? Isn't it also fast?
In addition to lamb, the most inseparable thing is cumin. The first time I knew cumin was when I ate kebabs. It is really "like a spring breeze overnight", in the summer, in the streets and alleys of the small town of my hometown, there are many vendors of kebabs: a table, two stools, a simple charcoal oven, multiple skewered lamb, in the smoke, in the exchange of Xinjiang dialect and local dialect, the air is filled with the mixed aroma of lamb kebabs and cumin, it is so tempting and so fragrant! To this day, whenever I think of that scene, I still feel that my tongue is full of words.
Cumin is a world-famous flavoring spice. It is the fruit of a 1- or 2-year-old herb of cumin genus Cuminum Cyminum in the family Umbellifera, also known as parsley, parsley, and Roman celery. The name "cumin" comes from the Uyghur language, also known as "sabbath fennel". The Sabbath is said to be an ancient central Asian region that now belongs to the Iranian region, hence the name "Arabic fennel". Cumin is produced in Asia, Africa and Europe in China, Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Nigeria, Niger, Sudan, Albania, Tunisia, Cyprus, Turkey and other countries. Xinjiang is the only cumin production base in China, with a history of more than 1,000 years, mainly produced in Kashgar, Hotan, Turpan and other places, with a large planting area and full cumin grains, bright color, strong aroma and excellent quality. Because cumin is oily, aromatic and strong, and has a strong effect on removing fishy odors and relieving the greasiness of meat, it has become an indispensable and important seasoning for the Islamic people. The Uyghurs, Hui, Kirgiz, Kazakhs and other ethnic groups in northwest China are good at using cumin as an important seasoning, especially often used in barbecue meat, with unique flavor.
Because the cumin aroma is pure, not to say that eating and smelling can greatly enhance people's appetite, so cumin seasoning is no longer the patent of beef and mutton, and gradually expanded to a wide range of recipes such as vegetarian dishes, seafood, hot pot, etc., and quickly advanced from north to south, women, the younger generation is more fond of cumin barbecue, and even cumin has entered the "ordinary people's home". In fact, in addition to putting some cumin in the roast meat, you can put a little when making dishes such as fried potato shreds, green pepper stir-fried meat shreds, braised tofu and so on. Home cooking cumin not only makes the dish rich in flavor, but also makes the dish very distinctive. When cooking, you can use whole cumin, grind it into half a whole and half crushed, or buy cumin powder directly. Before eating the whole cumin, the impurities should be removed, and then repeatedly washed with water, and then dried or dried. When storing, it should be placed in bottles and cans to prevent the fragrance from volatilizing for too long. Cumin will become more and more intense after encountering oil or heating at high temperatures, so in cooking, in addition to barbecue, it is more suitable for frying, frying, frying and other cooking methods. Cumin is also particularly beneficial for the absorption of iron. In the daily diet, such as spinach, celery, leeks, beans, mushrooms and other iron-rich vegetables, can be eaten with cumin, just need to sprinkle some cumin powder before the dish comes out of the pot.
In fact, there are many people who love cumin as much as we do. In India and the Middle East, cumin must be added to curry powder or paprika, and cumin is also used to make sauces and eaten with bread baked with cumin; Mince the meat to make a cake-like dish to remove the fishy smell of cumin. Europeans were affected, and Germans joined cumin when making sausages. When the Dutch make cheese, they also add cumin, and paella also has cumin, but few people appreciate it anymore. The Spaniards have a phrase called "me importa un comino", which ostensibly means "not as important as a cumin", but the actual meaning is "I don't care so much". It can be seen from the above that cumin has penetrated into the daily life of people in various countries.
If cumin is only regarded as a condiment, it can be said that it is too small to look at. In addition to being used for flavoring, cumin also has certain therapeutic value and medicinal uses. The Soviet writer Masgrave wrote in Plants That Changed the World: "Spices nourish people's lives and make them more colorful: it is a medicine, it can cure diseases; is the seasoning that makes the meal more delicious; It is a perfume, emollient and aphrodisiac that can make people feel refreshed. "It can be said that cumin synthesizes these characteristics. Chinese medicine believes that cumin has a sweet smell, is warm and non-toxic, and has the effects of warming the spleen, appetizing the qi, eliminating food and chemical accumulation, dispelling cold and dehumidification. In the "Pu Ji Fang" Chinese medicine classics, there are records of cumin treatment of indigestion and stomach cold, abdominal pain and other symptoms. Therefore, people with cold stomach can usually put some cumin when stir-frying or roasting meat to get rid of the cold in the stomach.
According to the "Tang Materia Medica", cumin is fried and ground into powder, and it is taken with vinegar, which also has the effect of treating angina and insomnia. The "Commentary on Medicine" also says that cumin can cure ringworm and itchy skin. Take an appropriate amount of wild cumin, grind into a fine powder, soak in the appropriate amount of grape vinegar to make a liniment, and rinse on the affected area. The Bai di Yi Medicine Book records that cumin treats kidney pain, unfavorable urination, and intestinal obstruction. Take an appropriate amount of wild cumin, grind it into a fine powder, and serve with wine. Cure all kinds of stones. Take an appropriate amount of wild cumin and bay cherry tree root bark, grind into a fine powder, and rinse with cool boiled water. Cure tinea cephalicitis. Take an appropriate amount of wild cumin, grind it into a fine powder, and use an appropriate amount of grape vinegar to make a compress and apply it to the affected area. "The Garden of Medicine" records that paralysis, muscle relaxation, hysteria, hip pain, large and small joint pain, sciatica take an appropriate amount of wild cumin, grind into a fine powder, and take it with warm boiled water. Cumin also has health care effects such as calming the nerves, relieving pain, awakening the brain, passing the pulse, flat liver, and strengthening the kidneys. In addition, the compound carlimin tincture made from cumin extract can treat vitiligo.
Another thing that everyone is not familiar with is that cumin, although sexually hot, has the effect of removing fire. Everyone knows cumin lamb as a dish, but in addition to the taste factor, cumin can reduce the heat of lamb is also a reason. This sounds strange, because cumin itself is also hot, but it has a special effect, that is, it has a divergent effect. Therefore, meats such as beef and shrimp that are on fire can be paired with some cumin. This can dissipate some of the heat and reduce the adverse effects of hot foods on the human body.
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